Turkey

A couple friends have asked for this so I thought I would post it. When we started writing this up, we realized that it might be a little overwhelming. So here's the short version:

1. you must use a roasting rack and an oven thermometer

2. be sure and thaw the bird completely (meaning, take it out of the freezer four days before you plan to cook it)

3. use a good rub

4. cook it breast side DOWN for the first hour and breast side UP for the remainder

5. cook to temp 160 for the breast and 175 for the thighs.

6. let it rest for half an hour before carving.

Also, when cooking a turkey, because it's pretty time-consuming and it occupies your oven for a long stretch of time, we always also recommend careful planning for how you're going to get the rest of the meal done and ready so that you're not freaking out about the turkey and getting it finished, rested and carved and the table set, etc., etc., in the last half hour before dinner.

About the roasting rack: we have a rack that we use with a rimmed cookie sheet- you don't need a full out pan, just the rack is the key. Right now they're for sale at Wal-Mart for about $10.

Now, here's the long version!

First, if it's frozen, you must give it a whole 4 days (NO LESS) to thaw BEFORE YOU PUT IT IN THE OVEN. So if it's for Thursday night dinner, you must put it in the fridge Saturday night or Sunday morning. Be sure to put a plate under it to catch any drippy juices (even wrapped turkeys drip) and make sure there's nothing underneath it that can be contaminated by raw poultry juice. We put our turkey in one of the crispers to deal with this. Spencer in general prefers fresh turkeys because a)you don't have to worry about the thawing time and b)he finds that the skin is less fragile and easier to work with.

Wednesday night, clean your sink and wash the unwrapped bird thoroughly inside and out with room temperature water until the water runs clear. (Gross, I know, but necessary.) Then pat it dry with paper towels inside and out. It takes a lot of paper towels, so be ready.

Using a sharp chef's knife or kitchen shears, cut off the wingtips at the first joint. Kind of wiggle the wing until you see where it bends, and then you can nip at it with the knife until you see the actual bones and slide the knife right between the bones and it will come right off, no big deal. Put the bird on a platter or preferably a cookie rack inside a baking sheet so any extra juices won't stay on the bird.

Then you rub it with whatever you want. We use Penzey's Bicentennial Rub from www.penzeys.com. Otherwise we suggest salt, pepper and sage. (Spencer says, this is one of those messy bits that separates true cooks from just people.) Starting at the bottom of the bird, put your hand between the skin and the flesh and kind of spread your fingers to separate the skin from the bird. It's a bit tricky over the thighs. If the skin tears a bit, that's okay. Under the skin, season breast and thighs with the rub. Then rub it all over the outside of the bird. He says, It always takes more than I think and I have to stop and make more halfway through, which is messy because of poultry all over your hands, so just start by making lots more than you think you'll need. Put a bit of rub inside the cavity, too. Then put some aromatics inside the bird: onions, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, peeled but uncrushed garlic cloves, for example.

Put the turkey back in the fridge. If it is sitting on a platter, make sure and dump any residual juices before putting it back in the fridge. You can cover it loosely with tin foil but not tightly- you want it to dry a bit.

The next day: Oven is set at 350. Turkey goes into the oven three to four hours before you plan to sit down for dinner. (I'd go for four hours to give yourself a margin.) When you put the turkey on the rack to roast, put it in breast side up and let it cook that way for about an hour and a half, maybe two hours if it's a bigger bird. Then take it out and turn it over so it's breast side down. Spencer says, how do I know to turn it over? Intuition- the back looks cooked... sorry we can't be more helpful here. At this point also add vegetables (carrots, onions, celery, chopped into big chunks) to the pan. Back in the oven. After that, every half hour, take out the turkey, pour a bit of chicken broth (low-sodium packaged broth makes this MUCH EASIER and saves you from oversalted gravy at the end) maybe a quarter cup into the pan, especially looking for any spots where the juices are cooking away. This keeps the veggies from burning.

Breast should be 160 degrees, thighs 175 when its done. Mostly, (says Spencer) I move the leg and it should feel very, very loose- no resistance as you wiggle it, as though if you wanted to you could pull it off and chew on it like a barbarian. That's a good sign that it's done. That should happen somewhere between 2 1/2 to 3 hours after you put it in. And watch your thermometer.

Check about an hour after you turn it breast side up- wiggle the leg and check the breast temp. If the leg is still stiff but the breast temp is getting close to 160, then cover the breast with foil to slow down its cooking while the thighs catch up.

Pull it out, put it on a plate to rest, covered, for half an hour while you make gravy from the veggies. Then carve and serve!