Turkey Recipe

Thanksgiving is tomorrow so I thought I'd post a turkey recipe I found a few years ago and really like. It's one of only two methods I use. There's the oven bag method by Reynolds brand. That takes only about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to cook. Then there's the other method I use and it's an overnight method. So depending on what kinda mood I'm in the night before the big feast (Thanksgiving or Christmas)--I'll pick this method or wait till the next day and pick the "quick" cook method.

Perfect-Every-Time Turkey
(from 15 Minute Family Traditions and Memories by Emilie Barnes)

Trust me with this one. I’ve been making at least four turkeys a year for 40 years, and this recipe from Adelle Davis is the best I have ever found. The white meat will melt in your mouth.

I always used a meat thermometer, so even with this method I still do just so I know for sure when the turkey’s done.

This is a slow-roasting method, but once in the oven, you can forget the turkey until it comes out.

Choose the desired size of turkey, wash it well, and remove the neck and giblets. Dry turkey with paper towels, salt the cavity, and stuff with brown rice dressing or the dressing of your choice. Rub the outside well with pure olive oil.

Put the turkey breast down (this bastes itself, making the white meat very moist) on a poultry rack in a roasting pan uncovered. Put into a 350 preheated oven for one hour to destroy bacteria on the surface. Then adjust the heat to 200 for any size turkey. This is important. The turkey can go in the oven the day before eating it. (Example: I have a 20-pound turkey. At 5:00 P.M. Thanksgiving Eve I put the prepared turkey in the oven at 350 for one hour. I turn the temperature down to 200 and leave the turkey uncovered until it’s done the next day about 10:00 or 11:00 A.M.)

Although the cooking times seems startling at first, the meat is amazingly delicious, juicy, and tender. A turkey cooked the regular time at regular temperatures no longer tastes good. And a turkey cooked at this low temperature slices beautifully and shrinks very little. The turkey cannot burn, so it needs no watching, and vitamins and proteins cannot be banned at such low heat.

A good rule for timing your turkey is to allow about three times longer than moderate-temperature roasting. For example, a 20-pound turkey normally takes 15 minutes per pound to cook and would take five hours. The slow-cook method takes three times five hours so this equals 15 hours of cooking by the slow method. A smaller turkey cooks for 20 minutes per pound, so an 11-pound turkey takes three hours and 40 minutes. Multiplied by three, that equals II hours.

Since the lower temperature requires longer cooking, its use must depend on when you wish to serve your turkey. However, once it’s done, it will not overcook. You can leave the turkey in an additional three to six hours and it will be perfect. Thus, your roasting can be adjusted entirely to your convenience. Allow yourself plenty of time, and let your meat thermometer be your guide to when the turkey is done. Your only problem could be if you didn’t put the turkey in the oven soon enough.

The meat browns perfectly, and you’ll get wonderful drippings for gravy.