This
method will have you wondering why on earth you spent
all day roasting a turkey, but there's nothing wrong with
that, I look forward to spending time cooking mine -
however, this has been popularized recently and it does
work well!
Prepare
the oven:
Check to see that your oven
heats evenly. Sometime prior to cooking the turkey, when
you're baking something else, put
an oven thermometer in the oven so you can check for
accuracy of your "bake" setting. You probably
already know if you have a "hot spot" in your
oven, so this step is just to make sure a setting of
475° really
means 475°.
To
bake the turkey, the oven must be completely clean. Otherwise,
at the high temperature you'll use, the oven
will smoke and generally create a mess. If you have
a self-cleaning oven, remember that it will emit "fumes," so
do it on a day when you can be in the other part of the
house and/or open a window. (It's not recommended to turn
it on and then leave the house to run errands unless you
like to tempt fate!) Use damp paper towels to remove the "ash" (self-cleaning)
or residue of cleaning products (you-cleaning).
Prepare
the roasting paraphernalia:
If
you are buying a disposable aluminum roasting pan, "audition" the
bird in it at the store. No part of the turkey should
be sticking out beyond the pan edge nor touch the pan.
You
may want to buy two disposable pans and "double" them
for increased security. Also
check that this rig fits in your oven! The door should
close completely. In
any event, put the whole business on a very sturdy cookie
sheet. Do not expect the aluminum
roaster
to support the
weight of the turkey!
Thaw
the turkey:
Thaw
the bird in the refrigerator, breast down, following
wrapper suggestions for time. I thaw it in COLD water
in a cooler on the patio (if it is cool enogh - the water
should not get warm at all! Obviously,
you can't thaw the bird on the counter overnight!
Room
temperature fowl is a sure way to get sick, so don't
try to hurry the process by
putting
the bird
on the counter.
The fridge is the safest method - allow about 5 hours per
pound. Keep
the shrink-wrap intact so the turkey doesn't dry out.
Put
a rack in the bottom of the roasting pan so the bird
is slightly elevated so as not to stick . Grease or
spray it with Pam.
Prepare
the turkey:
Thirty
minutes before you're ready to put the bird in the oven,
take it from
the
refrigerator. Place
breast-up.
Use
paper towels and dry the turkey very well, inside and
out. You will
have to
come back
in a few minutes
and work
on the interior at least once more.
The turkey must be dry!
Pull
the neck and giblets from the bird. Look in both the
main body
cavity, as
well as the
smaller "neck" cavity.
Don't roast the turkey with them
inside! Use
these to make stock to add to the gravy. Don't tie
the legs together (truss). You want the heat to circulate
freely. If you
think
the ends
of the legs
might get burned, give them
some
little foil "gloves."
Do
not stuff the turkey. You'll have to make the dressing
in
a casserole
dish, which you
will either
bake in
the oven ahead of time and
zap in the microwave
or cook in
the oven after the bird is
removed. You won't be able
to cook the
side dishes
in the oven
at the
same time
you roast
the turkey, as you normally
might do, (other than perhaps
roast potatoes) so do them on the stovetop,
put them
in another
oven
(perhaps a toaster oven),
pre-bake and re-warm in the microwave, or just cook
the
side dishes
in the microwave to begin
with. You'll have to plan ahead,
especially if
you have rolls
to bake,
marshmallows
to
brown on the sweet potatoes,
and so on.
Find
an old fork and use it to keep the vent (body
cavity
hole)
spread
open.
Stick the
tines end in
first (this
will be on the backbone
side of the turkey) and push the
handle end in (breast side)
until you
have
it wedged successfully.
You'll leave this
fork in the
entire time the turkey
is roasting. You may want
to buy
a fork from the Salvation
Army if you
don't
want to use
one of
your dinner table-type
forks. Don't use a two-tined "carving" fork.
It's too sharp. Don't use a plastic
fork! Guess why.
Place
the turkey on the rack, breast side up. Some
recipes call for starting the bird breast-down,
but
I don't recommend
it
because not only
is it a pain in the
neck to turn the thing
breast-up (it's hot
and slippery!),
but the skin sticks
to the
rack (no
matter how well
you greased it), plus
you'll risk dropping
the whole
thing on the floor,
spattering grease and stock all
over you and
everything/everyone
else. (Yikes!)
Important:
The turkey should not, under any
circumstances,
touch
the bottom
of the pan
(it will stew rather
than roast) or the
side of the pan (it
will burn
there).
You want the
heat to circulate
freely. No parts should be
sticking out
over the
edge of the
pan (they'll
get burned).
Rub
the turkey on all sides with olive
oil.
(The bird
must be
dry for the
oil to stick.
Not dry?
Use some
more paper
towels.) The oil
helps protect the
skin from
burning but
allows the
skin to brown.
Oil
also helps keep
moisture in the
meat. (You knew this already
from
the "traditional" method
of turkey-baking,
in which you baste
the bird with the
pan drippings to "keep
it moist.")
If you don't want
to use olive oil,
use another kind,
but don't use butter
(it burns at high
temperatures,
and, remember, this is a high-temp adventure!).
