Monday, November 19, 2012

Thanksgiving: Turkey

Here she is in all her glory!!!!


The biggest thing that stressed me about hosting was the dang turkey being sold out. I would be the WORST host ever if I couldn't find a turkey. I am a procrastinator so I was worried I would wait to the last minute to buy a turkey and they would all be gone. So Garth went to the store last Thursday night and with the help of a nice lady, he picked out the above 22 pounder.

My SIL, Jess, and I decided on this recipe for our turkey:

Food Network's World's Simplest Thanksgiving Turkey
Total Time: 3 hr 10 min
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 3 hr 0 min
Level: Easy

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pull the neck and giblets out of the cavity; ditch the liver and save the rest of the giblets for gravy. Dry the turkey with paper towels, then season inside and out with salt and pepper. Fill the turkey with aromatics like chopped onions, carrots, apples and herbs, then place breast-side up in a roasting pan and brush with melted butter. Tent with foil and roast for 2 hours (for a 10- to 12-pound turkey; add an extra 15 minutes per pound for larger birds). Remove the foil, baste with more melted butter and crank the oven to 425 degrees F. Roast for another hour or until the meat at the thigh registers 165 degrees F. Let rest while you make the gravy.

Obviously, I was sold when I saw the title of the recipe. And the level was easy.

(SOURCE)

We can't screw that up! I am sure our turkey will look just like theirs!

Thank goodness for Google. I don't know what I would do without it. I learned in order to defrost a 22 pound turkey it needs to be in the fridge for 5 days before cooking. Here is the chart for your reference:

Weight of Bird

Roasting Time (Unstuffed)

Roasting Time

(Stuffed)


10 to 18 pounds
3 to 3-1/2 hours
3-3/4 to 4-1/2 hours

18 to 22 pounds
3-1/2 to 4 hours
4-1/2 to 5 hours

22 to 24 pounds
4 to 4-1/2 hours
5 to 5-1/2 hours
24 to 29 pounds
4-1/2 to 5 hours

5-1/2 to 6-1/4 hours

So we moved the turkey from the freezer to the fridge on Saturday. Surprisingly, my fridge (and freezer) are bigger than I thought. I had no trouble fitting it in either one, phew!

In case you are wondering how long to cook your turkey, I found this site and chart helpful:

Weight of Bird

Roasting Time (Unstuffed)

Roasting Time

(Stuffed)


10 to 18 pounds
3 to 3-1/2 hours
3-3/4 to 4-1/2 hours

18 to 22 pounds
3-1/2 to 4 hours
4-1/2 to 5 hours

22 to 24 pounds
4 to 4-1/2 hours
5 to 5-1/2 hours
24 to 29 pounds
4-1/2 to 5 hours

5-1/2 to 6-1/4 hours


T-minus 3 days!!!!!

1 comment:

Lauren said...

Gobble! Gobble! I'm sure it will turn out just great!!!! :)