I got a fantastic turkey from Trader Joe's, it was vegetarian fed and brined. The brine on a turkey keeps it moist while it cooks. If your turkey does not come to you brined, you can brine it yourself. Brining is the process of allowing your item to sit in salt water to push water into the bird. I would recommend buying a brining mix or adding some herbs to your mixture if you do this at home.
DON'T FORGET TO PULL OUT THE INNARDS! Most if not all turkeys come with the gross bits inside the body cavity. If you are a giblet gravy person, pull out the nasty bits and boil them then put them into some gravy. If you are grossed out as I am by the insides of a turkey, then you can simply toss them away. You can also turn a chicken stock into a nice turkey flavored stock by boiling the innards in the stock.
Once you have pulled out the nasties, and done what you will with them, you should stuff the body cavity with some aromatics. I recommend onions and an orange. The onions will supplement the flavor of the turkey; and the orange will steam the inside of the body and keep the meat juicy.
I always recommend trussing your bird. This simply means to tie the legs together and bind the wings to the body. This will ensure that everything cooks at the same time. Additionally, to this point, white meat cooks faster than dark meat. To prevent the breast from overcooking while the legs finish getting to temperature, you can place a double layer of tin foil over the breast during cooking. You can also stuff the breast between the meat and the skin This will keep the breast juicy during cooking.
For the outside of the turkey you want to ensure to use a fat and some flavor. Butter or oil will work well. For your flavorings use absolutely must include salt and pepper. After those key items you can use whatever you like. Sage, rosemary and thyme go nicely with turkey. I bought a turkey paste this year because the saleswoman at William's Sonoma was really convincing. It was truly delicious.
I am not one to stuff my turkey while cooking, it makes your turkey take much longer to fully cook. I do like stuffing, however, or I guess technically I like dressing. I made a sausage leek cornbread dressing that received rave reviews. Leeks have a very mellow and slightly sweet flavor. I have cooked with them several times, as I have detailed in several posts, and I always enjoy the results. I browned some sweet and spicy sausage in a sautee pan and then let it cool on some paper towels. In the sausage grease and some olive oil I sauteed the leeks until they started to become translucent. I combined the leeks and the sausage and then mixed in some cornbread crumbs. I topped the whole thing with my chicken/turkey stock and baked until it started to brown. Truly delicious.
I hope that you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy yourselves in the kitchen!
