Master the turkey primer for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner
Some tips to allow for a simply delicious Thanksgiving meal
A Thanksgiving dinner is rooted in American harvest classics, and at the center is a simply but deliciously roasted turkey. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Thanksgiving feast is perhaps the most overplanned, overhyped, overfussed meal of the year.
In our annual attempt to balance tradition with newfangled ideas, we tend to overthink our Thanksgiving spread. We experiment with turkey rubs and cooking methods, our efforts sometimes bordering on the hazardous (hello, turkey fryer!).
But at the core of it, perhaps the best Thanksgiving meals are the ones that take us home, in body and memory. These are the meals rooted in American harvest classics, and at their center is a simply but deliciously roasted turkey.
Sure, there are many ways to cook a turkey – roast it whole or in parts, braise it, fry it or smoke it. But our arsenal of holiday recipes always holds a special place for a classic roasted bird.
The following recipe for roasted turkey with sage butter carries the fragrance of sage, bay leaves and onions, a hint of smoke from bacon and the rich, round notes of butter and chicken stock.
As an alternative, you can make this recipe with a boneless turkey breast. (That recipe appears as well.)
Roast Turkey with Sage Butter
8 slices bacon
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to season
One 16-pound turkey
3 cups chopped onion
8 large fresh sage sprigs
3 bay leaves, crumbled
4 cups low-salt chicken or turkey broth
Fresh sage sprigs, to garnish
Fresh parsley sprigs, to garnish
In large, heavy skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until brown and crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels and drain. Crumble bacon finely.
In a medium bowl, mix butter, chopped sage and crumbled bacon. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Season cavity with salt and pepper. Place onion, 8 sage sprigs and crumbled bay leaves in cavity.
Slide hand under skin of turkey breast to loosen skin. Spread ∑ cup sage butter over breast meat under skin. Place turkey on rack set in large roasting pan. Rub 2 tablespoons sage butter over outside of turkey. Set aside 1/3 cup butter for gravy; reserve remainder for basting.
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup broth over turkey. Roast turkey until thermometer inserted into thickest part of inner thigh registers 175 degrees. (Internal breast temperature should reach 160 degrees.) Baste every 30 minutes with ½ cup broth and occasionally brush turkey with sage butter, about 3 hours.
Transfer turkey to platter, tent with foil. Let stand 30 minutes.
Serves 8 to 12 (with leftovers).
Turkey Gravy
Pan juices, de-fatted
4 cups turkey broth
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
Freshly ground pepper, to season
Pour pan juices into large glass measuring cup. Spoon off fat; discard fat. Pour juices back into turkey pan.
Place pan over 2 burners set on high heat. Add 4 cups broth. Boil until liquid is reduced to 2 cups, scraping up browned bits, about 10 minutes.
Whisk in flour and butter. Season with pepper.
Serves 12.
Turkey Breast with Sage Butter
Ask your butcher to roll and tie a large turkey breast, leaving the skin on.
For the turkey:
One 7-pound boneless turkey breast, with skin on
1 cup of chicken or turkey broth
¼ cup white wine
For the rub:
Bacon, 4 slices, cooked and crumbled
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Make rub:
In a bowl, combine bacon, sage, butter, salt and pepper and mix well to make a compound butter. (Make ahead: The sage butter can be made ahead and frozen for later use.)
Roast turkey:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Rub sage butter mixture on all sides of the turkey breast.
3. Place breast in a roasting pan. Pour broth and wine into pan.
4. Bake uncovered for 1 hour, until thermometer registers 160F degrees.
5. Remove pan from oven. Remove turkey breast from pan and place in a rimmed sheet or board with a deep trench. (Reserve drippings to make gravy, or for serving.)
6. Let turkey breast rest for at least 15 minutes.
7. Remove butcher string and slice breast.
– All recipes are by chef and test kitchen consultant Lenore Pinello, of In the Kitchen cook space, Tequesta, Fla.
Turkey Safety Tips
When handling raw poultry:Use hot, soapy water to wash hands, utensils, cutting boards, counters and anything that’s touched the raw bird, its juices or your unwashed hands.
Do not let the raw bird, raw poultry juices or unwashed hands touch ingredients that will be eaten raw.