Pat
some dried herbs/pepper on
the outside if
you like. Or
put a bouquet
of fresh
herbs inside
the
cavity. I use lots of poultry seasoning.
Do
not salt. Salt draws out
the moisture. At
this point, be very careful!
Don't
drop
this puppy!
Also watch
that
it doesn't
sail off
the counter!
An oiled
turkey is
very slippery!
Place
on rack in roasting
pan.
Stick
a meat thermometer
(the
kind that stays
in the
whole
time, not
an instant-read
kind)
into
the breast.
It should
go all
the
way in
and touch
the bone.
(At
the bone
is where
the
meat
is the coolest
and thus
done-ness
there
pretty
much
determines roasting
time.)
The thermometer
should
not
touch
the oven interior
or the
roasting
pan.
Cover
the
top of
the
bird with
a large
sheet
of
aluminum foil,
which
is
greased on the
side
that
will
be
touching the turkey.
You
don't need
cheesecloth
or
anything unusual
like
that.
Aluminum
foil
is
what you
want.
Just
lay
it on top;
don't
tuck
it
in.
I
didn't find
a
need to
turn
the
turkey
around
(back
to
front)
in
the
oven,
but
this
may
be
something
you'll
want
to
do
if
your
oven
doesn't
heat
evenly
("hot spot").
If so, turn at the one-hour mark. If
you plan to turn the turkey, put the
thermometer
in the side of the bird
that
faces the back of the oven. When you
turn the bird, the thermometer will
be facing
the oven door and thus readable
without taking the turkey out of the
oven.
Check
thermometer placement.
It shouldn't
touch the
sides of
the oven,
pan, etc.
And any
remaining rack
in your
oven (or
the broiler
unit) should
not be
in the
way. You
may want
to put
it in
at a
slight angle
(on the
way to "lying
down" rather than sticking up
like a feather).Roast the turkey:
Preheat
over to
475. Be
brave! Yes,
475. Adjust
oven rack
height so
the turkey
will be
in the
middle of
the oven.
(Some recipes
say 450
and some
500. I
split the
difference. Worked
fine.)
Put
turkey in
the oven.
Taking
no more
time than
you can
manage, pour
water or
broth into
the roasting
pan to
a depth
of about
3⁄4" and
close the door. Don't pour this liquid
on the turkey and let it cascade down,
figuring
it will get to the
bottom
of the roasting pan in due time. Place
the liquid right in the bottom of the
pan. Remember
you don't want the
liquid to touch the turkey. (Remember
how much time you dedicated
to drying off the turkey?!)
Every
so often
(30-45 minutes),
check liquid
level and
top up
if needed.
Don't waste
time. Close
the door
as soon
as possible.
Do
not baste
the bird
itself. This
inhibits browning.
Roast
two hours.
Open the
door as
seldom as
possible. If
you can
check liquid
level in
the bottom
of the
roasting pan
by looking
through the
window in
the door,
so much
the better
This should
be enough
time for
a 16-
to 18-pound
bird. Larger
birds (20
pounds, let's
say) may
need extra
time. If you want the skin to be crispy and turn really
brown, remove the foil for the last 20 minutes or so.
You
should go
by the
meat thermometer,
however. It
should read
160° (if you've stuck the thermometer touching
the breastbone). At 160° at the breastbone, the breast
meat will be about 170°, which is perfect. (If you've
stuck the thermometer at the leg/thigh joint, the bird
will be done at 175° to 180°. A temp of 180° at
the breastbone is way too done and
dried out!)
Carve
the turkey:
Let
turkey rest
for 20-30
minutes, covered
lightly with
greased foil
(the same
piece you
used in
the oven
is probably
still ok),
so the
juices can "retreat," as
Julia Child says. I know this means the turkey isn't
piping hot.
This resting step bothers me a lot because I like all
my food hot rather
than room temperature! But, there
you go! Your choice to let it rest or not.
Maybe 5-10 minutes?
During
this rest
time, use
a bulb
baster to
remove accumulated
fat and
stock from
the bottom
of the
roasting pan
to use
in the
gravy. If
you want
to remove
the fat
entirely from
this broth,
once it's
in a
container skim
off what
you can
and then
drop an
ice cube
into the
stock. The
temperature
of
the ice
cube will
congeal the
fat immediately
around it.
Remove and
put in
another. For
gravy, figure
1 c
flour +
1 c
fat (drippings,
olive oil,
etc.) to
4 c
stock. This
will make
between 2
c and
3 c
gravy. Thin,
if necessary.
If,
at carving,
the meat
near the
leg/thigh
joint
seems not
done enough,
cut off
these pieces
and pop
them back
into the
oven for
a little
while (at
400°). Try 5
minutes for starters. Or zap in the microwave while you
carve the rest, however, if any
other
parts of
the turkey
don't look
cooked,
put
the entire
bird back
in the
oven. (Did
you read
the thermometer
correctly?
Was
it placed
correctly?
Was
the oven
on? Set
to 475?)
Phew!
Your done - hope you enjoy this method, if not ...here
is the OTHER Bob method
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