Cooking Turkey - Tips

Thanksgiving, without the delicious tasting turkey, is something that one cannot even imagine. You have some friends coming over for dinner on that day for some finger licking food. You want to impress them with your cooking, but when it comes to cooking turkey, you falter a bit. Every time you make it, people like it, but they don't think that it's out of this world, something which you (in fact all chefs) want. Wish you could do with some cooking turkey tips and also with some turkey recipes which would leave your guests craving for more. Well! This article is like a dream come true for you, as it will give you all the tips that you need while cooking a turkey.

Cooking Turkey Techniques

There are several techniques for cooking turkey, which you should keep in mind. Given below are some mouth-watering recipes as to how to cook turkey. But for you to learn how to do that, let us go through some important tips for cooking a turkey that you need to keep in mind in order to cook a better turkey.

• The first thing that you have to do is thaw the turkey and that needs patience. When you buy a turkey, depending upon the size and the weight of the bird, it might take you around 3 days to defrost.
• If you want your turkey's skin to be crispier, then, a day before you roast it, just unwrap it and leave it like that in the refrigerator.
• Now while stuffing your turkey with all sorts of aromatic stuffing and vegetables, make sure that you do not stuff it densely cause then the turkey won't be roasted evenly. And before roasting it, with a brush, just coat the outer section of it with either olive oil or vegetable oil. You can even season it with salt and pepper.
• Once you have done all these, just put it in the oven and leave it to roast. When you take it out, the temperature near the legs and the breast region should be around 180º F and that of the inner part should be around 165º F.

Keeping these few pointers in mind, let us see some of the various means of cooking turkey.

Cooking Turkey Legs

Who does not love to eat the leg portion while eating meat? Be it chicken or lamb or pork or even turkey. This is the more meatier section of all hence, people prefer this part. Here are some simple methods of cooking turkey legs. Just follow the recipe and I am sure that your friends and family are going to love it.

Things Needed

• Turkey legs (4-6)
• Onions (4)
• Garlic cloves - minced (4)
• Olive oil (½ cup)
• All-purpose flour (1 cup)
• Salt (2 teaspoon)
• Pepper (1 teaspoon)
• Dry oregano (2 teaspoon)
• Dry thyme (1 teaspoon)
• Dry rosemary (1 teaspoon)
• Chicken broth (2 cups)
• Dry red wine (1 cup)
• Bay leaf (2)

Procedure

1. The first thing that you have to do after you thaw the turkey legs is to wash them properly. After that in a bowl mix the flour and salt, pepper and the oregano together and apply some of this on the legs of the turkey.
2. Heat some olive oil over a medium flame and one by one, put the drumsticks and cook them till they turn brown. Then put them on the baking pan.
3. Fry some onions, garlic till they turn soft and add the wine, the broth, the bay leaf, the thyme and the rosemary.
4. Now put this on top of the legs and bake it for around 3 hours at a temperature of around 350º F. Once the legs are done, take them out and put it on the serving dish. Boil the rest of the flour mixture till it becomes thick and then pour it over the legs as a sauce.

There, now you know some simple steps of cooking turkey legs. Just serve this to your guests and make sure that you have more because they are sure to ask for more.

Cooking Turkey Breast

Just talking about roast turkey breast is making my mouth water. Need some simple tips on cooking turkey breast? Here it is. Get all your ingredients ready and then start off.

Things Needed

• Turkey breast (at least 4 -7 pounds)
• Salt and pepper (as per taste)
• Vegetable or olive oil (½ cup)
• Dried thyme, rosemary, sage etc (1 teaspoon)
• Garlic powder and onion powder.

Procedure

1. After washing the turkey breast and drying it with a brush, gently brush a bit of olive oil or vegetable oil and season it with salt and pepper and also the herbs.
2. Now wrap the breast piece with a heavy aluminum foil. But before that insert a meat thermometer right at the center of the breast.
3. Seal the wrap and put it in the oven. You can also learn how to cook turkey in a convection oven, which will reduce the preparation timing by at least ⅓ rd of the usual time.
4. Preheat the oven to around 325º F and then roast the turkey for 2 - 3 hours or till it reaches a temperature of 170º F. Just 30 minutes before the turkey is done, remove the aluminum covering.

So, ready for an unforgettable and tasty Thanksgiving dinner this year? Get these ingredients together and start preparing the turkey now. Cooking turkey is simple and with the above simple recipes, you are all set to prepare one of the best dinners ever.