Annual turkey tips

[Jerry]

I haven't listened to the radio Food Show lately but I'm sure the brining of the turkey hs been brought up.
If anyone doesn't know how to brine say so now!

My other great tip that I learned from Julia Child is to remove the wishbone prior to cooking.
This is a great way to get more white meat from the bird - allowing the entire breast to be easily seperated from the breast bone with a long filet knife.

The wishbone can be a little tough to remove but a good paring knife - cuttins slits along the bone usually workd fine....throw it in the pan with the bird if someone needs to make that annual wish.

[peychaud]

I'm not a hater but it was infuriating to listen to Tom with Bob and Monica on WWL-AM driving in this morning.

It's one thing to have a strong anti-Turducken opinion, it's another to be so misinformed as to potentially kill an old lady.

A woman called to say she had purchased a Turducken from Rouse's and was curious about how long to cook it. After just going off on a predictable rant about how wrong the Turducken concept is ("garbage" was how he described it), Tom told her that most Turduckens are already cooked and you just need to warm them.

WTF?!

I can't speak for every Turducken, but Gourmet Butcher Block Turduckens are definitely not cooked, and I would suspect that the Rouse's Turduckens are not cooked either given the lady's question.

Even if he doesn't approve of Turducken, as a food media professional he should at least become familiar enough with the product to advise people properly rather than just dismissing them with some glib advise. Alternatively, just say you don't know how long to cook the thing. Thankfully, Bob was there to inform the lady in a friendly, helpful way. Tom was no help at all.

Okay, end of rant. Happy Thanksgiving!

[LauraMc]

My tip for newbies like me is to be sure to take the giblets out first and take them out of the correct end. I cooked a turkey last year at my sister's and after I struggled for 10 minutes trying to get my hand in to get the giblets out, I flipped the bird over in frustration and discovered that huge open hole when my hand fit in easily.

[Low-N-Slow]

Whether your turkey is brined, self-basting (enhanced), or natural, NEVER rely on the pop-up timer to gauge doneness. They are always placed in the white meat, but are set to go off over and above the temperature at which dark meat is safely cooked. Use a digital probe-type thermometer, and cook until the breast reaches just over 160°F. Resting before carving will allow residual heat to bump the final temp to 165, which is safely done, but should not be dried out. Quicker-cooking dark meat will have reached 170-175, which, for it, is considered done.

[Schuarta]

Whether your turkey is brined, self-basting (enhanced), or natural, NEVER rely on the pop-up timer to gauge doneness. They are always placed in the white meat, but are set to go off over and above the temperature at which dark meat is safely cooked. Use a digital probe-type thermometer, and cook until the breast reaches just over 160°F. Resting before carving will allow residual heat to bump the final temp to 165, which is safely done, but should not be dried out. Quicker-cooking dark meat will have reached 170-175, which, for it, is considered done.

Would you agree that if you are doing only a turkey breast (with a ham where time isn't critical), use the probe and go for the 160 degrees?

BTW, how do you get your computer to print the little "o" degree symbol?

[Low-N-Slow]

Would you agree that if you are doing only a turkey breast (with a ham where time isn't critical), use the probe and go for the 160 degrees?

BTW, how do you get your computer to print the little "o" degree symbol?

Heating the (cooked) ham at turkey cooking temps (like 350°) probably isn't advisable, but, yes, I would treat a bone-in turkey breast just like a whole turkey without legs.

Alt-0176 = °

[Jerry]

I plum forgot to mention my Chicken Rocket....cooks a 12 lb. bird completely in less than 2 hours.

"Alt-0176 = ° " - Where do you find these formulas? In word I just go to the insert symbols tab.

[Low-N-Slow]

Google "alt key codes". Alt-188, 189, 190 are also useful: ¼,½,¾

[Schuarta]

Neato! I just printed myseld a list of the ALT codes. Thanks!