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How u cook your turkey?

17 years ago

Just wondering if you cook your turkey with or without some water in the pan.

On the cooking shows, you always see them cook their turkey without any water in the pan. Everyone I know puts a little water in the pan for broth to make gravy.

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Comments (6)

User
17 years ago
No water for me. Water in the pan "steams" the turkey. I want it roasted and a
. I roast mine uncovered at 500Â°F.

You don't need extra liquid in the bottom of your pan to make rich flavoured gravy. It is the browned bits in the pan that make the best gravy. Just add some flour to the pan drippings and cook a roux and then add your turkey or chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper. I also like to simmer a little fresh chopped sage in my gravy.

There are a number of threads left over from Thanksgiving discussing the ways everyone here cooks their turkeys.

Here are a couple of them.

Best Turkey Techniques

Turkey Instruction.....
User
17 years ago
I've tried a number of ways (some of them elaborate and labor intensive)to get a juicy, tender, well-seasoned and browned turkey. This year I tried Ann T's method, and I am a convert.

I made my gravy for Thanksgiving ahead with the Make Ahead Turkey Gravy recipe I found here - I think it's woodie's..
But my TG turkey cooked using the high heat method yielded plenty of drippings for gravy making. Since I had made so much gravy ahead, I gave all the drippings to my sister to use for gravy for the leftover turkey I sent with her. She reported that it came out great.
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I love it for stock alone too! I use it for a base for soup like Joan down the road. In our house, turkey is not just for the holidays. I got this recipe years and years ago from the Washington Post food section and have been making it this way ever since. It is very flavorful and rich. I'm just going to type it up real quick with the basics. 1 turkey carcass Water to cover everything Carrot peeled and chopped Celery chopped 1 leek (white part only) thickly sliced Onion chopped Fresh garlic, peeled and smashed Bay leaf Small bouquet of fresh herbs (sprigs of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) White peppercorns chicken Bouillon or 1 TBS. chicken base (AND THIS IS ONLY OPTIONAL and I don't normally add it as my turkey has already been salted prior to cooking and I like to limit the salt) Trim all your meat from the turkey. If stuffed removed as much as possible. Cut the carcass down the breast bown and back to form 2 large pieces. Put the turkey carcass including the leg, thigh and wing bones in a large pot. Cover with water and add the other ingredients. Bring just to where the water is boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer away for hours. Strain and discard the bones and vegetables. Cool in the frig. and the next day I put into quart size or pint size containers and freeze for later use.
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Comments (3)
Thanks for the link Kathleenca. I read the posts but they address more of the cooking and brining techniques. Two posts mention taking the turkey out 45min to 1 hour ahead or making it the day before. I'm wondering if anyone can spell out for me how to reheat a carved turkey, if I wanted to have it ready say 3-4 hours ahead (so I don't have to carve (read butcher) it while any guests are here. 2 hours out is the max for food safety and I can't keep it in the oven because my sides will be cooking. If I'm doing it that early should I just go ahead and make it the day before or reheat it 3-4hrs later?
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LOL I'm off the hook!!! Actually, we alternate Thanksgiving with my family and Bob's. This year it's at my sister's and I get to make the desserts. I love my sister dearly, but cooking is not her expertise. She's pregnant and I offered to cook (there are 29 of us!!!) but she's even more stubborn than I am and wants to do it. So she asked me to do the desserts. Then she asked my other sister to make the stuffing because it's the best. Then asked my brother's wife to do the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. THEN, she called and asked if I'd do a ham. So, no, I'm not cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year...allegedly! ;) But as far as my MIL....I still have to deal with her on Christmas Eve!!! LOL
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Comments (7)
You've started the "how to cook anything turkey related" debate months before Thanksgiving! Ha, no worries. I'll start the ping pong match. Cooking time varies on size and sizes vary so for me, cooking any meat in an oven or BBQ requires a thermometer. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, start checking the internal temp every 5 minutes at about one hour, and figure anywhere from 1-1.5 hours of total cooking time. When the internal temp reaches 155-160 degrees, it's ready to take out and be tented with aluminum foil for 10 minutes of rest before being carved. If you want to be real spiffy, before slicing, use a boning knife to separate the meat from the ribs, then slice the now boneless hunk of meat vertically. Very nice presentation and the pieces are juicier than if sliced thinly the traditional way. If the breast isn't already brined, you have time to give it a bath in a bowl of salted water before cooking. Doing this will insure moist meat that won't dry out. Google "brine turkey breast" and you'll find out how. Many suggest a variety of ingredients but the important ones can be used alone, water and salt. Rinse it well and dry before cooking. Very easy and very significant results. Even if you only have a few hours to brine the breast, it will make a difference. Remember to put the bowl into the fridge (or put in ice cubes) to keep the meat cold. For an easy path to moist turkey breasts, Trader Joes sells kosher turkey breasts. Apparently, brining is a step used in making it kosher so these need no further treatment and always come out juicy (when not overcooked).
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lindac
17 years ago
I still like my covered old Savory roaster pan....it browns very wwell, yields a moist turkey and there's always lots of stuff for gravy even without any water added to the pan...
I Sometimes do the high heat...but only when I am in a hurry.
Linda C
khandi
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for all your input!
Terri_PacNW
17 years ago
I presalted, convection roasted my turkey this past Thanksgiving, and added about 1 c of homemade chicken stock to the pan bottom before placing the turkey in the oven.
It as proclaimed the best turkey ever...LOL

(We only have it once a year, so it's not hard to have it done the "best"!) LOL

I have done High Heat and like that just as well. I think the turkey was done in the same amount of time it would have been, had I used High Heat vs Convection this time around.
readinglady
17 years ago
I brined my Thanksgiving turkey in apple cider, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, cloves and thyme. Cooked on the Traeger with a light smoke. Twenty-three pounds and not a scrap was left.

Carol

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