I'm making a turkey?!


Question: Hi....Im making a big dinner for my daddy cuz its his birthday. In my last question I stated that i was 13, have no mom, and dont have a general knowledge of cooking. lol so u see, i have another question. This is my first time cooking a turkey, and I've looked it up to see how to cook it, some answers differed but I got a general idea. but uh, yeah, its a turkey breast jsyk. Uhm, when you are supposed to baste it, what do u baste it with? someone said butter before....and where do u baste it? and when u baste it, do u fill the WHOLE baster up and baste every 30 minutes after the first hour? when they say baste it, do they mean just one drop or the whole thing each time?


Answers: Hi....Im making a big dinner for my daddy cuz its his birthday. In my last question I stated that i was 13, have no mom, and dont have a general knowledge of cooking. lol so u see, i have another question. This is my first time cooking a turkey, and I've looked it up to see how to cook it, some answers differed but I got a general idea. but uh, yeah, its a turkey breast jsyk. Uhm, when you are supposed to baste it, what do u baste it with? someone said butter before....and where do u baste it? and when u baste it, do u fill the WHOLE baster up and baste every 30 minutes after the first hour? when they say baste it, do they mean just one drop or the whole thing each time?

Good for you, sweetie, I'm sure your dad will love his turkey dinner. It was a good idea to get a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey; this will make it easier to carve, etc. First, I would check the wrapper and see if it says "self basting". If it does, you don't need to worry so much about basting because the turkey has already been treated with broth to help keep it moist. If not (or even if so, for maximum flavor) you can place some seasoned butter under the skin or rub the skin with some olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings. You can buy poultry seasoning at the grocery store, but if you don't have it, some salt and pepper, plus oregano and rosemary if you'd like, would be quite nice. Cook according to direction and after about 30 minutes, check. Some of the turkey's natural juices should have been rendered in the bottom of the pan. Get as much as you can in the baster and slowly let them pour out all over the turkey breast. Repeat several times throughout the cooking process (every 20-30 minutes). If you aren't getting alot of juice on the bottom of the pan, you can use some chicken, turkey or vegetable broth (from a can or made from bullion cubes) to baste. Be really careful when you are taking the turkey in and out of the oven to baste as even the most experienced chefs have a tendency to burn themselves around a hot oven. Good luck, sweetie. You rock!

mmmm turkey

when you are cooking a turkey baste every 30 to45 minutes baste with oil to get crispier finish baste with as much as you like when it drops into the dish just pick it up and pour over again, its also a good idea to cover turkey with strips of bacon and take them off for last 45 minutes

I always thought that baste meant to take a spoon and scoop some of the juices that are at the bottom of the pan and pour it on top of the turkey every so often.

Here is a good website.
http://www.catalogs.com/info/kitchen/how...

Good luck and hope your turkey comes out yummy.

I start off by rubbing the outside of the turkey breast with butter before I put it in the oven. As it roasts, the butter and juices from the turkey will pool at the bottom of the pan. To baste it while it's roasting, I use a baster to pick up some of those juices from the bottom of the pan and squirt them over the turkey breast. Do it several times until you've gotten drippings over the whole thing. Do that every half hour. It will help the skin brown and get nice and crispy and help the breast stay moist.

If you don't have a baster (a long tube with a rubber squeezer on the end), use a large spoon or ladle to pick up the juices and distribute them over the breast.

Good luck!

Oven Roasted Turkey
Serves 25

2 (16- to 20-pound) turkeys, thawed or fresh
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
1 pound onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
8 ounces carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
8 ounces celery, chopped (about 1 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
2. Remove giblets from turkey and reserve for gravy or stock.
3. Rinse cavity and dry well with paper towels. Season cavity heavily with salt and pepper.
4. Rub turkey well with olive oil, and season heavily with salt and pepper.
5. Lock wings in place by twisting tips behind and under back of turkey.
6. Place turkey on its side in roasting pan. Roast 1 hour, basting every 30 minutes with drippings.
7. Remove pan from oven, turn turkey over on its other side, and roast another hour, basting every 30 minutes.
9. Remove pan from oven, and turn turkey breast-side up. Add onions, carrots and celery to bottom of pan. Return to oven and roast another 2 to 3 hours, basting occasionally, or until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180 degrees. If turkey is browning too quickly, cover with foil until fully cooked.
10. Remove turkey from roasting pan. Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Reserve pan drippings and vegetables for gravy.
11. Let turkey rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
Helpful Hints

Turning a turkey is no easy feat. For best results, use oven mitts covered with plastic freezer bags to keep them clean, or use silicone waterproof oven mitts, which are safe up to 500 degrees.

If oven space is tight, carve the turkeys prior to cooking. Roast the legs and thighs on separate roasting pans from the breast and wings, as the white meat will cook more quickly than the dark.

If budget allows, serve a fresh turkey. You will be pleasantly surprised at the rich, meaty texture of fresh over frozen.

Allow 1 1/2 pounds of turkey per person for a nice portion. For turkeys weighing less than 14 pounds, calculate 2 pounds per person to account for the smaller meat-to-bone ratio. Order more if you want to enjoy leftovers.

To inhibit bacteria growth, defrost the turkey in its unopened wrapper and set in a roasting pan to catch any liquids. Allow 5 hours of refrigerated defrosting time for every pound. Make your calculations carefully—a 20-pound turkey will take about 100 hours, or just over 4 days, to defrost. For a quicker but more labor-intensive method, immerse the still-wrapped turkey breast-side down in cold water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Allow 30 minutes per pound to thaw.

You can use a chicken broth and margarine on the turkey breast. fill the baster up to an amount you are comfortable with and baste the turkeyin the pan and be careful not to burn yourself.





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