Help! Need Super Easy Turkey!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-15-2006
Help! Need Super Easy Turkey!
25
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 10:02pm
I'm going to be making turkey for the first time this year, and I need a fool-proof and fast way to do it. I'm going to probably be using a turkey roaster so that it can sit on the counter while other things are cooking in the oven. Anyway, a friend of mine suggested that I bag the turkey and then I won't have to baste it and it'll cook faster. I'm not doing stuffing and I don't need the turkey to be great....just not terrible. Can anyone break down for someone who has NO IDEA how to make a turkey or perhaps refer me to a good web site?
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 10-24-2006 - 8:25pm

Acacia, you are AT the good website!

hunk 'o, hunk 'o burnin' heartburn!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-16-2004
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 8:55am

I have heard that marinating a turkey in brine

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2002
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:01am
I always make sure the turkey is properly thawed and washed well inside and out...like Roni, I don't put the stuffing inside, my mother taught me not to, and besides, we need way more than that! I do stuff some onion, celery, sage, etc. in there tho. I massage it well with olive or canola oil and add a bit of liquid (broth) and cover it with foil. I put mine in a very hot oven (425*) and don't even peek at it for at least an hour or two. I uncover and baste every 30 minutes and then uncover and brown for the final 30 minutes or so. It's a lot of work basting, but I always have a nice, juicy turkey..
Good luck...it's hard to ruin Thanksgiving...its really all in our hearts anyway...

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 7:22pm

Alton Brown did a show about brining the turkey.

hunk 'o, hunk 'o burnin' heartburn!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 7:38pm

I've never basted, and what I read on the Butterball website the other night says "don't bother."

hunk 'o, hunk 'o burnin' heartburn!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-16-2001
Fri, 10-27-2006 - 9:12am

The last turkey that I made had been brined. It came out nice and moist, but I don't think it took less time to cook (but my memory might be very faulty since the turkey I

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2002
Fri, 10-27-2006 - 9:17am
LOL...to me the basting is all part of the process.
My turkeys are always better using the high temp. method, do the same with chicken.
I don't like basters either, I've never burned myself, but they are messy...I use a tiny ladle.
Anyhoo, I wonder how you guys make your stuffing? Traditional or fancy?

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 10-27-2006 - 9:11pm

what a question!!!


I nearly got lynched, drawn and quartered, and run out of TOWN for making oyster stuffing.

hunk 'o, hunk 'o burnin' heartburn!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2002
Sat, 10-28-2006 - 8:54am

Hmmm....fruit, rice and nuts...I never made a duck or a goose...Altho, when I was young...very young...I had a pretty darn serious boyfriend...a country boy, hunted, fished and could probably live off the land...and HE cooked all that stuff. Did ya ever see a trio of woodcock come out of the oven?

Anyhoo, that sounds like a good stuffing for pork too!
My mother (step) was a great cook and she put out a stuffing made with Wonder bread..College Inn Chicken Broth...celery, onions, etc. That's sort of how I do it, but I can't master the Wonder Bread thing..plus, she was cooking for a crowd!

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sat, 10-28-2006 - 11:46am

I don't really recommend goose, it's not real good eats.

hunk 'o, hunk 'o burnin' heartburn!

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