Tips For The Perfect
Turkey
Whether it is Thanksgiving
or Christmas, a small family gathering or a huge party, cooking the perfect
turkey for the holidays is every chef's goal.
Here are a few foolproof tips to cooking the perfect turkey!
Get The Right Equipment
The first step to the
perfect bird is having all the right tools.
You will need:
- Heavy duty roasting pan
- Rack to keep turkey from resting on the bottom of the pan
- Foil to cover turkey
- Basting brush to brush turkey with melted butter
- Baster for basting with pan juices
- Fine sieve for straining the pan juices for gravy
- Wire whisk for making lump-free gravy
- Good quality carving set
- Meat thermometer
Follow These Simple
Instructions:
A small, fresh turkey that
weighs less than 14 pounds will usually be a more delicious bird. Large turkeys take longer to cook, which
makes the outer meat overcook more easily.
If you're feeding a large group, buy two small turkeys rather than one
big one.
Brine the turkey. Salt draws out the blood, which cleanses the
bird and breaks down the meat. This step
is especially important if you purchase a frozen turkey, as it greatly improves
the flavor.
Cook the stuffing in the
oven, not inside the turkey. A stuffed
bird takes longer to cook and dries out the meat.
When carving the turkey,
remove the wings and legs first. Remove
each breast half from the bone in one piece, and thinly slice each half
crosswise. Cut each leg at the joint, and
then carve the meat from the thigh and drumstick.
These simple tips can help
you make the star of your holiday meal-the turkey-taste fantastic, and will
have your friends and family talking about it for the rest of the year!