On Nov 27, 4:44*pm, Chemo the Clown > wrote:
> On Nov 27, 2:40*pm, "Paul M. Cook" > wrote:
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> > "Jim Elbrecht" > wrote in message
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> .. .
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> > >I see so many folks complaining about dried out turkey & it seems it
> > > is the theme of every news show for a week before T-giving so I'm
> > > wondering how folks made out here.
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> > > We do a few turkeys a year & I can't remember one being dried out. I
> > > buy a 20ish pound frozen Butterball, or whatever is on sale. * Thaw it
> > > out for a week in the frig.
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> > > Take it out of the frig an hour or so before cooking to pat it down,
> > > tie up the wings and slather some more butter on it.
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> > > I cook in a big old enamelware roaster with a rack. * Add 2 cups of
> > > broth, cover, and put in a 325 oven. * * I take the cover off in an
> > > hour or so- and baste every 30 minutes thereafter. * *When it starts
> > > to brown up I start taking its temp- shooting for 170F or so in the
> > > thigh. * *It took about 4 hours this year.
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> > > Then I move it to the top of the stove, draw off the liquid for gravy
> > > and tent or cover it.
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> > > I use the oven for an hour or so at 425- so the stovetop is toasty--
> > > an hour later I'm burning my fingers while removing the steaming
> > > breast. *Thigh joints pop apart with ease & all is well cooked, but
> > > moist.
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> > > Summary;
> > > 20 pound turkey- not stuffed
> > > 325F -
> > > about 4 hours [that's only 12 minutes per pound-- but the thigh temp
> > > was 180 when I took it out of the oven]
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> > > What works [or doesn't] for you?
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> > 180 is way too hot. *160 is quite acceptable. *20 pounder for me cooks at
> > 375 for about 3 hours.
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> > Paul
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> The free range 13 pounder was done perfect in a hour and 45 minutes.
> We flash cook it at 500 for 30 minutes then about an hour and 15
> minutes. Perfect!
I stuffed the turkey with hot stuffing, and cut the drumsticks part
way from the thighs so I could bend it forward and tuck the ends under
the lifting handles in the roasting pan from my electric roaster.
http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/roaster...ffet-pans.html
I didn't use the electric unit, but put it in the oven at 475F, breast
up, but with the breast well tented, the wing tips tucked under, and
the neck over the tent. I used the gizzard to cap the back end of the
thoroughly stuffed cavity, and the heart to cap the neck hole, which
I'd also stuffed, and put in some Trader Joe's turkey broth. I did
this for about a half hour or a bit longer, then reduced the heat to
325 for about an hour. Then I put the legs and wings back into their
regular position for another half hour or so, then took the foil off
the breast, added more broth, and gave it another half hour. When the
breast was just browned, I took it out of the gas oven and put it in
the roaster with two containers of TJ's turkey gravy, and set the
roaster at 200 for another 45 minutes or so, then turned the roaster
off and didn't carve for another 15 minutes. That freed up the oven
for other stuff. Other than the stuffing being too soggy, and a bit
too salty for others' tastes, it was close to perfect. The other
imperfection with the stuffing was that I parboiled the celery for too
long.
The gravy was admittedly far less than perfect, but I am really
impressed by the quality of TJ's carton pack gravy when added to the
drippings in the pan.
--Bryan