Can someone please tell me how to cook a Xmas turkey? I am not very good at cooking so the simpler the better.!


Question: 1 turkey (See note at bottom of recipe)
2 quartered apples
2 quartered oranges
2 quartered lemons
1 large quartered onion
3-4 sprigs (stalks) fresh rosemary
3-4 sprigs (stalks) fresh thyme
2 sticks unsalted butter softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper
Turkey baster
Instant read meat thermometer
Cotton kitchen string
Aluminum foil
Timer (or use timer on the microwave)
Cutting board with a ridge or drip well (these are usually wooden)

1. Make sure turkey is completely thawed (4-5 days in refrigerator). Remove giblet bag and neck from inside turkey. Rinse turkey inside and out with cold running water; then pat dry with paper towels.

2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Lower oven racks as low as possible in the oven. (if you have two racks in the oven remove one) Stuff inside of turkey cavity with quartered onion, oranges, lemons, apples, sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Tie legs together with string and pull tips of wings under the back of the turkey. Stuff any remaning pieces of apple, orange, lemon, onion and spices into cavity of neck and pull loose skin down and tuck under wing tips. Place turkey in large roasting pan breast side up (you can buy disposable turkey roasting pans at your supermarket. Its good to use two pans one inside the other for strength.)

3. Mix 1 stick softened butter and poultry seasoning together in small bowl. Lift the skin off the turkey breast by sliding your fingers and hands under the skin as far as you can. Stuff as much of the butter mixture as you can under the skin, in an even layer, then pull the skin back in place. Smear outside of turkey with any remaining butter mixture. Salt and pepper outside of turkey.

4. Place turkey in the oven. Roast turkey for 15 minutes at 500 degrees then turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Once turkey is in the oven do not open the oven door for the first 30 minutes. Melt remaining stick of butter in small saucepan just until melted. After first thirty minutes, start basting the turkey every 15-20 minutes with the melted butter (do this as quickly as possible so the temperature of the oven does not drop too much). The turkey will start making juices in the bottom of the pan, when you run out of melted butter you can use these juices to baste the turkey. Continue roasting the turkey 15-17 minutes per pound of turkey (ie: 12 pound turkey will cook for approximately 3 - 3 1/2 hours). If the skin on the turkey starts getting brown too fast take a piece of foil large enough to cover the whole turkey fold the foil in half and crease in the center; open the foil up and place over the turkey like a loose tent (with the ends of the tent open) between bastings.

5. At the end of the minimum roasting time take the instant read thermometer and insert it in the largest part of the thigh area (do not touch the bone). The thermometer should read 165 degrees. If the temperature is lower than 165 degrees on the thermometer, remove the thermometer and continue roasting the turkey. Check the temperature every 10 minutes with the thermometer. When the temperature reaches 165 degrees remove the turkey from the oven, tent with foil as above (if not already tented) then put the turkey on the back of the stove or on the counter, leaving it in the roasting pan. Leave the turkey to rest for 30 minutes. This allows the meat juices to redistribute throughout the turkey and for the internal temperature to rise to 170 -175 degrees. After 30 minutes move the turkey to a platter, carve and enjoy.

NOTE: It is very important when working with any poultry that you do not allow any cross contamination as this can make you very sick. While thawing place the turkey in a large enough bowl or pan to catch any juices that may escape the bag and place on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator (you can use the same pans you will be roasting the turkey in, just be sure to wash the pans in hot soapy water before you put the turkey back in them to roast). After rinsing the turkey place it on a cutting board with a ridge or well to catch any runoff while working with it. Wash your hands often with soap and water especially before touching anything, such as a spice jar or saucepan handle, that you are going to keep for later use. After you have the turkey in the oven wash everything down with bleach cleaner or mix 1/2 teaspoon of bleach in a quart of hot soapy water and wash everything the raw turkey has touched, or that the juices may have dripped on, with this mixture -- don't forget to wash out the sink also.


Answers: 1 turkey (See note at bottom of recipe)
2 quartered apples
2 quartered oranges
2 quartered lemons
1 large quartered onion
3-4 sprigs (stalks) fresh rosemary
3-4 sprigs (stalks) fresh thyme
2 sticks unsalted butter softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper
Turkey baster
Instant read meat thermometer
Cotton kitchen string
Aluminum foil
Timer (or use timer on the microwave)
Cutting board with a ridge or drip well (these are usually wooden)

1. Make sure turkey is completely thawed (4-5 days in refrigerator). Remove giblet bag and neck from inside turkey. Rinse turkey inside and out with cold running water; then pat dry with paper towels.

