How to Cook a Turkey

Nine easy steps to a successful Thanksgiving.

by Jennifer Jeanne Patterson

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner seems overwhelming, but it needn’t be. Here are nine easy steps to get your turkey to the table without breaking a sweat.

Nine easy steps to turkey perfection:

• Plan on one and a half pounds of meat per person. Frozen turkeys thaw at a rate of four to five pounds per twenty four hours. So if your turkey is still in the freezer, put it in the refrigerator now.

• Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey’s cavity. You may need to reach in from both sides. Then, rinse your turkey, inside and out, with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels.

• For tender meat, dry brine your fresh or frozen turkey by rubbing in one tablespoon of kosher salt for every five pounds of turkey. Stick your salted turkey in an oven bag, seal and let it salt in your refrigerator for two or three days. Once a day, give it a brisk massage to redistribute the salt.

• While your turkey brines, make a compound butter using one cup butter and a fourth cup fresh herbs, or two tablespoons dried herbs. Chop some winter vegetables, like onions, turnips, carrots, and celery to stuff in your turkey for a richer flavor.

• Use your finger to loosen the skin, starting at the breastbone. Then, loosen the remaining skin with a bowl scraper.

• Rub your compound butter on the skin as well as beneath it. Then, stuff your turkey with your chopped vegetables.

• Truss the turkey with cotton string or unwaxed dental floss. Tie its legs together, and fold its wings under the neck flap. Use a toothpick to secure.

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Set your turkey breast side down in a roasting pan, and pour some chicken stock in the base of it to steam your turkey while it cooks. After an hour, turn your turkey and baste.

• Allow twenty minutes of cooking time per pound. Cook to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. To measure, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing, and the thickest part of the breast.

Now uncork a bottle of wine, sit back and enjoy great food with your family and friends.

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner seems overwhelming, but it needn’t be. Here are nine easy steps to get your turkey to the table without breaking a sweat.

Nine easy steps to turkey perfection:

• Plan on one and a half pounds of meat per person. Frozen turkeys thaw at a rate of four to five pounds per twenty four hours. So if your turkey is still in the freezer, put it in the refrigerator now.

• Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey’s cavity. You may need to reach in from both sides. Then, rinse your turkey, inside and out, with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels.

• For tender meat, dry brine your fresh or frozen turkey by rubbing in one tablespoon of kosher salt for every five pounds of turkey. Stick your salted turkey in an oven bag, seal and let it salt in your refrigerator for two or three days. Once a day, give it a brisk massage to redistribute the salt.

• While your turkey brines, make a compound butter using one cup butter and a fourth cup fresh herbs, or two tablespoons dried herbs. Chop some winter vegetables, like onions, turnips, carrots, and celery to stuff in your turkey for a richer flavor.

• Use your finger to loosen the skin, starting at the breastbone. Then, loosen the remaining skin with a bowl scraper.

• Rub your compound butter on the skin as well as beneath it. Then, stuff your turkey with your chopped vegetables.

• Truss the turkey with cotton string or unwaxed dental floss. Tie its legs together, and fold its wings under the neck flap. Use a toothpick to secure.

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Set your turkey breast side down in a roasting pan, and pour some chicken stock in the base of it to steam your turkey while it cooks. After an hour, turn your turkey and baste.

• Allow twenty minutes of cooking time per pound. Cook to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. To measure, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing, and the thickest part of the breast.

Now uncork a bottle of wine, sit back and enjoy great food with your family and friends.