How to Cook a Turkey

Everyone should know how to cook a turkey.  The teaching of this basic skill, however, is often neglected in our upbringing! This step-by-step tutorial on how to cook a turkey is designed for cooks of all levels.  Even if you’ve never attempted any major cooking projects before, this will allow you to produce a beautiful bird for your family’s holiday meal.

We have also included a video tutorial for the visual learners: How to Cook a Turkey. The video even includes some helpful hints about cooking times, temperatures, stuffing, and more. (Subscribers will have to click through to HomemakerBarbi.com to view the video.)

How to Cook a Turkey: Step by Step

1.  Start with a defrosted turkey.  Thaw a frozen turkey in your refrigerator for 3-4 days before cooking.

2.  Take the plastic off the turkey. 

3.  Take the neck out of the body cavity.  You can save the turkey neck if you like to eat it or throw it away.

4.  Remove the giblets from the neck cavity.  If you want to make gravy out of the giblets, set them aside for later.  Otherwise, throw them away.

5.  Rinse the outside of the turkey with water.  The goal is to remove any plastic pieces left on the turkey from the packaging or debris that may have picked up at the packaging plant.

6.  Rinse the inside of the turkey with water.  Make sure the inside of the turkey is clean by running water from the faucet into the empty body cavity, then dumping the water back out.

7.  Pull the wings over the breasts. As if the turkey is doing a yoga pose, bend the wings up and over the breasts to keep them from burning during cooking.

8.  Put the turkey in a roasting pan. If cooking the turkey neck, add it to the pan as well.  Follow the directions below, depending on if your roasting pan has a lid or not.

When Using a Roasting Pan with a Lid

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Bake the turkey covered for approximately 1 hour per 5 pounds of turkey.
• When the time is up, check the temperature with the meat thermometer.  The goal is to reach 170°.
• When 170° is reached, raise the oven temperature to 450°.
• Put back into the oven uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Remove the turkey from the oven when it is golden brown.  Check the temperature again to make sure it has reached 185°. 
• Let sit, covered, for 15 minutes to seal in the juices.

When Using a Disposable Pan (or Pan with No Lid)

• Preheat the oven to 325°.
• Mold aluminum foil over the front half of the turkey, covering the breasts.
• Make a handle on the foil over the turkey’s neck area.
• Take the foil shield off the turkey.
• Cook the turkey uncovered for approximately 1 hour per 5 pounds of turkey.
• When the time is up, check the temperature with the meat thermometer.  The goal is to reach 185°.
• If the turkey is as golden brown as you want, then put the breast shield on over the breasts to keep them from getting too dark.
• Continue cooking the turkey with the foil shield in place until it is the desired color.  Make sure the internal temperature is 185°.
• Remove from oven.
• Cover loosely with tin foil for 15 minutes to seal in the juices.

The final step is to serve a wonderful, golden brown turkey on your holiday table.  Wasn’t that easy? Great work!

Check out Tammy’s Recipes for more Kitchen Tip Tuesday tips! Turkey photo courtesy of stock.xchng. Video courtesy of HB Media.

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Get ready for Thanksgiving the frugal way with these great tips.  Let’s plan ahead to work smarter, not harder,and to stay organized.  That way we can focus on what’s really important, the true meaning of Thanksgiving.   Keep turkey day stress-free, budget-friendly, and family-focused.

Tips For A Stress-Free Thanksgiving

Hitched Magazine shares these great stress-reducing Thanksgiving tips with us:

“* Set your table the night before.

* Purchase your turkey, ham or both in as far advance as you can without sacrificing quality. If you need to buy frozen to save yourself the hassle of holiday crowds then by all means do so.

* Decide right now what you are going to prepare and what time your gathering will be. Be sure to consult your family members as to what works for them and try to pick the best time for everyone.

* Make a list of who is bringing which dishes and send it to everyone if you have a big family. They’ll be grateful for the reminder.”

-Read the rest of their frugal and time-saving Thanksgiving tips here.

Show Your Thanks

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving in the blogworld than with a Thanksgiving meme?  You can participate by telling the world what you’re thankful for this Thanksgiving.  My friend Patty posted her gratitude list already at Little Bytes News. As always, you can join me on Twitter every morning for a 3 Minute Thank You to tell the world what you’re grateful for.

Keeping the Thanks in Thanksgiving

“Many times through the years I’ve gotten caught up in the preparation and busy-ness of this season and missed the opportunity to reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving until we sit down for grace.

“Now that I have a little one underfoot, I’ve been thinking about the memories I want her to have of this holiday and the traditions I’d like to start for our family. I’ve done some advanced planning, and come up with some fun and easy activities to help remind us of the true spirit of Thanksgiving.”

- Keeping the Thanks in Thanksgiving from Problem Solvin’ Mom

Momstoppable brings us a great recipe for the sweet potato leftovers we’re bound to have after Thanksgiving.

The link treasury: check out Thanksgiving on a Budget where people from across the blogworld have left their best Thanksgiving tips!

Photos courtesy of stock.xchng.

Get Started Planning Thanksgiving by Choosing a Location

With 16 short days left before Thanksgiving (in the USA), its time to start preparation for those of us who have been procrastinating!  A little Thanksgiving holiday planning now will go a long way towards lowering your stress level on Turkey Day. 

Thanksgiving preparation – where to start?  Every large project can be traced back to one single starting place, so today let’s choose the location for your Thanksgiving feast.  Email or call your family members to decide the location (using the guidelines below if necessary).

Those with large families in the same town/area will be choosing a location:

• At whose house will dinner be held?
• If no family members have a house large enough for the gathering, will you rent a hall or room at a restaurant?
• If renting a location, who will pay?

Those with families living in distant locations will be deciding:

• What town will Thanksgiving be in?
• Which family members will be traveling, and which will be hosting in their town?
• Is the hosting family’s house large enough to host Thanksgiving dinner?
• If renting a hall or room at a restaurant, who will pay?
• Does the hosting family have room for out of town guests to stay with them, or should they book hotels now?

Those with small families (parents and kids only without extended family):

• Will you have Thanksgiving at home or will you go to a restaurant to eliminate the cooking?

If you are military deployed or military stationed away from family:

• Are there friends or other families you will spend your holiday with?
• Can your family back home include you via technology (call in, webcam, etc.)?
• Will you travel home to be with your family for Thanksgiving?

If Thanksgiving is being hosted at your house:

• Is your dining table big enough to fit all the guests? 
• Do you need to bring in additional chairs or tables?
• Will you have a separate kids’ table?  Will it be in the same area as the adults’ table or in a separate area due to space constraints?

Every family has different circumstances, which means the decision you make will fit your unique situation.  Go with what feels right, keeping in mind that Thanksgiving is a holiday during which we give thanks for the people that mean the most to us.  Don’t feel guilty if you’d rather go to a restaurant and skip the cooking so you can spend quality time talking with your loved ones!  Make a choice that is right for your family and kick-start your Thanksgiving planning today.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng.