How-To: How to Roast a Turkey for Tummies

I know there are tons of recipes out there from Butterball to Martha Stewart on how to cook turkey, but I want to take the Alton Brown approach (the host of the FoodTV show Good Eats) and give you the absolute basics on what it takes to make the best turkey ever!!! I guarantee that your turkey will come out moist and fully cooked!

Did you know, the turkey pictured above isn't fully cooked. Photographers tend to visually make their pictures look cooked, but often they aren't.

Ready? Here is the rule of thumb, patience!!!!!!!! A lot of people over cook simply because they aren’t taking the time to prepare and wait the needed time to cook your turkey. Lets go over FIVE basic rules to keep your turkey finger licking awesome!

Know your oven! Sounds simple, but it isn’t. Every oven is different and every oven creates heat differently; you have to understand your oven and find out the ’super hot’ spots of your oven by purchasing an oven thermometer for less then $6. Try and take the temperature of the top rack, middle and bottom. You will want to situate your turkey in the part of the oven that maintains the correct temperature throughout the cooking process.
The thickest part of the turkey will be the hardest part to cook without over cooking the thinner parts. You will need to stick your meat thermometer in the thickest part of the turkey and monitor the heat in your oven. Since all turkeys have different sizes and placement of the thermometer is essential, you will need to situate your turkey where you can view the bird’s internal temperature from the oven window.
You want your turkey to be juicy? Cover the turkey with foil paper and only schedule a few glances at the bird during the cooking process. Covering the turkey will essentially help steam the turkey trapping all the moisture and help it cook faster. The worst thing you can do is keep opening the oven and let all the hot air out. This will not only increase the cooking time, but your bird will continue to cook unevenly as your oven tries to regulate the temperature.
Remember what I just mentioned, opening and closing the oven is a big ‘no-no’. So, you don’t need to bast the turkey until the last 15 minutes or so. Basting just gives the outside of the turkey it’s carmel color (which it has been doing already) as well as add additional flavor to the skin. if you need to bast the turkey, schedule to do it twice before taking it out. Once at the last 15 minute mark and once at the last 10 minute mark.
Finishing Touches. So, you have kept the oven at a constant temperature, checked the turkey temperature, covered your bird, and basted during the last 15 minutes. The finishing touches will make all of the difference.
1. First, let the turkey rest before you handle it, it is incredibly hot and still cooking. You can make gravy from drippings, spoon out the veggies, and move the turkey, but let the bird rest before you carve it. About 15 minutes
2. Have you ever carved a chicken? If not, try carving a chicken before you carve your turkey. This is how you do it. 1. Cut off the appendage (legs, thighs, wings) and put them aside. You can trim those pieces so that it’s easier to eat. 2. Cut one side of the turkey at a time at an angle and lay it out on the patter. The cuts should be about half an inch thick.

Well, that’s about it. Whatever recipe you use, make sure that you read it all the way through first so that their are no surprises. It is pretty simple if you take some time to think about it.

Here are some equipment that you should have when cooking anything: