Follow our recommendations, and your first Thanksgiving turkey can look like this!
Local food blogger Deanna Fox commented on the radio that a lot of folks are going to be cooking their Thanksgiving meal at home for the first time, due to precautions that keep them from traveling to usual family meals. If this is your first Thanksgiving turkey, we have a few tips.
Focus on the turkey. Don’t hesitate to order takeout or just buy from the supermarket for sides and desserts. By successfully roasting your first Thanksgiving turkey, you will gain a life skill you can use year after year.
Allow ample defrosting time. We always publish our Thanksgiving tips post a day early because if you have a big bird and you take it out of the freezer on Tuesday, it’s almost too late. If you’re cooking for a smaller group, you probably have a 12 pounder and you’ll be fine if you take it out of the freezer now and transfer to the refrigerator to defrost for 3 days. If you need to speed up the process you can leave it at room temperature for part of the time or submerge the bird in its wrapping in room-temperature water in your sink. If you have a fresh bird, of course, you’re ahead of the game.
Brine your bird, or don’t. Stuff it, or not. (But if you do brine, rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry before stuffing, otherwise it will be too salty.) Just have a plan. You really can’t go wrong if you have a strategy and stick to it. This year we are trying something new: a pre-brined small turkey from Trader Joe’s. No idea how it will turn out, but no doubt it will be good. Turkey can be intimidating because of its size and all the sturm und drang around the holiday but it’s a very forgiving protein to cook.
Finally, a couple of tricks to avoid a turkey day disappointment. The breast cooks much faster than the rest of the bird so you should always protect it during roasting. We like to soak a paper towel or cheesecloth in a generous amount of melted butter or olive oil, then drape it over the breast and cover with aluminum foil. The last 20 minutes of baking, remove the foil and the cover so it can brown to match the rest of the bird. Also, consider wrapping foil around the wing tips so they don’t get too crispy to enjoy.
That’s pretty much it… follow the above steps and you’re highly likely to end up with a great meal and a new skill. If you want to complicate things, check out our Thanksgiving clips post which has ideas and links for the big day as well as sandwiches the day after.
