Thanksgiving can turn
out to be a cause of stress for newbie chefs as they can feel challenged and
intimidated by the hefty task – cooking that delicious turkey! From thawing to
stuffing and seasoning, you can go wrong in many places and ultimately ruin the
taste. The pressure can quickly get to you and that is a dangerous space to be
in mentally.
Source: Butterball Canada
But hey – worry not!
You can channel your inner Gordon Ramsey and impress your guest with a
mouth-watering recipe! We’re here to remind you the basics and where you may go wrong. In addition, the following 10 experts hacks will make it fundamentally
easier for you to relax and know that you’re in the right direction.
You know the drill: if
the quality sucks, no stuffing and seasoning can save your bird from tasting
awful. Therefore, try and invest in a good organic turkey that is free from
unhealthy additives. For this purpose, you’ll have to buy it from a reliable store. Find a place that sells the turkey, which meets your weight
requirements. What we mean by a free-range organic turkey is that the bird was
able to roam freely on the pasture and it consumed a natural diet. By consuming
pesticides and other chemicals, turkeys become unhealthy and dare we say,
fatal for human beings.
Now make sure that you
avoid spreading bacteria that might come from raw poultry. Basically, many
food-related federations claim that harmful bacteria have the ability to grow
on any and every area that is touched by it. So the idea is to spend a good
amount of time washing everything carefully but try not to wash the turkey
itself.
Of course, Thanksgiving
Day can be quite hectic – you’ve got to rearrange the entire place and make sure
that everything remains tidy and presentable before the arrival of your guests,
and also, cooking the turkey itself is a time-consuming task. So it would make
absolute sense if you’re in a hurry and not in a mood to follow the recipe
step-by-step.
Here’s the deal, you
can take as many shortcuts as you want but don’t even dare to skip the process
of thawing. Furthermore, if you’ve got fresh turkey, make sure that you put it
in the oven right away! By leaving it untreated after it’s properly thawed,
you’re allowing harmful bacteria to grow.
Thawing itself is a
skill – you have to ensure that you thaw the turkey in the fridge or at least
in a bowl with ice-cold water. Also,
don’t make the mistake of keeping it in water for long, and even if you do put
it there to defrost the bird, make sure that you change the water every thirty
minutes.
Moreover, think twice
before ripping it off the plastic packaging because by leaving the turkey to
thaw without the plastic wrapper may contaminate anything that’s placed nearby.
Do you feel comfortable spreading germs in the fridge? We figured.
We don’t know about you
but we do enjoy a super-moist turkey. Here’s how we get it: We basically steam
it to an internal temperature of 130 Fahrenheit and then transfer it to a 375
Fahrenheit hot oven to an internal temperature of 160 Fahrenheit. By doing
this, you can ensure that the turkey remains moist – it also protects the side
skin from burning.
We recommend that you
stuff your turkey with fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, and garlic cloves. You
may also include apple along with the herbs just to take the flavor up a notch.
What’s the purpose of
brining, you’d ask? Well, it makes your seasoning standout. So if you’ve got a
12-pound turkey, you should brine it in a solution of 1 gallon of water along,
with half a cup of sea salt, for approximately 12 hours. By following this
trick entirely, you ensure that the turkey is seasoned inside out.
We must also discuss
ways by which you can ruin your turkey. Well, it’s simple, you might do this by
removing the packaging of the turkey parts that have been placed inside the
turkey. The fact is that they’re ideal when it comes to making homemade turkey
gravy.
Hence, the minute you
remove the giblet pack, you must unwrap all the parts and turn it into a stock.
After the turkey is cooked, you can use the drippings along with the stick and
pour it over the gravy.
You might turn the
insides of the turkey the breeding ground for bacteria by being careless. Thus,
the idea is to properly handle the stuffing. Firstly, add all the stuffing
minutes before putting it in the oven and double-check if the temperature is
right. Ideally, the stuffing should be done at 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Secondly,
if your stuffing isn’t only composed of veggies, you must give it extra time to
cook. Also, baste the turkey after every thirty minutes.
This is an important
one – you must add half-inch sized carrots, celery, and sweet potatoes.
Basically, these add-ons are used to enhance the taste of the turkey. And here’s
another trick if you’re cooking it for the first time: use a slow-cooker to
make a turkey this year.
This trick is practical
if you know that you’ll be busy accommodating the traditional steps of
roasting. Also, frying the turkey may not be the healthiest option but you can
reduce the time significantly if you go ahead with the plan.
Were you wondering what
you’re supposed to do with the pan drippings? Well, don’t waste it! Pour it
over the gravy as it serves as the primary ingredient required to elevate the
taste of the gravy. It’s the combination of drippings, water, and flour that
culminate into a heavenly taste. In fact, this combination will complement the
mash potatoes!
Hope these cooking tips
will help calm your nerves and help you cook a deliciously cooked Turkey with any of the discussed Turkey hack. Meanwhile Happy
Thanksgiving and yes, don’t forget to unlock these incredible Thanksgiving deals!
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