By Linda Masters
Special to GUIDON

With Thanksgiving just days away, it’s time to talk turkey. How do you cook a picture-perfect bird that tastes as good as it looks?

For a successful show-stopping holiday entrée, let’s go step-by-step:

Choosing the bird

Frozen turkeys are most readily available at the best prices. I like a smaller bird — usually a 10-13 pounder — which will serve approximately eight to 10 people. Often, I use two smaller birds rather than a large one, but large birds are fine, too. A fresh turkey is a treasure, if you can find one.

Thawing

Thawing a frozen turkey properly is important for safety reasons. The turkey needs to be thawed in an environment of well below 40 degrees.

One method is to slowly thaw it in the refrigerator. A small bird will take 2-3 days, while a 20-pounder will take 5-7 days.

If you don’t have the time or refrigerator space, you can thaw the bird in a large cooler filled with very cold water. This will speed up the thawing process considerably. It’s crucial to keep the water around the bird very cold — I even add ice to make sure the temp stays well below 40 degrees. Do not thaw a bird at room temperature as harmful bacteria will develop on the outside before the inside thaws.

#Brining

Most commercial frozen turkeys have been injected with a solution similar to brining, so the brining process is pointless. Brine only if you are using a fresh bird or a frozen one without solution added.

Prepping

My first turkey ended up with overcooked wings and legs. This is when I learned a turkey needs to be trussed to hold the parts which cook faster closer to the bird to prevent burning. Fold the wing tips under the wings and the wings up and under the shoulders. Then, run kitchen twine across the wings and under the bird and tie. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Most often, commercial birds have wire holding the legs together, leave it in place for roasting.

Remove the giblet package and the neck from the cavities in the bird before roasting. You can cook these parts, chop and add to gravy if you wish, but always cook them separately from the turkey. Rinse the turkey cavities with cold water to remove any accumulated blood from thawing. Pat the turkey dry, inside and out, with a paper towel.

I like to rub the exterior of the bird with spices and herbs (sage, poultry seasoning, kosher salt and pepper) added to extra-virgin olive oil. This gives a crispy, brown bird without the added salt in butter or margarine. I also season the main cavity of the bird with kosher salt and pepper, and stuff it with apples, citrus fruits or onions, celery and carrots to infuse these flavors while the bird cooks.

A trick for a moist bird is to place butter under the skin. Using your fingers, very carefully separate the skin from the meat on top of the turkey, making small pockets. Fill the pockets with a mixture of butter and herbs: I like to mix 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 teaspoon sage, 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning and 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Table Blend. The butter in these pockets will melt down during roasting and keep the white meat on the breasts incredibly moist.

Roasting

Over the years, I’ve learned the key to a picture-perfect bird is the roasting pan. As the bird roasts, heat flows up the sides of the pan and across whatever part of the turkey is directly above the sides. If you use most roasting or disposable pans, the part which gets most of the heat convection is the turkey breast. If you use a shallow-sided pan, the heat will flow up the pan’s sides over the dark meat of the thighs and legs, which take longer to cook than the white meat. This roasting pan secret will give you a great-looking, browned bird with both the white and dark meat cooked perfectly.

#Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. There are a lot of roasting methods that suggest using a high heat for 30 minutes to seal in juices, then reducing the heat to 250 degrees for further roasting. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends never roasting a turkey at less than 325 degrees, and this temperature always has worked for me.

I halve raw potatoes, carrots and onions and put them in the roasting pan to hold the bird up off the bottom while it roasts. I also add about 3/4 cup of water or chicken stock to the bottom of the pan to keep the first juices emitted from the turkey from burning when they hit the pan.

Lightly tent the top of the turkey with aluminum foil to keep it from browning too fast.

 

Roast in a 325-degree oven for approximately 12 minutes per pound for an unstuffed bird. To be safe, cook stuffing or dressing separately. A tip I use is to roast the dressing in a separate pan, then pile some of it into the large cavity of the roasted turkey for presentation.

Increase oven heat to 350 degrees, remove the foil tent from the turkey and allow the turkey to brown and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in a thigh reads 165 degrees. Do not reply on the pop-up device embedded in most turkeys. By the time it pops up, your turkey will be overcooked.

Serving

When the bird is done, remove it from the oven, tent it lightly with foil and allow it to “rest” for at least 20 minutes prior to carving to allow the juices to redistribute, making for moist turkey slices.

Place it on a platter, garnish, carry it to the table and wait for the oohs and aahs.