Do you know that a "frozen" turkey is fresher than a so-called "fresh" turkey? The frozen turkey have been frozen immediately upon preparation (execution.) The so-called fresh turkeys can sit in your store for days. For crisper skin, unwrap the turkey the day before roasting and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
Use a shallow roasting pan. Add some roughly chopped onions and carrots to the bottom of the roasting pan. Add about a cup or two of wine (or stock) into the roasting pan. Invest in one of those roasting racks to place you bird on - it will keep it out of the accumulating juices and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the roasting pan.
Do not stuff your turkey ahead of time as harmful bacteria growth could spoil the uncooked turkey. Just before roasting, stuff the body and the neck of the turkey. Do not pack in as the stuffing will expand during cooking. If packed in too tightly, it will be very dense instead of light. You can truss your bird (if you know how.) An easier version is to use the heel of the loaf of bread to cover the opening of the abdomen and tie the legs of the turkey together - this will help with a more even cooking of the stuffing. Cook the remaining stuffing (dressing) in a baking pan.
Before roasting, coat the outside of the turkey with vegetable or olive oil, season with salt and pepper. So your turkey is thawed, brined or not brined, stuffed or not stuffed. Now it's time to get it into the oven. Approximate cooking times listed below are for a whole turkey cooked at 350 °F.
Calculating Cooking Time:
| Weight (Pounds) | 8 to 12 | 12 to 14 | 18 to 20 | 20 to 24 | 24 to 30 |
| Unstuffed (hours) | 2.75 to 3 | 3 to 3.75 | 4.25 to 4.5 | 4.5 to 5 | 5 to 5.25 |
| Stuffed (hours) | 3 to 3.5 | 3.5 to 4 | 4.25 to 4.75 | 4.75 to 5.25 | 5.25 to 6.25 |
To prevent the breast meat from drying out, loosely cover just the breast with a triple thick sheet of aluminum foil, butter on the inside to prevent sticking. Remove after the first hour of roasting so the breast has time to brown and lower the temperature to 350°F.
I have no firm opinion on basting - baste if you enjoy basting every half hour (this will resulting in a slightly longer cooking time as the oven will have to continuously have to come back up to temperature) or baste once an hour (this will result in you worrying about a possible dry turkey. I have two suggestions for that - make more gravy and continually drink during the entire cooking process.)
Never rely on the little plastic thermometer in some turkeys to pop out. If you wait for it, the turkey will overcook. Instead stick an instant read thermometer several inches down through the skin between the thigh and the breast so the tip ends up about an inch above the joint. They turkey is ready when the thermometer reads 165 degrees F.
Let the cooked turkey "rest" after it have been removed from the oven. While the turkey cooks, the juices are forced away from the heat to the middle of the turkey. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes after it is removed from the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the turkey. A moist turkey is easier to carve and tastier too.
If you need your oven to reheat or cook side dishes, it's better to serve the turkey at room temperature with hot gravy than to reheat it. Reheating dries out the meat. The interior of a large turkey will stay quite hot for at least an hour.
Gravy
Ingredients
* 4 cups of reduced-sodium chicken broth or your own, (which would be infinitely better.)
* 2 tablespoons of butter
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Drippings from Turkey roasting pan
Tools
* Large heavy bottom saucepan
* Whisk
* Large wooden spoon
* Sieve
* Unwashed Roasting pan from Turkey
* Medium sized bowl
Directions
Pour out the drippings from roasting tray, set aside.
Place roasting tray over medium heat and add stock. Bring to a boil and scrap bottom of pan, getting all the accumulated brown bits (fond) off the bottom. Lower the heat, occasionally stirring as you continue with the recipe.
Place the large saucepan over medium high heat. Add butter, 2 tablespoons of pan dripping and 1/2 cup of flour to saucepan and whisk until mixture turns a light brown (in about 4 minutes - do not burn.)
Lower heat to medium and slowly whisk the heated stock into the saucepan (straining through sieve.) This is a good time to call someone into the kitchen to lend a hand, i.e, hold the sieve, pouring the stock through the sieve, slowly whisking or making sure you are properly hydrated. Add about 3 cups of the stock and continue cooking until the gravy has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes - if it's a little too thick add a little more stock (add a little more pan drippings.)
Smother everything you eat with it.
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