Turkey Tips

I am fortunate enough to have many intelligent, extremely skilled men in my life. In years past, as well as this one, one or the other of those men have stepped up and volunteered to cook the main dish for Thanksgiving. That's a man's job anyway, right? The last turkey I cooked was probably 4 years ago even though we always have Thanksgiving at our house. Don't get me wrong; I did have to learn how to cook a giant bird once. I had great references, however, to help me along the almost panic attack inducing way. Butterball has a very comprehensive website, complete with time tables, videos, and tips on everything from buying a turkey to folding your napkins. They really lay it out better than I ever could. I recommended this site to one of my friends from China last year. She had never had turkey before but really wanted to try and make one. Apparently, her turkey came out beautifully and now ranks up there with Kentucky Fried Chicken as her favorite American food.

I have a few quick and dirty guidelines that will hopefully help you along the way.

• For whole turkeys, figure on having about ¾ lb per person, 1 ½ lbs per person if you want leftovers.
• For boneless turkeys and hams, count on having ½ lb per person, 1 lb per person if you want leftovers.
• A good estimate for thawing is 1 day for every 4 lbs when thawed in the fridge, which is really the safest way.
• You can store a completely thawed bird for up to 4 days, refrigerated.
• Cook at 325°F. Cooking times vary according to weight. Cook until the thigh registers 180°F and the stuffing, if using, registers 165°F in the center.

• Get you a digital temperature probe. I have one with an alarm that is great and allows me to stress much less about the food being done or not. You really don't want to worry about giving people food poisoning on top of everything else.
  
• Rub all over with oil before seasoning and baking to help prevent moisture loss. Plus, you don't really need to baste it once you seal the skin with oil.
• The breast cooks faster than the thighs so tent it with foil before baking to help prevent it from becoming dry.
• My brother-in-law is Kitchen Manager at a steak house so I never really have to worry about carving the bird myself. It is really easy to do though. You just make an incision horizontally through the breast near the bottom and then slice vertically. For full step-by-step instructions go to Butterball's site and/or watch the video below.