how to cook a turkey?

Satanic Jesus

Every year, I never remember how to cook a turkey and there is so much advice on the internet. It's just better to ask here.

I have a 5kg turkey (already stuffed with a pork, sage and onion stuffing), with streaky rashers on top and aluminium foil on. No idea how long it takes to cook.

ceres

I don't know much about turkey cooking, but I do know that your sig is too tall. :P You can have the spoiler or the image but not both.

ceres

Well, the little I do know about cooking a bird says that you shouldn't really pre-stuff them at all.. that it's best to cook the stuffing separately because of bacteria, and possibly also the stuffing affecting the cooking time (depending on how stuffed it is). I guess that's not useful to you because you already stuffed it, but there you go.

Satanic Jesus

Sorry about the sig! Removed the quotes.

BobCesca

Delia is your friend:

http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/chicken-and-other-poultry/how-to-roast-turkey.html

Satanic Jesus

Thank you!

WildEEP

Good news!

If you get a turkey, the prep instructions are usually on the wrapper.

Additionally, if you get stuck while standing over the bird and you'd really like to ask someone a question, there's the butterball hotline!

1-800-BUTTERBAL

I kid you not. A 24-hour hotline you can call on "How to cook a turkey". They staff it Nov - Dec.

Shogun

There is nothing wrong with pre-stuffing just make sure you give the bird plenty of time for that internal cavity to get to 160ish in temp.

jungleroomx

Here's how I do it. Personal tastes change everything.

After thawing, rub a little salt and pepper (very little, just a light sprinkling) on the outside. Put a small amount of chopped onion and a generous amount of celery on the bottom of the pan. After placing turkey on pan, pour a generous helping of bacon grease on turkey. Cover with foil, look up directions for duration, but my 12 lb turkey takes approx 3 hours at 350.

For the first hour, cook the turkey breast side down. Then flip for the remainder.

For the final 30 minutes, take foil off pan to allow turkey to brown. You can add water to the pan along with bacon grease, onion, and celery for moistures sake.

Buttcleft

If you are stuffing a turkey, cook the stuffing fully, and wait until the bird is absolutely no sitting around ready to go into the oven, then stuff it with the steaming hot stuffing fresh out of the pot/oven/whatever. That way the stuffing stays warm and safe, and does not slow the birds cooking as much.

As for the actual cooking, preheat the oven to a steady 500f, stick a thermometer deep into the breast without hitting bone, stuff it and throw it in the oven

after 30 to 45 minutes drop the temp to 350 and roast until the thermometer says 160f then take it out and let it sit for about half hour to rest.

Do whatever flavoring and seasonings you regularly do. 5kg bird should take under 2 hours, But cook by the thermometer not a timer.

Artereis

The best way to cook a turkey is upside down.

Cabezone

The very best Turkey recipe is Alton Brown's, the actual cooking is very close to Buttcleft's. Altho I agree with Alton, never stuff the turkey.:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

ins0mniac

I cooked my first turkey this thanksgiving. I prefer an unstuffed bird, so I did mine separate. Instead I brined the turkey.

Brining is submersing the turkey in a heavily salted cold water bath for 16-24 hours. What this does is change the meat on a molecular level or some shit and makes it hella juicy. Just be sure to rinse that thing off before you cook it or it will be way too salty.

My brine was:

1.5 cups kosher salt
2 cups brown sugar
3 cups apple cider
3 orange peels
Thyme
Rosemary
Whole black peppercorns
Chopped garlic

Combine all that and summer till it dissolves nice and let it cool. Dump the bird and this into a bucket and find somewhere to keep it cold.

I shop like a European.. I pretty much buy what I need to cook right then so I stuck it in my fridge. Follow any other method of cooking.

Everyone said it was the best turkey they ever had, but maybe they were just nice. Regardless, between 6 people there was barely any left for soup!

Nosf

Every year I cook at least a couple birds, be it Easter / Xmas / Thanksgiving. I always do them stuffed, but I pre-cook the pork sausage I use and mix it with the bread which is dried in the oven beforehand, some onion, poultry seasoning etc. I cook by temp; I use the chart on the wrapper for the bird as a guideline, and stab the thermometer into the thigh until I get the temp I need which is ~185/190. I got a new roasting pan at the work xmas party this year with a proper lifter - way easier than a couple forks! I always dump a cup or two of water in the bottom of the pan before it goes in; otherwise it tends to dry out too much.