Cooking a Turkey

Well today we are for the 2nd time we are cooking a turkey. I tried cooking one last Spring and it was good although a bit dry. Years ago my wife made an Easter dinner with her mom and it was really undercooked, that night we ended up having Turkey soup at 10 at night.

Just a couple things. Turkey is very high in protein, this is good, another thing stuffing tends to be high in fat so as good as the stuffing is it is in fact a bit fattening. One more fact that you can amaze your friends and family with, Turkey has a lot of the amino acid Tryptophan which will cause sleepyness later so when everyone has overeaten dinner tonight and is feeling tired you can then blame it on the Tryptophan instead of the overeating.

So in the interest of everyone cooking turkey for the first time today here are some instructions for cooking a turkey.

1. Preheat oven to 325. Remove the wrapper to see how much the turkey weighs and determine approximate cooking time. Remove the giblet bag and the neck from the turkey cavity. Wash the turkey inside and out and pat skin dry with paper towels.

2. Place turkey breast side up on a rack in a shallow (about 2 inches deep) roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer in thigh. Add 1/2 cup water to the bottom of pan, if desired.

3. Cover turkey loosely with a tent of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Roast the turkey until temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 180°F. Cooking time will vary. For example, a 20 pound turkey will take 4 1/4 to 5 hours to cook, check the temperature on the thermometer after 4 1/4 hours.

4. Meanwhile, mix the stuffing or dressing. Place in a casserole and pop it into the oven during the last hour or so of roasting time.

5. Remove the foil tent after 1 to 1 1/2 hours of cooking time to brown the skin. Brush with vegetable oil to enhance browning, if desired.

6. A whole turkey is done when the temperature reaches 180°F. The thigh juices should run clear (not pink) when pierced with a fork and the leg joint should move freely.

7. Allow the turkey to set 20 to 30 minutes before carving to allow juices to saturate the meat evenly. Note: Cooking times do vary. Why? There are many reasons – oven temperature may not be completely accurate, the turkey may be very cold or partially frozen, and/or the roasting pan may be too small which inhibits the flow of heat. The USDA highly recommends use of a meat thermometer to determine doneness of turkey. This is an important tool in learning how to cook a turkey.

Remember that the important bits are 325 to 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes a pound.

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