11/01/2024
ADOBE WALLS STUDIO TURKEY ROASTING METHOD:
It’s November and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and every year I like to share my favorite method for roasting a Turkey! If the thought of roasting a Turkey is intimidating to you, let me help out by offering this EASY method:
Adobe Walls Studio Turkey--Simple method to cook the perfect turkey! If you have ever cooked a turkey that ended up being too dry or not tender, try my way!
I'm sure that most of you are more expert at cooking the perfect turkey, than I am, but for those needing some advice and confidence, here is the method I have used through the years to come up with a super tender, juicy turkey and it is so easy! It is basically No Fail!
(Honestly, this is the way my mother always cooked the turkey, back on the farm in Oklahoma, when I was growing up……the resting in the insulated cooler is something Laura and I figured out after we married. )
Do this——
(1) Saturday before Thanksgiving is ALWAYS the day the turkey goes from the freezer to the refrigerator to begin the slow thawing so it will be ready to roast by Thanksgiving. This is important. Do it Saturday. Don't wait another day.
(2) While you are at the store buying the turkey, buy a disposable aluminum foil turkey pan. Get the sturdiest oval shaped one you can find. Also buy a box of roasting bags. These two items make it all so easy and they make clean up a dream too. There are plenty of dirty dishes to wash without having to wash a huge roasting pan.
(3) I start prepping the turkey about an hour before I plan to retire to my bedchamber on Wednesday evening—-unwrap the bird, wash it and be sure and take the giblet bag out of the carcass cavity. (Many a turkey has been roasted with the plastic giblet bag still inside the carcass.). I give you permission to throw the giblets in the trash if you like. My mother cooked them and used them in the gravy and/or dressing, but not me! It’s just so disgusting to deal with “giblets”….(Ewwww…and the neck! Oh my!) Rinse it inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Rub it down with room temperature butter or olive oil. And season it as you wish. I just use lots of salt and pepper and FILL the carcass cavity with quartered onion, whole garlic cloves, a quartered orange, lime or lemon and some celery and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. You can season any way you like. (If your tradition edicts that you stuff the bird—knock yourself out!)
(4) Read the instructions on the roasting bag box and put the bird in the bag per those instructions and set it in the disposable pan. I'm a big believer in using a roasting bag because it keeps your oven clean and it self bastes the turkey. So easy!
(5) WEDNESDAY NIGHT, before you go to bed, put the turkey in the oven at 250 degrees. (No need to preheat). This is a very slow cook and guarantees that the turkey will be tender. When you get up Thursday morning, the turkey will probably be done! If it needs a bit more browning you can turn up the oven and brown it a little longer but I never recall having to do that. Unless it’s extreme, exact bedtime and waking up times are not very crucial because of the slow cooking process, and it’s usually just perfect!
(6) Now, take the whole pan with the turkey still in the unopened bag and set it down in a large insulated cooler or ice chest, pan and all. You can bend the sides of the pan up to fit if you need to. Close the lid and your turkey will be perfect for carving when you are ready for it later in the day. (Sometimes we set the cooler on the porch just outside the kitchen door to get it out of the way in the kitchen.) It will have continued to cook a bit, rested, and still be warm but perfect for carving. The HUGE advantage to this is it frees your oven on Thanksgiving day for all the other last minute baking you need to do, like rolls, casseroles and pies. I love that we get to start the day cooking with the turkey out of the way and ready to carve whenever you are! Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be thankful for and we thank God for our many friends like you!