Avoid touching the salt shaker or pepper mill with unwashed hands. Instead, set aside the seasoning you’ll need for cooking before touching the bird.
Do not rinse poultry – the USDA warns against washing raw poultry. The splashing water can spread bacteria in the sink and counter.
When cooking your bird:
Cook your turkey to an internal temperature of 160 degrees to make sure it’s rid of bacteria. For better flavor and texture, cook thigh meat to 175 degrees.
Refrigerate leftover cooked turkey and consume within three days.
When thawing a frozen turkey:
Defrost your bird in the fridge, allowing 1 day of defrosting for every 4 pounds of turkey.
If you are brining your turkey, begin the thawing process one day earlier.
Forgot to thaw the bird?
Relax. Here’s a quick-thaw method: Place tur key (in its original wrapper) in a bucket of cold tap water. Let it thaw for 30 minutes per pound. (For example, a 12-pound turkey should take 6 to 8 hours.) Replace the cold tap water every half hour to prevent spread of bacteria.
– Source: “The New Family Cookbook” (America’s Test Kitchen, October 2014).
Carve your cooked bird
Carving your turkey in this fashion will prevent waste and ensure ample portions.1. Start with leg quarters.
If you remove the leg quarters first, it makes it easier to carve the breast.
2. Remove the leg quarters.
Pull the quarters away from the carcass. Carefully cut through the joint.
3. Separate the drumsticks from the thighs.
Since the leg quarters are large, it’s best to cut them for equal sharing.
4. Remove the wings.
This step gives you open access to the breast meat.
5. Remove the breast meat.
Slide your carving knife along one side of the breastbone, following the bone’s arch. Pull away the meat as you cut.
6. Slice the breast meat.
Cut the breast meat crosswise for neater slices.
– Source: “The New Family Cookbook” (America’s Test Kitchen, October 2014)
Before roasting:
To ensure juicy results, allow your Thanksgiving turkey to sit for about an hour at room temperature before roasting. This allows the flesh to relax, in turn yielding a more tender bird.
The sitting period also ensures the turkey’s internal temperature reaches 160 degrees more quickly while roasting, without drying out the surface.
After roasting:
Rest the bird before carving to allow its juices to flow back into the meat. (The roasting heat forces the juices into the center of the turkey.)
To rest the roasted bird, place it on a rimmed pan or board or with a deep trench to catch some inevitable drippings. Or ring the bottom of the turkey with a twisted length of paper towels to soak up the juices.
– Source: “Fine Cooking Roasting” book (Taunton, October 2014)
Local
Butterball Hotline Experts Offer Tips For Cooking Perfect Turkey
November 24, 2014 10:50 AM
Regine Schlesinger
Hi! My name’s Regine Schlesinger and if that rings a bell, it probably...
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who staff the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, reports from WBBM’s Regine Schlesinger.“Truly, the turkey is the easiest part of the dinner.” So says Phyllis Kramer,one of the experts taking calls from nervous cooks, worried about their Thanksgiving meal. The vast majority of questions, she says, involve how to thaw a frozen turkey. “People have no concept of a 20-pound piece of meat that they put in the refrigerator overnight or two days in advance and think it will be thawed by Thanksgiving.”
The proper way to thaw the bird: put the turkey, breast-down, in a sinkful of water and change the water every half hour. You need to allow half-an-hour in the water for every pound. For a 24-pound turkey, you’d keep it in the water for 12 hours. She says it doesn’t have to be 12 hours straight. You could soak it for a few hours today, put it back in the fridge
and then, soak it again the next day and the day after.Kramer also says the most important utensil you need is a meat thermometer to check that the turkey is cooked throughout, reaching 180 degrees in the middle part. Unless you’re cooking
the stuffing separately, you also have to check to make sure the stuffing is at least 165 degrees.Over the years she’s gotten some unforgettable calls like the woman who called from a hot tub and wanted to know if she could thaw the turkey in the tub or the young frantic bride. “She’s whispering. She says ‘My mother
and my mother-in-law are here and my mother says the turkey’s done and
my mother-in-law said it’s not done. I don’t know what to do.'”The Butterball Turkey Talk Line runs through Christmas Eve at 1-800 BUTTERBALL. It will be operating from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving day
.
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