Thanksgiving 101 (9 page)

Paper Bag Turkey.
I haven’t been able to try this method recently, even though it was popular when I was growing up. These days, it’s hard to find paper bags that are large enough, and most supermarkets have converted to plastic bags. I wouldn’t advise roasting a turkey in today’s chemical-loaded recycled paper bags anyway.

Roasting Bag Turkey.
The concept of the paper bag turkey generally has been replaced by cooking the turkey in the modern roasting bag. The bird turns out steamed, not roasted, and a pale steamed turkey isn’t my idea of a terrific Thanksgiving centerpiece. The turkey tends to fall apart when you take it out of the bag (that is, when the bag doesn’t stick to the bird). If you decide to try this method, and it is a timesaver, note that the instructions that come with the bag do not say to season the turkey. When I called the company’s consumer hotline to ask about this, the person I spoke with said the company assumes that most people who use their product will be using defrosted frozen self-basting turkeys that are already seasoned from the moistening agents. Season birds that are not self-basting. My Thanksgiving nightmare turkey would be a self-basted bird in a roasting bag. I know a lot of people cook their turkey this way, but it sure doesn’t taste like roast turkey to me!

Foil-Wrapped Turkey.
Again, the bird ends up steamed, not roasted, and lacks flavor and color. But again, it saves time.

Overnight Turkey.
Never try to roast a turkey overnight at low temperatures. It is a very unsafe method that creates the warm, moist atmosphere that can turn the inside of your turkey into a Petri dish. And never partially roast the turkey, refrigerate it, and try to finish the cooking later. It is equally dangerous.

I have a convection oven, but I am nervous to try convection on my holiday turkey. What to do?

Don’t be nervous! The vast majority of cooking schools, where I perfected these recipes, have convection ovens, and I use them more often than not. (However, the estimated cooking times in this book are for conventional ovens.) The circulating hot air of a convection oven gives the turkey an evenly browned surface, but with the added advantage of reducing the estimated roasting time. The common rule of conversion from conventional roasting to convection heat is to reduce the temperature by 25°F, and to cut the time by one-third. I follow the temperature adjustment when I am making smaller items like baked goods, but for a large turkey, I keep the temperature at 325°F, and leave it at that. If the turkey is done a bit ahead of time, so much the better.

What about stuffing the bird?

In recent years, this issue has become quite a hot potato, as some cooks are concerned about the stuffing encouraging dangerous bacterial growth inside the bird. If you follow the guidelines on how to stuff the bird safely, you’ll have no problems. The only time I consider not stuffing the bird is to save time. An unstuffed turkey weighs less and cooks more rapidly. The bird is just as tasty without the stuffing. (Whether the stuffing is as tasty cooked outside of the bird is a matter of personal taste.)

If you choose not to stuff the turkey, there are two excellent ways to add flavor to the bird and drippings. I usually replace the stuffing with a vegetable seasoning: Chop 1 large onion, 1 large carrot, and 1 large celery rib with leaves. Mix with 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (preferably Homemade Poultry Seasoning), 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. The vegetables are only a seasoning—don’t serve them as a side dish.

Or stuff the neck and body cavities with fresh herbs. I use about 2 packed cups mixed fresh thyme, sage, rosemary, parsley, and marjoram sprigs for a 20-pound bird. This potpourri adds an incredible scent to the turkey and makes the gravy terrific.

If you don’t stuff the turkey, at the end of the roasting period, tilt the bird so the juices that have collected in the cavity run into the pan drippings, where they will add flavor.

If I stuff the bird, do I have to sew up the openings to hold it in?

It is unnecessary to sew up a bird. To hold the neck stuffing in place, skewer the neck skin to the back skin with a bamboo or thin metal skewer. To protect the exposed stuffing from overbrowning, just cover it loosely with a small piece of foil. But if your grandma taught you to sew up the stuffing in the bird, and you have good tailoring skills, go right ahead. Use a strong mattress or sailing-canvas needle, available at sewing stores, for the job. These also have eyes big enough to thread thick kitchen twine.

Do you have to truss a turkey with string?

