An Easy Recipe

Turkey is one of the better Thanksgiving meals for a feast because it contains a lot of meat to feed many guests and there is very little fat, calories or cholesterol to deal with. You will only find fat in the meat that is dark and in the skin. Your guests will appreciate the low fat qualities of the turkey and it will allow them to eat a few other things they shouldn't. The body processes bird much more easily than it would beef or pork so those that have digestive problems will also appreciate this meat. Turkey provides the body with vitamins and other nutrients necessary to keep it strong and healthy

Roast turkey is very easy to make it is just a bit time consuming. An unstuffed bird weighing twelve pounds will have to be in the oven for around two and a half to 3hours and a larger turkey up to twenty pounds will cook for up to five hours. Getting the bird ready to cook does not take much time at all.

Frozen turkey is available in most department store all year round. Some markets are offering breasts and legs fresh most of the year. Frozen birds need to be thawed for several days in the refrigerator before they can be cooked. A twelve to fifteen pound turkey will take two to four days to thaw while a twenty to twenty-five pound bird may take up to five days. Place the turkey in a pan to catch the drips as it thaws and place it on the bottom rack of the refrigerator.

Leave the packaging on the bird until you are ready to cook it. Once the packaging is removed you will see plastic or metal objects that hold the legs together. Take those off before you put your bird in the oven. Look in the cavity where you will find the neck and giblets. You will find them inside a bag most of the time so just take them out and put them aside. They can be boiled down to create a turkey stock for gravy or some people cook them and give them to their dogs and cats.

In the next step the bird needs to be washed down so run water outside and inside of the bird until you are sure all blood is gone. Don't use soap to wash a turkey - only water. Pat the bird dry with a few paper towels and then put it in a large roasting pan with the breast facing up.

Many people like to stuff the cavity of the bird with bread stuffing and this must be done right before it goes into the oven. If you do it any sooner you run the risk of food poisoning. If you do not stuff it, the cavity should be filled with peeled and quartered onions (1 for a small bird and 2 for large) and several celery sticks in order to give the turkey some flavor. You can also add garlic if you choose then place two to three tablespoons of butter inside as well. Melt a stick of butter and brush it over the top of the bird than flavor with salt, pepper, and some sage. You can also add some rosemary and thyme if you like. Place 1 to 2 cups of water in the bottom of the pan depending on the size of the bird and place the bird in a preheated 450 degree F oven for a half an hour uncovered. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for the remaining time.

You must use a meat thermometer to get the internal temperature of a bird. There are those that give an instant reading and only have to be inserted in the bird to check it then removed when it goes in the oven, and those that go in the bird while it cooks. Insert the thermometer in the meaty part of the thigh to get a good reading. A twelve lb turkey will need to be in the oven about'0minutes, 12 to-- lbs bird three and three fourths hours, a 15 to' pound bird around four and one fourth hours, a' or 20 lb bird about four and one half hours and a 21 to 25 pound bird about five hours. Internal temperature should be'0 degrees F when it is done. If the turkey seems to be getting a little too brown too fast cover it with foil. Once the internal temperature reaches 150 to 160 degrees F start basting the top of the turkey with pan juices every 20 minutes until done.

Place the finished product on a platter and do not carve until 10 minutes have elapsed. You can bring it to your feast table to impress your guests and carve it there. Make sure to try and have some leftovers because turkey sandwiches the next day are delicious.

With Thanksgiving approaching, it is time to think about the best roast turkey recipe and I prefer a traditional recipe, with traditional presentation, which includes a classic turkey gravy made the old fashioned way.

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