2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Lower oven racks as low as possible in the oven. (if you have two racks in the oven remove one) Stuff inside of turkey cavity with quartered onion, oranges, lemons, apples, sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Tie legs together with string and pull tips of wings under the back of the turkey. Stuff any remaning pieces of apple, orange, lemon, onion and spices into cavity of neck and pull loose skin down and tuck under wing tips. Place turkey in large roasting pan breast side up (you can buy disposable turkey roasting pans at your supermarket. Its good to use two pans one inside the other for strength.)

3. Mix 1 stick softened butter and poultry seasoning together in small bowl. Lift the skin off the turkey breast by sliding your fingers and hands under the skin as far as you can. Stuff as much of the butter mixture as you can under the skin, in an even layer, then pull the skin back in place. Smear outside of turkey with any remaining butter mixture. Salt and pepper outside of turkey.

4. Place turkey in the oven. Roast turkey for 15 minutes at 500 degrees then turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Once turkey is in the oven do not open the oven door for the first 30 minutes. Melt remaining stick of butter in small saucepan just until melted. After first thirty minutes, start basting the turkey every 15-20 minutes with the melted butter (do this as quickly as possible so the temperature of the oven does not drop too much). The turkey will start making juices in the bottom of the pan, when you run out of melted butter you can use these juices to baste the turkey. Continue roasting the turkey 15-17 minutes per pound of turkey (ie: 12 pound turkey will cook for approximately 3 - 3 1/2 hours). If the skin on the turkey starts getting brown too fast take a piece of foil large enough to cover the whole turkey fold the foil in half and crease in the center; open the foil up and place over the turkey like a loose tent (with the ends of the tent open) between bastings.

5. At the end of the minimum roasting time take the instant read thermometer and insert it in the largest part of the thigh area (do not touch the bone). The thermometer should read 165 degrees. If the temperature is lower than 165 degrees on the thermometer, remove the thermometer and continue roasting the turkey. Check the temperature every 10 minutes with the thermometer. When the temperature reaches 165 degrees remove the turkey from the oven, tent with foil as above (if not already tented) then put the turkey on the back of the stove or on the counter, leaving it in the roasting pan. Leave the turkey to rest for 30 minutes. This allows the meat juices to redistribute throughout the turkey and for the internal temperature to rise to 170 -175 degrees. After 30 minutes move the turkey to a platter, carve and enjoy.

NOTE: It is very important when working with any poultry that you do not allow any cross contamination as this can make you very sick. While thawing place the turkey in a large enough bowl or pan to catch any juices that may escape the bag and place on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator (you can use the same pans you will be roasting the turkey in, just be sure to wash the pans in hot soapy water before you put the turkey back in them to roast). After rinsing the turkey place it on a cutting board with a ridge or well to catch any runoff while working with it. Wash your hands often with soap and water especially before touching anything, such as a spice jar or saucepan handle, that you are going to keep for later use. After you have the turkey in the oven wash everything down with bleach cleaner or mix 1/2 teaspoon of bleach in a quart of hot soapy water and wash everything the raw turkey has touched, or that the juices may have dripped on, with this mixture -- don't forget to wash out the sink also.

My usual method of roasting a turkey:
Put a couple of carrots, a few stalks of celery and a quartered onion or two in the cavity and the same below the turkey in the pan with a little water (never let it go dry) and you will be rewarded with flavor. Salt, Pepper, and an herb (I like sage, some use rosemary, others oregano) go inside and on the bird. If you like, you can oil or butter the skin before seasoning. Roast upside down on a rack for best flavor and juiciness. If you roast in a 425 degree oven, the skin will be crispy and the bird will cook slightly faster (about 10 minutes per pound). Use a meat thermometer (they're not very expensive) and cook until both the breast and thigh measure to 165 degrees as per the USDA guidelines.

I always figure about a pound per person plus a little extra for the cook, so, if you follow that guideline you should have some left for sandwiches the next day.

Stuffing is problematic--you either undercook the stuffing (which can be dangerous) or overcook the bird--therefore, no stuffing in the bird (other than the veggies very loosely placed in the cavity as mentioned above).

You can use the carcass and the veggies from the roasting to make a delicious turkey stock for soup, too.

Enjoy!

do you accept links?

well here's a good one from food.yahoo.com: http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/martha-ste...

Hope this helps. This recipe is really easy.

Here is how I do a traditional oven roasted turkey. I wrote down all the steps and tips to help. Also, my sister buys one of those big oven bags and just follows those directions. Both of our turkeys turn out great, so hopefully one of the ideas will help you. I'm sure you'll do a great job!

This is what I do:
Buy a stuffed Butterball Turkey.You cook it from frozen the stuffing is in the turkey.The instructions are on the outside wrap.No stuffing to make or no thawing for days Get up on Christmas morning throw it in the oven and enjoy your day.
Merry Christmas

There are store bought yurkeys out there that havr a pop-up timer on them. For a novice cookthese are best and pretty fool proof. Other than that I use the 1 hour per pound method.





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