4 servings with plenty of leftovers
Buy a 14-pound turkey, preferably fresh (arrange to pick it up the night before Thanksgiving & refrigerate it overnight. If you buy a 14-pound frozen turkey it will take up to five days to defrost it (defrost it in the refrigerator to avoid salmonella poisoning) Buy a “broad-breasted” turkey hen. If you need a turkey larger than 14 pounds, it will have to be a Tom.
Plan to have the turkey done 30-45 minutes before you want to serve it. This is to allow time to make a big pan of gravy & to get food onto the table (vegetables should be prepared & ready to cook while gravy is being made). Since you will want to make gravy in the roasting pan, you must have another large pan or platter to transfer turkey to when it is done – then cover it with aluminum foil & the roaster cover or a towel to keep it warm.
Roast turkey according to the chart below325º. An instant meat thermometer should read 180º-185º in the thigh, 170º-175º in the breast & 160º-165º in the stuffing when the turkey is done.
|
Safe Turkey Cooking Times |
||
|
Weight |
Unstuffed
Cooking Time |
Stuffed
Cooking Time |
|
8
to 12 |
2
1/4 to 3 |
3
to 3 ½ |
|
12
to 14 |
3
to 3 ¾ |
3
1/2 to 4 |
|
14
to 18 |
3
3/4 to 4 1/4 |
4
to 4 ¼ |
|
18
to 20 |
4
1/4 to 4 1/2 |
4
1/4 to 4 ¾ |
|
20 to 24 |
4 1/2 to 5 |
4 3/4 to 5 ¼ |
1 Remove pin feathers with turkey tweezers. Wash inside & outside with tepid water & dry with paper towels (note: some folks say not to wash poultry). Salt the inside.
2 Stuff the
large cavity with dressing, remembering that the dressing will expand
while cooking, so do not stuff tightly (if you don’t like “inside” dressing,
stuff it just half full). Pin skin together with turkey
skewers & tie skewers with string
to close the opening. Legs can be tucked into this cavity, but I just tie tjem
together outside – also, some people stick the tail inside before closing the
cavity.
3 Stuff small
(neck) cavity loosely & fasten with skewers & string. Tie around whole
turkey with string to fasten down the wings. Put extra dressing into 2 large pans (Pyrex, which can also be used for serving, or
aluminum), which have been buttered (remember to save a big pan to
put turkey into when it is done & you want to make the gravy). Set dressing
pans aside, covered with plastic wrap, so they won’t dry out.
4 Dry back of
turkey with paper towels and butter & salt it. Then put turkey, breasts
up, into roasting pan, on top of turkey lifting chains, so that it can be easily
lifted out when done. Pat top (breasts) dry & butter & salt it. Put
meat thermometer into heaviest part of a thigh (do not let it touch the pan).
5 Roast at
325º, not covered. When turkey breast is brown enough, baste it with
juices from the pan, using a turkey baster,
then cover breast with a piece of aluminum foil to keep it from browning more,
while the rest of the turkey cooks (Lorraine has never had to cover the breast).
6 About 3 hours
before calculated time for turkey to be done, baste the turkey, then put 1/3 to
1/2 of the extra dressing into the bottom of the roasting pan, saving the pans
of extra dressing until later (putting all the dressing in makes it too fatty).
If you have a large turkey, you may not have much room for dressing in the pan.
Put in what you can.
7 About 2 hours
ahead of the turkey being done, put giblets, except liver into a very small covered casserole, along with the
turkey neck. The little casserole should have some water & could have a
little butter (kidneys should have their outer skin removed). Put in oven to
bake. About one hour before the turkey is done, add the liver to the casserole.
Baste the turkey.
8 When turkey
is done, put it into the pan or platter you saved especially for this moment,
cover it with aluminum foil and a towel, or roaster cover (you may need help to
lift the turkey out). Leave a little dressing in the roasting pan to flavor the
gravy, but take out the rest of the dressing in the bottom of the roasting pan
& mix it in with the 2 pans of extra dressing that were set aside. Then,
put these pans into the oven, uncovered, to roast. Turn the dressing a couple
of times during the next 30 minutes.
9 Make gravy
right in the roasting pan.
10 After the
gravy is done, leave it in the roasting pan to keep it warm. Then check the
dressing in the oven; stir it & see if it is brown enough – it probably
won’t be & you can turn on the broiler for about 5 minutes, watching it the
whole time & turning it often (don’t leave it or it will burn!).
11 While you
are finishing browning the dressing in the oven, put the turkey on a good
platter or else start carving it & put the pieces on a platter.
12 Enjoy!
Note: Items highlighted in red
and underlined must be on hand to insure success.