Thanksgiving
Today I'm cooking my first ever turkey. I have had turkey as long as I can remember, which makes about 57 stright Thanksgivings with someone else making the turkey. So, I'm thankful for all of you turkey makes out there.
So far, making a turkey seems to be going about as well as I would expect of someone clueless about such an effort. I started by thawing the turkey in the back of the fridge. Only problem with that, the back of the fridge more likely freezes stuff than thaws it. So, I had to microwave thaw it enough to get those little barzy things apart and throw away the throwaway. Then, time for a swim.
Stuffing. Never stuffed a turkey either. Well, I've stuffed the stuffing in, but never made the stuffing to stuff.
Ever try to find directions on how to mix stuffing on the stuffing box? They have all sorts of fancy recipies for the stuffing, even stringing a birdie feeder with it. But nothing on how to prepare and stuff a turkey. But, to the rescue. The paper thing attached to one-time pan I picked up to cook the turkey in had stuffing directions. AMAZING! Now, does hot water mean boiling water or just hot tap water?
Basting the turkey. Says use spread. It lied. I melted some spread in the microwave. Put it in a cup and on for 50 seconds to get it melted. Only problem, none of the butter was left in the cup after fifty seconds. Well, the microwave needed a cleaning anyway. Tried a cube, like when making cookies; worked just fine. So, don't microwave the squishy spread stuff.
How often to baste? Easy. Every time I think about it. Baste. Works out to be once every 40 minutes or so. The one-time pan also said to cover the turkey with foil, not the plastic lid. Since I couldn't get the plastic lid to fasten tightly before I slipped the turkey in the oven, that was a gimmie.
How long to cook? Well, it has a pop-up thing that I check every time I baste. So, taking the rule of thumb, also on the paper, a 14 pound turkey should take 3.5 hours. Which means it is over half done. I'm winning.
So far, making a turkey seems to be going about as well as I would expect of someone clueless about such an effort. I started by thawing the turkey in the back of the fridge. Only problem with that, the back of the fridge more likely freezes stuff than thaws it. So, I had to microwave thaw it enough to get those little barzy things apart and throw away the throwaway. Then, time for a swim.
Stuffing. Never stuffed a turkey either. Well, I've stuffed the stuffing in, but never made the stuffing to stuff.
Ever try to find directions on how to mix stuffing on the stuffing box? They have all sorts of fancy recipies for the stuffing, even stringing a birdie feeder with it. But nothing on how to prepare and stuff a turkey. But, to the rescue. The paper thing attached to one-time pan I picked up to cook the turkey in had stuffing directions. AMAZING! Now, does hot water mean boiling water or just hot tap water?
Basting the turkey. Says use spread. It lied. I melted some spread in the microwave. Put it in a cup and on for 50 seconds to get it melted. Only problem, none of the butter was left in the cup after fifty seconds. Well, the microwave needed a cleaning anyway. Tried a cube, like when making cookies; worked just fine. So, don't microwave the squishy spread stuff.
How often to baste? Easy. Every time I think about it. Baste. Works out to be once every 40 minutes or so. The one-time pan also said to cover the turkey with foil, not the plastic lid. Since I couldn't get the plastic lid to fasten tightly before I slipped the turkey in the oven, that was a gimmie.
How long to cook? Well, it has a pop-up thing that I check every time I baste. So, taking the rule of thumb, also on the paper, a 14 pound turkey should take 3.5 hours. Which means it is over half done. I'm winning.
posted by John | 11:31 AM
4 Comments:
One word: Jenny-O. They're fabulous! Overpriced, but foolproof. The best part is that they go straight from the freezer to the oven--no defrosting! And they're pre-seasoned! Only bad part is, you can't stuff 'em. But they come out pretty good (at least the one I made a couple years ago did). I think I've gone by the same package thingy you used. Turkeys should really be made more than once a year so you don't forget how to make them--and it's really the gravy that's the hard part. Gotta have good gravy. So, how did it come out?? And, how come you're making the turkey??
Three hours and 34 minutes after I shoved it in the oven, the temp thing popped out. I put the plastic top on over the foil and and hauled it to my sister's, who took it from there. (like made the gravy)
The turkey came out great, as did the stuffing (hot tap water works) and the gravy.
Why me? My sister hosted Thanksgiving and my brother-in-law smoked a turkey overnight (takes 16 hours of supervision) But, smoked turkey tastes like ham. So, being the only non-ham lover, I cooked a turkey for me and in case some relatives shared my opinion. As it turned out, they all just ate a whole bunch of both. But, they all did proclaim my first effort a huge success. So, now I'm supposed to make one every year.
John, John, John! Now see... this is exactly why you never volunteer to cook for people. It turns out a success (Congratulations on that front!!!), and then you have to do it all the time! Gone forever are the days when you can just sit back and enjoy the feast...
Welcome to the club of those with a culnary specialty...real or not!
At least we are an elite group...
If we are an elite group, the "we" doesn't include me. Let's see. I can microwave anything. I can slow cook a few things. I can put together a decent omlet. I can make chocolate chip cookies. I can marianade stuff. I can stumble through a turkey. And I can microwave anything. I think I said that.
I don't have enough skills to make good gravy twice in a row. And who knows what will happen next time I cook anything, including any of the above. I'm better than I was (master at boiling water), but not enough to measure the difference.
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