Cooking Thanksgiving Turkey

parenting advice, child discipline, child behavior, toilet training, sleep problems in children.

Parenting Teens, talking to teens, teens and drugs, teens and sex, jobs for teens, depression in teens.

Pet advice, choose a pet, pet health advice, unique pet names

easy dinner recipes, easy dinner, quick easy dinner recipes

Never Worry About Cooking Thanksgiving Turkey Again

Having success with cooking Thanksgiving turkey starts with choosing the right bird.
Turkeys come in all sizes. Whole or just the breast, rolled and stuffed breast…
You'll even find turkeys that come packed in ready to go cooking bags - imagine if they'd had them at the first Thanksgiving?
They have their own thermometers and are pre-basted...nothing to do but put them in the oven.
But do they taste as good as mom's?
Well, there's something to meet everyone's needs and time constraints.
You can go for the more traditional Thanksgiving celebrations and cook a whole bird or try some alternatives.

Which Size to Buy?

cooking thanksgiving turkey, thanksgiving celebrations, first thanksgiving, Photo copyright Enjoyphoto|Dreamstime.com

As a rough guide, allow one pound of meat per person plus a little extra.
So:

6 pounds gives 4 to 6 serves

10 pounds gives 8 to 10

12 pounds gives 10 to 12

And so on.

It's good to know how many people you are catering for early in case you need to order a large bird.
Important tip: Measure your roasting pan and your oven to make sure the bird you want will fit!!

Thawing Rules

The only safe way to thaw a turkey is in the refrigerator.
A large turkey may take a few days to thaw out.
As a rough guide, you should allow 24 hours for every six pounds of bird.
It's important that the turkey is thawed properly before cooking, especially if you are stuffing the cavity. Leave the stuffing until just before putting the turkey into the oven.

What Comes Next?

Of course, safely thawing your bird is just the start.
Next you will need to:

prepare your bird for roasting

stuff the cavity

truss your bird

roast your bird according to your recipe

You will find detailed instructions on how to do all this Plus a handy chart on cooking times in my Perfect Thanksgiving Kit.
It's free and available for immediate download for members of our Newsletter.
Don't forget to delegate as many jobs as you can and enjoy cooking Thanksgiving turkey this year.