How to Cook a Turkey

Did you go for a Christmas lunch and have an amazing turkey there? Do you want to replicate such a dish for a Sunday lunch at home? There are number of recipes which will tell you how to cook a turkey. Some of the recipes are stuffed turkey recipes, while there are others which are simple non-stuffed turkey recipes. Most of the turkey recipes serve six people, however I would like to mention to buy the right size bird; the ratio to be used is 1 pound of turkey per person.

Cooking a Turkey ...

... in the Oven
This is a simple non-stuffed recipe for cooking turkey. If you want the stuffing, you can make stuffing on the sides. Let's see what are the ingredients required to cook a turkey.

Ingredients

• Turkey 12 to 14 pounds
• Olive Oil for Brushing
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Chicken Broth
• Aluminum Foil
• Meat Thermometer

Method

• A primary, yet important, step to cook a turkey is to thaw the frozen turkey completely.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is heating, remove the turkey from its wrapping. Remove the neck and giblets from inside the cavity. You can use the neck and giblets to make turkey gravy.
• Now that you have removed the giblets, rinse the turkey inside out with cold water. You may have to spend a little longer on this step. Clean it well to make sure there is no contamination. Use paper towels to pat dry the bird.
• Place the oven rack on the lowest level in the oven. In the roasting pan, place the turkey with the breast side up.
• Rub salt and pepper on the turkey body and cavity. Make sure, you do not leave any part unsalted. Then on the outer side of the turkey, rub olive oil. Rubbing olive oil on the outside ensures your bird gets the picture perfect brown color.
• Now cover the bird properly with aluminum foil. You may choose to place one piece of aluminum foil length wise and the other breadth wise. This will ensure, that the bird is well covered. Place the thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh.
• Place the turkey in the pan and pour chicken broth and water around it. You may also choose to put in some seasonings in the broth and water. Put the pan in the oven and let it cook at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The turkey is considered cooked when the temperature on the meat thermometer shows 175 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

... in a Roaster
You can cook a turkey in an electric roaster as well. Baking in a roaster oven takes less time as compared to the conventional ovens. If you want to know some stuffed turkey recipes, you can click on thanksgiving stuffing recipe.

Ingredients

• Turkey, as per requirement
• Melted Butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Seasoning
• Meat Thermometer

Method

• Make sure you thaw the bird well. Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey.
• Place the bird on the meat rack in the roaster. Then brush the turkey with melted butter, salt, pepper and seasoning.
• Set the temperature of roaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a higher temperature than the normal temperature at which the turkey is cooked at. This temperature is to be used as roasters cook food faster than conventional ovens.
• Insert the meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. To cook one pound of turkey in a roaster oven, the cooking time is about 15 to 17 minutes. Once the color is light brown and the temperature in the meat thermometer reaches to 175 to 180 degrees, you can remove the turkey from the roaster.

... Leg
If you do not have too many people who are going to savor the turkey, you can also choose cooking turkey legs. This is a recipe of turkey legs cooked with vegetables in a conventional oven.

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 pounds of turkey legs (you can choose ones with or without the thighs)
• Lemon ½ piece
• Salt 1 ¼ teaspoon
• Black Pepper ½ teaspoon
• Garlic Powder ¼ teaspoon
• Dried Leaf Thyme ¼ teaspoon
• Onion 1 (finely chopped)
• Butter ¼ cup
• Carrots 2 to 3 (sliced)
• Celery 3 ribs (sliced)
• Potato 1 (cut into ½ inch pieces)
• Dry White Wine 1 cup

Method

• If you chosen turkey legs with thighs, cut the thighs with a sharp knife. Now rub lemon on the turkey. Make a mixture of 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and rub it on the surface of the turkey pieces.
• Melt the butter on medium low heat in a skillet. Sauté the onion in the butter till the onion becomes tender. Add carrot, celery and potato pieces and salt to the onion.
• Grease the baking pan. Spread the sautéed vegetables evenly on the baking pan. On the vegetable layer, place the turkey pieces.
• Heat the wine to boiling point and pour it over the turkey pieces.
• At 400 degrees, cook for 1 ½ hour, till the fork inserted comes out easily from the pieces.
• In case you notice that the turkey pieces are becoming brown, you can cover it with aluminum foil as well.

For more information

• How to Bake a Turkey
• Cooking Turkey Breast

After reading on how to cook a turkey, it becomes quite evident that cooking a turkey is not rocket science. The only thing you will require is patience, till the turkey is properly cooked. The cooking time is the biggest hindrance when it comes to cooking turkey.