Sometime late in the day on Christmas Eve, Paul and I started discussing what we were going to do regarding food the following day. Would he care for pot roast, I asked him, or maybe chicken? Or, hey what the heck, a turkey if you want. Turkey? Really? He asks. Sure! I say, why not, it IS Christmas.
And also? I figure, like me, he’s thinking turkey breasts ’cause they are easy to cook.
He wasn’t.
So he brought home an 11 lb bird. Frozen. For the record, my kitchen does *NOT* include any of the following items: roasting pan, meat thermometer, cotton string, basting brush, baster, roasting rack, or meat carving utensils.
In other words, we were completely ready to make a turkey.
The first order of business was to thaw the thing, so we spent more than four hours soaking the bird in cold water that we changed every half hour.
We didn’t brine it. The thawed bird spent the night in the pot (sans water) in the fridge. When morning came, we got out the neck and giblets (after watching a youtube video which showed the technique), rinsed off the thing and rubbed it down with butter and whatever random spices were hanging around. (I believe this amounted to salt, pepper, and rosemary.) Along with the flour, which is recommended to prevent bag explosion, I threw in onions, carrots and celery. I filled the inside with these veggies as well, just because it seemed to make sense to me to do so. The turkey went into the bag and into the aluminum pan — upside down — at Kitty’s brilliant suggestion.
After 3 or so hours at 350, we flipped the bird (wow, that was messy) cooked it a little longer, and then took it out.
The thing was just falling apart. It certainly looked done and based on the whole “clear liquid” thing we determined it was done. I did my best to put together a gravy. (Though Paul liked it, I thought it needed more flavor.) But the turkey? It was good! The darn thing was moist, too!
Paul “carved” it right into containers for freezing/storage. No picture perfect roasted turkey for dinner table carving, but that wasn’t our intent anyway. We were just shooting for a night that didn’t include food poisoning.
We brought a big collection of turkey sandwiches to the park today for a big impromptu playdate — no one was ill and two seasons cooks praised the meat. Take that, holiday cooking! You’re not so big and scary afterall.
Though next year? It’s worth it to pre-order a bird from someone else — or change the menu to a more New Orleans fare!
Emmy | 26-Dec-09 at 5:42 pm | Permalink
OK–I LOVE roasting bags–it’s my secret for moist turkeys twice a year…it’s only this year that I’ve second guessed after catching Martha in her 35 step turkey-prep say that the bags should be used for marinating, but NOT for cooking. She didn’t say why, but then my mind went to BPAs, or at the very least, the feeling that I was cheating…but damn, the kids are happy!
kitty | 27-Dec-09 at 1:54 pm | Permalink
Oh sweet mother of god, you had a frozen turkey on Christmas Eve? I can’t tell you how many times I have had to do the water change over the bird thing at the last minute.
You can take the thick plastic wrap off poultry and let it thaw directly in the water, it’s much quicker and doesn’t change the meat.
And wow, I’m eyeing your beautiful corner sink!
Phyllis | 27-Dec-09 at 9:58 pm | Permalink
I’m glad your turkey turned out OK, Holly. You’re so brave. If you decide to tackle a whole bird in the future, you’re welcome to borrow recipes from my cookbook collection and/or any of the paraphernalia — baster, basting brushes, turkey lifter, roasting pan, etc. We had a precooked Morrell ham from Langenstein’s — just needed oven heating and glazing — much easier than a turkey, but I might try turkey breast sometime. Then I’ll come to you for advice!
kitty | 28-Dec-09 at 1:43 am | Permalink
Yayayay! Best of Holidailies!