A trussed bird is more evenly roasted and holds its shape. Many cooks truss their birds with crisscrosses of string, but I never tie up my bird
more than necessary. To secure the wings, fold them back (“akimbo”) behind the turkey’s shoulders. If the wings are too big to be folded back, then tie them alongside the body with string. To hold the drumsticks, insert them into the hock lock. If the bird doesn’t have a hock lock or a strap of skin to hold the drumsticks, tie them together with string. If you are out of string, use unwaxed dental floss (I don’t have to say “unflavored,” do I?).

With the oven-blasted method, the turkey is easier to turn if it is trussed in the classic French manner, so instructions are included with that recipe.

What do you put on the outside of your turkey?

Not much—butter, salt, and pepper. I massage the bird with softened unsalted butter, but you can also brush it with melted butter. The butter melts to ensure drippings for basting and the gravy, and its dairy proteins promote browning. Vegetable oil or margarine do not work as well. I season the bird with salt and pepper, nothing else. If the bird is seasoned on the outside with herbs, they often scorch during the long roasting period. Some cooks slip fresh herbs or an herb butter under the breast skin to add flavor. That it does, but during roasting, the herbs turn dark and look unappetizing. Paprika, which some people use on the bird as a browning agent, is particularly extraneous. When the correct oven temperature is used, your bird will be a gorgeous golden brown, even without paprika.

Generally, I don’t glaze the bird, as some of the glaze always drips into the roasting pan and ends up in the gravy.

Do you like to baste the turkey?

Basting promotes browning, and the hot drippings help seal the skin and hold in the juices. Baste every 45 minutes or so, and do it quickly so the temperature doesn’t fall while the oven door is open.

At the beginning of roasting, I pour turkey stock into the roasting pan. The stock adds moisture to the oven interior (again, helping keep that turkey moist), and gives me something to baste
with
. Experienced cooks know that it takes quite a while for a turkey to release enough juices and rendered fat to create enough drippings for basting. As the stock evaporates, its flavor concentrates and enriches the drippings.

That being said, there have been times when I simply forgot to baste the turkey until the very end of the roasting. You know what? It still turned out fine. My conclusion is, baste when you remember to, and don’t make too big a deal over it.

My mom always tents the bird with aluminum foil. What does that do?

Tenting is another Great Thanksgiving Myth. Loosely tenting the bird at the beginning of roasting doesn’t do much. If you want to keep the turkey from drying out, the breast area must be
tightly
covered with foil, as directed in the recipe for Perfect Roast Turkey with Best-Ever Gravy. Some cooks tent the turkey if it seems to be browning too much. But if your oven is at the right temperature (325°F), the turkey will brown at the correct rate and not need tenting.

Why are turkey roasting times always approximate?

There are a number of factors that determine how turkeys cook.

• The bigger the bird, the more meat on the bones. It takes less time for oven heat to pass through soft muscle than hard bone. Therefore, it takes more time per pound to roast a small hen than a large tom. Factor
  in the various conformations of the birds, and you can see why a certain leeway is needed.
  
• The differences in oven temperatures. Use an oven thermometer!
  
• Sporadic heat loss from opening the oven door. Don’t baste more often than every 45 minutes, if at all. You can wait until the last hour to baste, if you wish.
  
• The exact temperature of the turkey when it goes in the oven. Unless the recipe says otherwise, the timings are always for refrigerator-temperature turkeys.
  

When you estimate your cooking time, err on the long side, because if the turkey is done early, it will stay warm for up to an hour. In fact, turkey
should
rest for at least 20 minutes before carving anyway.

Start testing your bird for doneness about 30 minutes before the end of the estimated roasting time, just to be sure the turkey doesn’t overcook. Remember, an overcooked bird is a dry bird.

How can you tell when the turkey is done?

The best way is tell is with a meat thermometer, preferably an instant-read probe model. Inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, but not touching a bone (which conducts heat and would give an incorrect reading), it should register 180° to 185°F. This exact spot is somewhat difficult to determine, but if you picture the turkey’s imaginary “panty line” (that is, the area where the thigh and the drumstick converge), you’ll have a good idea. Also, the thigh and drumstick will feel tender when pressed with a finger. Do not cook the turkey until the drumstick jiggles, meaning that the collagen in the joints has completely dissolved, and indicating that the bird is overcooked. The turkey will have released a lot of juices into the bottom of the pan that probably weren’t there the last time you looked.

