How to Bake a Turkey

Once you thaw a turkey by placing it in a refrigerator, the countdown for cooking it begins. Running cold water or placing it in a microwave oven are not the safe ways of thawing a turkey as the chances of bacterial growth and contamination are many, so these must be avoided. So, for a small 11 lb. turkey, you will need 2-3 day to thaw it. After the duration is over just get ready to cook the delicious and nutritious turkey by learning how to bake a turkey in oven.

Oven-baked Turkey

Ingredients

• 1, 11 lb turkey
• 1 cup water or chicken broth
• 1 onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 stick of butter, sliced
• 4 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp celery seed
• Vegetable oil
• Roasting pan
• Aluminum foil

Procedure

First you need to preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash the turkey and the cavity using warm water, pat dry and then place it in a roasting pan. Now take the butter and place the pats of butter under its skin by gently lifting the skin. Place it in thighs and legs as well. Use crushed garlic and vegetable oil to rub over the outer side of turkey. Celery seed, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper are to be used as seasoning for the turkey.

Make four pieces of onion and place 3 of them around the turkey. Place half celery stalk, one part of butter and one piece of onion in turkey's cavity. Skewer its legs so that it retains the shape while being cooked. Now pour chicken broth or water in the roasting pan. Cover the top of the turkey using the aluminum tin tent. Place it in the oven, on the lower shelf. An 11 lb. of turkey will take about 4 hours to cook. During the last 45 minutes, remove the aluminum foil tent. This will help the turkey become brown and crisp. You can also begin basting your turkey at this time. Use apple cider, chicken broth, butter or white wine mixture for this.

If you want to stuff the turkey, make sure you place it loosely in the cavity. Also, place the stuffing in the refrigerator until just before the turkey is placed in the oven. You can stick a skewer into the turkey's thigh and check whether the juices that come out are clear to know whether it is cooked. You can also use an internal thermometer in the deepest part of the turkey, when it is at least 170°F - 180°F, your turkey is ready.

Roaster-oven Turkey

Baking a turkey in a roaster oven is absolutely easy. While the ingredients and procedure remains the same as mentioned above, the only change is in baking time and that you don't need to take up the valuable oven space. An 11 lb. turkey will take about 3 hours to cook and with stuffing it will need ½ hour more. Remember that an average roaster oven can cook about 20 pounds of turkey. Its good to have a roaster oven with rack for the bottom that will help lifting up the turkey. Also, the procedure of checking whether the turkey is cooked is the same. Remember that when you bake turkey in a roaster oven, more heat is lost while you remove the lid than what is lost when you open the door of the conventional oven.

The procedure is very easy, isn't it? Whichever oven you choose, remember to follow the procedure and check whether the turkey is fully cooked. Just a few easy steps and a delicious dish is ready.