First Time Turkey Cooker

If you're trying to perfect the process, I'll leave the floor for other posters.

If you're not very experienced in the kitchen, I highly suggest cooking it in a turkey bag (any grocery store will have them). Its incredibly hard to screw up. Mine have all turned out well, with 0 experience.

Although I told a friend the same, and he accidentally used Broil instead of bake and melted the bag to the turkey.

Let me clarify that I have little to no cooking experience lol

LINK

Everything you need to know.

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fully de-thawed

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Wouldn't that be frozen?

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Let me clarify that I have little to no cooking experience lol

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I cooked a turkey for a bunch of friends for the first time 2 years ago because noone volunteered. Used the bag and it turned out great. Watch a youtube video of how to prep it and follow the instructions on the bag. Super easy.

-Let it fully defrost
-Put your hand up its arse and take out the neck/gizzards/etc.
-Use a stick of butter and lather it up all of its skin like you're putting on lotion
-Season all over generously with salt/pepper/Slap ya momma (Your preference here)
-Put some flour in your bag and shake it around so theres a light coating (I assume this is so it doesn't stick to the skin)
-Put bird in bag
-Seal with the tie that comes with the bag
-Bake for however long and what temp the bag says.

There are much better ways of doing it, but thats as easy as it gets, and the bag keeps it from drying out. Like I said, first time ever and it worked just fine. People were asking how long I've been cooking turkeys. (We were fresh out of college, so they were easy to impress.)

1 - Get that frozen bird into the refrigerator today. It will likely take him until Wednesday to properly thaw.

2 - Like someone else said, Get a Turkey cooking bag at Walmart.

3 - Mid day Wednesday, un-bag him and remove the paper bag from the opposite end from where the big hole is where they removed his guts. Keep this in the refrigerator. You will use it he next day.

4 - Dry him off with paper towels, season him liberally with garlic powder, black pepper and drop him into a plastic trash can bag (that doesn't leak). Add a quart of apple juice and a tablespoon of salt to the liquid and seasoning mix. I you have it, add two 6 inch sprigs of rosemary and two teaspoons of thyme. Squeeze the air out and place him back into the refrigerator, or an ice chest with enough ice to keep him chilly cold so he won't spoil and send everyone to the hospital.

5 - Early the next Day (Thanksgiving morning) is cook your turkey time. He will take 15 minutes per pound to cook at 325 degrees in the cooking bag.

6 - Place the bird breast up in the cooking bag (The Reynolds Wrap folks make good ones that usually can be found in the section beside the aluminum foil and plastic wrap at Walmart). It is probably in the same place at your grocer. You need to go buy the bag today because they will all be gone by next Wednesday. I like to put an orange cut into four pieces Peel and all and a cored apple cut into four pieces in the body cavity on my bird.

7 - Follow the directions on the bag, placing him in his bag, and that into a suitable sized pan, so that if the bag leaks something will catch it and keep your oven clean. Salt and black pepper him. before putting him into his bag. If you like, put one sprig of rosemary in there too.

8 - Cook the bird at 325 F for 15 minutes per pound.

When he should be done, take his internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should be 165 F. You can also cook him for an extra 30 minutes if you have no thermometer.

Giblet Gravy:

Take the giblets and cook them in chicken broth, with some 1/4 cup chopped celery, 1/4 cup chopped onion and a clove of minced garlic. Simmer them for an hour or so, until you can pull the meat from the neck.

Boil some eggs. The giblet gravy will need at least one, sliced thin. Your dressing will need several.

After the giblets have coked fully, pull the from the broth, pull all of the meat you can from the beck and return that to the broth. Chop the gizzard and liver as fine as you like and return them to the broth. Do not add the neck skin to the broth. Hold this somewhere (not boiling) until just before serving time and then add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of corn starch to some water, stir it up until there are no corn starch lumps and add it to the broth/meat and cook at a low boil until the corn starch thickens to the level you like your giblet gravy. Finally add the thinly sliced boiled egg and your giblet gravy is ready.

Let the turkey rest on a platter for at least ten minutes before slicing.

Here is an alternate method for cooking your bird

1 - Thaw him and brine as above. Dry him early the morning you are cooking and place him breast up, on a poultry rack in a roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook him at 325 F open in the oven.

2 - Every 15 minutes, Baste him with a 50/50 mixture of vegetable oil and melted butter. Brush it on all skinned surfaces if possible. Eventually he may get as brown as you like. At that point, If he is not at an internal (measured in thickest part of the Breast and thigh) temperature of 165 F make a tent out of aluminum foil and put it (shiny side up) over his breast to keep it from drying out too much.

3 - Cook him 15 minutes per pound to an internal temperature of 165 F measured with a probe thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and also in a short leg.

This method will give you a crispy, golden brown skin bird, that may be dryer than the bag method.

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Make sure you pull the neck and gizzards out of its bunghole.

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Bruh that ain't its bunghole.

But yes, take that shite out and make gravy

True, but most people want to present that classic Thanksgiving turkey on the platter, but end up overcooking it.

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True, but most people want to present that classic Thanksgiving turkey on the platter, but end up overcooking it.

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If you pre carve it, it's honestly just as impressive IMO. And it tastes amazingly better.

Oh yeah, make sure you thaw it (may take two days in the fridge} before you try and cook it. Good luck.