Each year I always seem to forget everything I did the previous Thanksgiving and have to learn it all again from scratch. I remember a lot of stuff my mom did, and still does, like covering the white meat of the turkey with butter-soaked cheesecloth for the first part of the cooking process and removing it later on to allow the skin to brown. The white meat stays moist that way. “I got this idea from watching Julia Child do it, Al,” she confided to me one year. I love those little touches that become family tradition. And the turkey is really important to get right!
When planning the Thanksgiving meal, there are a few preliminary questions I always ask:
How big does my turkey need to be?I usually count about 1½ pounds of turkey (factoring in the carcass as part of that weight) per person.
What kind of turkey?This is a difficult question to answer. Like a lot of poultry these days, there are different varieties of turkeys (all raised in different ways and fed different foods) to choose from. I don’t think I have ever cooked the same turkey two years running!
What turkey should you buy?Whatever size and type of turkey you like. I like a medium size one the best. I personally think 14–16 pound birds cook up beautifully. If not enough, I’d rather roast two smaller birds than one enormous one. Just a matter of personal preference.
When it comes time to cook the turkey, I like to preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit while I prepare my stuffing and get the turkey “oven ready” for roasting. After emptying the cavity of the innards (and reserving the gizzard), I wipe the inside of the bird with an absorbent kitchen towel. When I was growing up, my mother would always simmer the gizzard in stock on top of the stove as the turkey roasted in the oven. I found this pot of stock offered the promise of delicious gravy and distracted me from how much longer the turkey had to go in the oven before we would be able to sit down and eat! Season the inside and outside of the turkey with salt (about 1 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey) and freshly ground black pepper. Fill the cavity with stuffing and truss the turkey loosely with string. Though many recipes suggest tucking the wing tips under the string, I like to leave them loose so they get nice and crispy as the bird roasts. Melt about 1 stick of butter, soak a double layer of cheesecloth (a piece large enough to cover the white meat) and drape it over the breast meat.
What kind of roasting pan is best?One that holds the turkey squarely with a little extra room. Using a fitted rack inside the pan is also important. This will permit the heat to circulate as it roasts. As a precaution, lightly oil the rack so the turkey has no chance of sticking.
Place the turkey, breast side up, in the center and the pan in the oven. After 15 minutes of roasting at 500 degrees Fahrenheit, lower the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook, undisturbed, for an hour. Open the oven door and use a large spoon (or turkey baster) to gather some of the drippings and baste the breast meat. Lower to oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for another hour. Remove the cheesecloth and continue cooking. If skin on the breast meat gets too dark, lightly oil a piece of tinfoil and “mold” it over the breast meat to prevent it from over browning during the remainder of the cooking time.
Why do you let the bird “rest?”This is so important. Set up a baking sheet with a layer of tin foil or parchment. Use a few oven mitts (and the help of a friend!) to transfer the turkey to the baking sheet. Place the turkey breast side down on the sheet. The breast meat is always dry because there is less fat than in the thighs. By allowing it to rest breast side down, the juices are forced to flow through the white meat as it rests. It’s like creating a makeshift internal basting system to moisten the white meat. Make your gravy using the pan drippings and stock. When you’re almost ready to eat, place the bird, upright, on a platter. Remove and discard the string. Remove the stuffing. Serve and enjoy!
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source: people.com
