Turkey

How long do you cook a 14.5 lb bird?

What do you put on yours?

There's really no one exact time. This is a good reference: http://southernfood.about.com/library/info/bltrkeya.htm

Usually just butter and salt on the outside, rub the inside with sage and a little allspice and stick two or three sprigs of rosemary inside, maybe an orange or a lemon.

someone suggested a garlic clove to J so we are going to try that inside and then butter, sage, salt, pepper, and rosemary.

I always season it just never bake it :rofl1:

I never think about garlic because it's not a big favorite of mine -- I rarely use it at all because it's just an overpowering taste to me, and not one I particularly like, or like to smell cooking, lol.

We always do the 2 hr turkey recipe but I'm not a cook so I can't do details.

I always put garlic and lemon inside my chickens and turkeys. Butter, Sea salt and pepper on the outside with whatever seasoning mix I have on hand - the Costco organic blend is really good.

we use garlic alot. Garlic and herb seasoning is mandatory in this house at all times because its something I can get EVERYONE to eat.

hmmm never seen that one. I might have to look that up. We have 30 lbs of bird (2 that are 14/15 lbs) since my husband LOVES bird LOL

Hmmm Ill have to get J to grab a lemon I didnt think of that.

http://shop.safeway.com/corporate/safeway/thanksgiving/turkey.htm

I just wash and quarter the lemon and shove it in! I think it helps with tenderness for sure.

it sent me to online shopping LOL

hmmmm definatly will have to get him to bring one home from work.

Hmm... it sends me to the right link, it's a safeway recipe that has been around for years.


INGREDIENTS

1 frozen Manor House turkey, 10-24 pounds, thawed
1-2 tablespoons Safeway SELECT Verdi extra virgin olive oil
Morton coarse kosher salt
Safeway coarse ground black pepper
1 cup Safeway fat-free chicken broth (optional, for drippings)
TURKEY ROASTING TOOLS

Roasting pan (13"x16")
V-shaped rack
Meat thermometer
Oven thermometer
PREPARATION

4-6 days before cooking
Thaw frozen turkey in the refrigerator. When you eventually cook the turkey, it should still be at refrigerator temperature (at room temperature no longer than 1 hour before cooking).

1-2 days before cooking
Clean your oven to prevent smoking of burned-on grease when cooking at high heat.

DO NOT USE A CONVECTION OVEN.

30 minutes before cooking
Preheat oven to 475º and use oven thermometer to check temperature.
Remove and discard truss that holds turkey legs together. See Tip A. Pull or trim off and discard lumps of fat in neck and body cavity. Remove giblets from cavity and save for gravy, if desired.

Rinse turkey inside and out with warm water. Pat dry with paper towels. Rub turkey skin all over generously with olive oil. Set bird breast down and sprinkle back with salt and pepper.

Place the adjustable V-shaped rack in the roasting pan (set rack sides so the bird is a minimum of 2 inches from pan bottom). Put turkey, breast up, on rack; sprinkle breast with salt and pepper. Fold wing tips under. See Tip B.

Using aluminum foil, form caps over the tips of each drumstick. If wing tips extend beyond pan rim, fashion a foil collar underneath to make sure drippings flow back into pan. See Tip C. Leave legs untied. Do not add stuffing or close body cavity.

Insert the oven-safe meat thermometer near center of breast through thickest part of breast to bone (the coldest part of the turkey and most accurate spot to check doneness). See Tip D.

Set pan on the lowest rack in a 475° oven (do not use convection heat; it causes excessive smoking). Roast according to above time chart, checking as directed during cooking, until thermometer reaches 160°. Halfway through roasting time, rotate pan in oven to assure even cooking and browning. See Tip E. If areas on turkey breast start to get browner than you like, lay a piece of foil over the dark spots. If there is any smoke, check pan and wings for drips into oven; adjust foil under wings, or slide roasting pan onto a larger, shallow-rimmed pan.

Remove pan from oven, set in a warm, draft-free spot, and loosely cover pan with foil to keep it warm. Let turkey rest 30 to 45 minutes. The resting period will allow the internal temperature to reach 165°, the USDA safe cooking temperature for poultry.

Drain juices from body cavity (often plentiful in unstuffed birds) into roasting pan. If making gravy, spoon off and discard fat from drippings in pan. If drippings are dry, skim any fat from pan, then add 1 cup fat-free chicken broth; scrape drippings free. Use in Amber Gravy as directed (see 6 Delicious Side Dishes for recipe).

Cut off turkey legs at thigh joint. See Tip F. If joint is red or pink, return legs to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes (at 300° to 475°) or heat in a microwave oven for 3 to 4 minutes.

Carve the rest of the turkey. Turkey juices may be clear to pink or rosy; both are fine. Save juices to pour into gravy for richer flavor, if desired.

cool! Thanks!

I put Poultry Seasoning, Sage, Rosemary, tons of butter, maybe a bit of garlic, and Thyme.

Throw it in the oven breast down for a few hours on 325, turn it over, brown the bird until it's done.

Ham is way easier. Just drown it in SoCo and let it roast until it's done. Drunk ham FTW.

Bell's Seasoning is AMAZING stuff too.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH i forgot about Bells I use it for stuffing when I make it but we dont eat stuffing so I wont be making it this year.

I also always use a spoon to carefully separate the skin from the meat and shove homemade herb butter in between. Makes the bird very moist and tasty.

Ill have to try that with the second one this one has to be made too early for me to be that precise LOL

How do you do your herb butter? inquiring minds would like to know lol

do you use a metal spoon, wooden spoon?

Pretty much nothing I cook excludes garlic, its in everything

I really dont like turkey much but my brother made one last year that was awesome. He used a recipe and tweaked it but basically it had white wine, rosemary, garlic, lemon, etc.

Why not use a convection oven? I have a convection oven. It's not a counter top one. It's part of my regular oven which can bake or use convection. I cooked turkeys last year in the convection part and it did a wonderful job. You cook it at 300 vs the usual 325 and it takes about 25% less time. It's hot air circulating all around the bird. You don't even have to baste. But I coat it with oil and also several strips of bacon over the top along with some poultry seasoning. Inside I put an onion cut up into quarters, some hunks of celery, and an apple cut up into a few pieces. I make the stuffing separate in a casserole dish. The convection oven cooks it much more evenly and helps it retain the inner juices better I think. It made my turkeys very moist with nice, crispy skin and it didn't take as long as the regular baking. They were some of the best tasting, mouth watering turkeys I ever had. I'm going to do it again tomorrow.