Serving the Turkey

What kind of wine should I serve with turkey?

Turkey can be served with just about any wine, and it really boils down to personal preferences. Often, I consider the seasonings in the side dishes to help me make my decision. Spicy flavors would be better complemented by a Gewürztraminer than a Pinot Grigio. If I want to serve the same wine throughout the meal, my favorite white is a full-bodied Chardonnay, because it also complements many soups and salads. When your first course is creamy, you may want a crisp, slightly sharp Sauvignon Blanc to balance the richness. For a red wine, I usually choose a light-bodied varietal, maybe one of the current Beaujolais Nouveau, which have just arrived in early November. To my taste, full-bodied reds are just too much to handle at the typical Thanksgiving spread with lots of contrasting flavors. But with a deep-flavored heritage or wild turkey, I’d pour a richer Pinot Noir. One of my favorite Thanksgiving dinner beverages is a hard, dry apple or pear cider. Served well chilled, it is very refreshing.

Are there any special ways to garnish the turkey?

Usually, a beautiful serving platter is all that a turkey needs. If you don’t have one, you’ll have to improvise. One year, visiting friends in the country, I forgot to bring my turkey platter, so we used a broiler pan—heavily garnished, but it worked.

Even with an heirloom platter, you may want to gild the lily. Dark curly kale makes an
attractive bed for nestling the golden-brown bird. Surround the turkey with small gourds, tiny ears of dried Indian corn, bouquets of fresh herbs, or nuts in their shells. Many fresh fruits make beautiful decorations. Try clusters of grapes or kumquats with their leaves, miniature Lady Apples or Seckle or Forelle pears, or a scattering of fresh cranberries, all of which are in season during the holiday season. If you plan to carve the bird at the table, have an empty bowl handy to hold the garnishes—while they look lovely, they can get in the way of carving. Fresh fruits can be rinsed, dried, and returned to the fruit bowl to serve later in the meal.

I’m nervous about carving the bird. Help!

Let the turkey stand for at least 20 minutes before carving
. The bird will stay perfectly hot for up to 1 hour. You may cover the turkey with aluminum foil and a kitchen towel to help retain the heat, but I find this is unnecessary, and it softens the skin. Once I timed how long it took a 25-pound, hot-out-of-the-oven, 180°F turkey to cool off, and it took 3 hours. This short rest period of 20 minutes allows the juices, which have been forced by the oven heat to the center of the bird, to retract back into the meat, helping retain moisture and firming the meat for easy carving. Most people are so thrilled to have the turkey done that they rush it to the table for carving. The juices run out of the turkey and all over the tablecloth.

Carving is simple with a long, thin, very sharp knife and a sturdy meat fork. An electric knife is a very good investment, even if you only use it on holidays. As odd as it seems, think of the turkey in terms of human anatomy—that is, the leg is connected to the thigh; the turkey’s wing is its arm, which connects to the shoulder joint; and so on—it will help you figure out what you’re doing.

Have an empty platter nearby to hold the sliced meat. If you are carving for a crowd, you may want two platters, one for dark and one for white. Try to avoid carving for each individual in turn, as you will have to alternate carving the light and dark meat, and that gets crazy. Carve the entire bird, then serve it. Before you get started, scoop all of the stuffing out of the cavity and place it in a serving dish.

Here are the steps for carving a turkey:

1. Remove the drumsticks to make the breast easier to reach and carve. Cut off each drumstick at the knee joint. If the turkey is properly cooked (to at least 180°F), they will pull away without any trouble, making the joints easy to sever. Do not remove the thighs at this point or the bird will roll around the platter while you try to carve it. Transfer the drumsticks to a platter. To allow more people to enjoy the dark meat, tilt each drumstick, holding it from the foot end, and cut downward along the bone to slice the meat.