Time of the year!
If you are hosting the Thanksgiving party, you know how important it is to get
the turkey right. Here’s a detailed plan for getting it right, from thawing to
managing leftovers.
The key for the
perfect turkey is timing. Plan your days and hours before the dinner. Start
with buying the turkey and thawing it. The bird would take about one day for
four pounds of the bird. So, if your bird is twelve pounds, keep it out for
thawing for three days. To thaw your turkey, either keep it in a plastic bag or
have it wrapped in cling film. Keep the wrapped bird on a plate, or tray,
anything that has rimmed edges so that the juices don’t flow and create a mess
in your fridge. Keep it in the top shelf or somewhere it won’t be a hinderance
to your other food and you won’t be taking it out to remove stuff from your
fridge.
A Day Before – Wednesday
A day before
thanksgiving, that is on Wednesday, take your bird out, remove the plastic wrap
and pat it dry with kitchen towels. Season it well. Do not use stuffing, unless
you know the exact scientific way to stuff your turkey. If you do not do the
stuff right, there are chances that the stuffing absorbs bacteria from the bird
and your guests can get sick. There are chances of salmonella poisoning also.
But, if for the sake of tradition you have to use stuffing in the bird, cook
the stuffing alongside the bird instead of inside it. After the stuffing and
the bird are cooked separately, you can the stuff it in the bird.
After the
seasoning is done, cover the bird with foil paper and keep it back in the
fridge. Do not keep the bird out for long. As soon as the seasoning is done,
keep it back in the fridge. Also, do not keep the turkey in the roasting pan
when you are putting it back in the fridge. Keep the bird in the pan only
before putting it in the oven.
Thanksgiving Day
Take your turkey
out of the fridge and let it sit for 15-20 mins in room temperature before you
put it in the oven. Depending on what your recipe is, your turkey should take
anywhere between 4-5 hours including carving time. So take the bird out of the
fridge accordingly.
Be very careful
with roasting the turkey. Follow the recipe very closely. There is a definitive
temperature and less than that or a little more can be dangerous. Be sure your
recipe mentions temperature and duration explicitly. Once out of the oven,
carve your turkey. Check what your recipe mentions about the leftovers. For
different recipes, carving and leftover requirements can be different. There’s
a danger zone for cooked meat as well. make sure the recipe covers those points
as well.
Keep the leftover
bird in the fridge. Leftover turkey is mostly good for three days if
refrigerated in time. If you plan to use the leftovers for longer, you can pack
the meat properly and freeze it. it can stay frozen for over a month.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
