Berry’s Picks

Turkey Time

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. This is such a wonderful time for families to come together and visit, cook and eat. I usually prefer beef, but I certainly do like turkey on thanksgiving. These days there are a myriad of ways to prepare turkey for Thanksgiving; smoking, frying or traditional roasting. Sometimes it can be a scary thought to take on the chore of cooking a turkey for the big day. Learning what to do and what not to do will help take the fear out of taking on the task. Here are 11 common mistakes made when cooking that beautiful bird and how to correct them.

1. Don’t wait too long to buy a turkey.

If you are buying a frozen, conventional turkey from the supermarket be sure to purchase the turkey 1-2 weeks in advance. Once you get the turkey home store it in the freezer till it is time to start thawing. Remember that it is best to store your turkey in a bottom drawer or shelf of your freezer.

If you are buying a fresh (not frozen) turkey whether it is conventional or free range organic, don’t purchase it too far in advance as fresh turkeys do don’t keep as long as frozen ones do. Call your supermarket to reserve a fresh turkey about 2 weeks in advance, but do not pick it up till a couple days before the big feast.

2. Remember how long it takes to thaw a turkey.

Turkeys should be thawed in the refrigerator to avoid dangerous food borne illnesses. It takes frozen turkeys to thaw at a rate of 4 lbs per day. That means that it takes a 16 lb frozen turkey 4 days to thaw. When thawing your turkey in the refrigerator, be sure to put it in a drawer or on the lowest shelf. This is very important to eliminate to potential of cross contamination.

3. Remember that that majority of turkeys are already brined.

Many people brine their turkeys not realizing that has already been done before they even purchase the turkey.

4. Allow your turkey come up to room temperature before roasting it.

Take your thawed turkey out of the refrigerator an hour before putting it in the oven. This will ensure even cooking and a moist turkey.

5. Be sure to dry the turkey well inside the cavity and on the outside.

Thoroughly drying the turkey with paper towels will help crisp the skin. (remember you are dealing with raw poultry so be sure to dispose of the saturated paper towels immediately, disinfect the work space area and properly wash your hands.)

6. Don’t forget to salt the inside cavity of the turkey.

Sprinkling salt in the cavity will season the meat.

7. Remember to use roasting rack inside the roasting pan.

If a roasting rack is not used the meat on the bottom of the bird will come out overcooked and dry.

8. Don’t cook stuffing inside the turkey!

For the stuffing to reach the required temperature to kill any harmful food borne pathogens the turkey must be cooked longer. This will result in a very dry and less tasty turkey. Most people do not realize the whole dish needs to cook longer leaving the stuffing as a salmonella bread pudding.

9. Don’t roast the turkey at one consistent temperature.

It is better to start the turkey off roasting in a very hot oven and then turning the heat down. Roast the turkey at a preheated oven of 425 degrees F for the first 30 minutes. This allows the skin to crisp up quickly. After the 30 minutes turn the down the heat to 350 degrees F, Let the turkey roast the remainder of the cooking time at this temperature.

10. Be sure to use an accurate food thermometer.

Many turkeys come with a pop-up thermometer already inserted in the breast of the turkey. These pop-up thermometers are often inaccurate and many will pop-up when it reaches 180 degrees F, at this point the turkey is very overcooked. A meat thermometer is the best and most accurate way to tell the exact internal temperature indicating when a turkey is truly done cooking.

11. Don’t be too excited to jump on carving the turkey as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Let the turkey rest for at least 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven before carving it. This will allow all those juices to be absorbed back into the meat of the turkey.

Here is a healthy version to a Thanksgiving classic,