Great Info Tips

First of all, make sure you have a turkey large enough for the crowd you intend to feed. You can find frozen or fresh turkeys at your local grocery store. Turkey breasts are also available if you don’t care for the dark meat. If you do purchase a frozen bird thaw it in the refrigerator or place the bird in cold water in a large enough container. Check your microwave booklet to see how long you can defrost the bird.

 When taking the bird out of the package make sure you empty the insides. This means if there are gizzards or a packet of gravy inside the chest and stomach cavities. Put these aside. Some people will cook the gizzards to make a better gravy. My version: toss them out! Yuck! But then again, I only buy the breast because we don’t like the legs or dark meat.

Now rinse the bird inside and out with cold water, making sure to get out any excess ice crystals that are still hanging around the interior. At this point I usually make sure to have a plate handy to place the bird on. I also use the oven baking bags as they are a lot less mess to clean up after cooking the turkey. You should place an open baking bag in the pan so it’s ready to have the turkey placed it in once you get the stuffing inside the bird and you season the bird.

Make the stuffing of your choice (I will add a good one to this post at the end) and put the stuffing inside each cavity, making sure not to over-stuff. It will pop out if you put too much into the bird. Next use skewers to hold the stuffing in place (you can find these at the store when you buy your bird). Rub some room temperature butter or margarine over the bird, all sides. I use cooking spray as it’s a lot easier. Next put salt and pepper on the turkey. Now you are ready to put the turkey in the oven baking bag. Follow the directions that come with the bag. See? Easy! Put the turkey in the oven and bake according to the directions that came on the cover the turkey was in when you bought it. I like the ones that have the pop out timer because then you know for sure the turkey is done.

 Mom’s Potato Stuffing:

1 bag of bread cubes (the soft ones are best); 1 egg, 1 cup of chicken broth, 2 tablespoons parsley, 2 teaspoons ground thyme, 1 teaspoon ground celery seed, salt and pepper to taste, either chopped onion or onion flakes. Your choice. I use the flakes. Like I said- easy stuff.

Mix the wet ingredients, beating the egg. Add the bread cubes, then the spices. Mix it all really well. If it looks too dry, add more broth or water until it’s the consistency you want. Don’t make it too dry or too wet as it won’t taste as good as it looks. I usually make this before I even start working on the turkey and let it sit so all the good spices flavor the bread cubes. If you don’t fill the turkey with the stuffing, you can put it in a greased casserole dish and bake it for about 45 minutes.