Turkey. A controversial topic that's sure to get people fired up.

[Xolodno]

Oven baked? Deep Fryed? or Smoked?

I say smoked is the best.

[Waldorf]

1. I like smoked the best. Doing oven baked this Thanksgiving. Would like to deep fry sometime

but peanut oil is expensive.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

45. As far as I am concerned, smoked turkey is nasty.

However, the worst turkey I ever had was prepared by my mother-in-law about 25 years ago. My MIL is deathly afraid that any turkey will be tough (which ignores the fact that the last tough commercial turkey in the US was produced during the Truman administration, if not before). So she took out her large Nesco Roaster, put a couple of inches of water in the bottom, and steamed the turkey. It certainly wasn't tough. However, all the flavor wound up in the water and the skin was inedible.

Actually, I agree with Calvin Trillin, who said that the national dish on Thanksgiving should be Spaghetti Carbonara, which is much better than turkey.

Just to cement my reputation as a Thanksgiving iconoclast, I should mention that I loathe pumpkin in any of its manifestations and I have no love for squash either (except zucchini). I once tried using butternut squash in a pumpkin pie recipe, and it was just as horrid as if I had used pumpkin.

[csziggy]

2. You forgot - stuffed or unstuffed!

I like oven baked with the dressing cooked on the side but with aromatic vegetables (onion, celery, carrot) in the body cavities for extra flavor. This year I may spatchcock my turkey - if I do, I might put the stuffing on the bottom for the last half of the cooking time.

[Aerows]

5. Got to have the Mirepoix!

I add garlic to it, as well.

[csziggy]

13. I haven't added garlic before - that would be good

I'm glad people are talking about this - I need to check my herbs and spices and make sure I have everything I need. I'll use dried - I am no good at keeping fresh herbs in stock and dried works for most things.

[Aerows]

15. I use freeze dried garlic

Litehouse is a good brand and you can't tell the difference.

[csziggy]

18. I do get fresh garlic but I found minced garlic in a tube that is great

I got that when recovering from carpal tunnel surgery and didn't have use of one thumb for two months. It's cool since you can just squeeze a little bit out and stir in - fantastic for little bit of garlic for eggs or to make garlic mayonnaise.

Here is a review of the brand I bought at the local Publix: http://thiseclecticlife.com/2009/12/09/garlic-is-indeed-a-tuber-but-should-it-be-in-a-tube/

[Codeine]

25. Is it better than the garlic in the jar?

I use that when I'm feeling lazy but it's definitely more bitter than fresh garlic.

[csziggy]

28. I don't know - it's been decades since I bought garlic in a jar

I like the tube since I can get the garlic out without contaminating the rest of the garlic. The last time I bought garlic in a jar it got moldy pretty quick, I think because I wasn't as careful as I should be about using a clean implement to get it out.

I haven't noticed any bitter flavor - even when making garlic butter to spread on bread.

[Xolodno]

6. Wife watches a lot of cooking shows...

...and many of them say not to stuff it because of salmonella.

I told her that's blasphemy.

[packman]

36. She's right

stuffing a turkey is playing with salmonella - reason is the stuffing just won't reach the correct temp. to kill any wayward germs. Think about it - the turkey juices (which are suspect) soak into the bread. When the turkey temp. is correct to come out of the oven, the stuffing is still - at best lukewarm with all that turkey juice soaked into it. Literally a germ bomb.

Wife is correct. Put stuffing in separate pan, moisten it with turkey or chicken broth and serve on side. You're playing the odds otherwise.

[shanti]

19. sounds interesting!

i've never seen this method before, and i like crispy skin. just sent this to my chef son, i'd like to hear what he has to say about it. thanks for posting this!

[csziggy]

22. I've never done it but I think I would like it

Since I like dark meat and my husband likes white, they never get done the right amount with the bird as normal.

Here is another video on spatchcocking:

He's got some better details on how to cut it and cooking it.

It's also supposed to be a great way to fix poultry for grilling since the meat all cooks more evenly.

[shanti]

29. it's intriguing

yes, i can see that it might work on a large propane grill too. i'd probably try a chicken first though. do you mind if i crosspost this to the cooking forum?

my turkey is only 12 pounds, so i just might give this a try. the way it looks isn't important to me, the way it tastes is! i'm a dark meat person myself, and it sucks when the dark meat is dried out.

thanks again

[csziggy]

32. No problem - it's not an original idea

I may have seen it mentioned here on DU in the first place. Or maybe it was on one of the cooking shows on Saturday.

There are a lot of videos on YouTube about spatchcocking. Just don't watch the one from Betty's Kitchen - she mutilates her turkey and then beats it. I stopped watching it when she pulled out the rolling pin!

[pscot]

41. I like this idea a lot

One hour baking time is a powerful incentive. The video makes it look like a piece of cake. The stuffing can bake in a side dish under buttered parchment paper or foil. Boiling the back with the giblets will make a great stock for gravy. The responses should be interesting. A new thing!

[csziggy]

43. From watching the videos the hardest part is cutting out that backbone

And the pelvis. On one of the videos, a comment suggests cutting along the cartilage on the inside of the breastbone to make it easier to flatten it. The first video I posted shows taking out the wish bone which makes it easier to get the breast meat free at the end.

I'm out of homemade turkey stock so having the backbone, neck and giblets to make fresh will be great. I usually use my stock to mix the dressing - but that can be cooked on the stove top quickly while the bird is cooling.

[Retrograde]

42. Stuffed - with stuffing in the bird

we usually do a corn bread stuffing, which ex-Alabamian Mr. Retrograde insists on: I start the cornbread a week in advance so it gets nice and dry. It's then crumbled and cooked with a mirepoix before being crammed into the bird. There's always a lot extra that can be baked separately for the vegetarians. Or to be eaten later with gravy. And the turkey is roasted.

But this year we're doing duck.

[Aerows]

3. Have done deep fried

Done correctly, it is delicious. Done incorrectly, let's just say you will be eating the ham instead.

I'm a plain old oven baked fan, though. Fill it full to bursting of stuffing, and it makes me happy.

[plus5mace]

7. Best turkey I ever had was fried.

It wasn't much different than fried chicken, but that's not a bad thing.

[Aerows]

9. It's fantastic when it is done correctly

The best way to get it is someone doing a bunch of them. It's really expensive to do just one because of the peanut oil, and frankly, and inexperienced fryer (and inadequate equipment) can ruin it.

Deep fried turkey - outsource it!

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

4. Ours is from a barbecue joint this year.

So I'm guessing there will be smoke.

[951-Riverside]

8. Microwaved

[Codeine]

10. Made of wheat gluten and tofu.

Wait. . . I'm in the wrong room. TOFURKY FOR LIFE!!

[Aerows]

21. If Tofurky was all I had to look forward to

on Thanksgiving, I'd probably eat a TV Dinner.

The only thing more foul is the Jello salad with carrots suspended in it then slathered with mayonnaise.

I've had Tofurkey. I will not be having it ever again. Grill some eggplant if you are a vegan, enjoy some quinoa stuffing in the eggplant. Eat some fresh carrots or even some corn on the cob. Beans?

Don't eat such abominations as Tofurkey. You only encourage them to make more of it.

[Codeine]

23. I actually love it.

I make it every few months year-round. I genuinely enjoy eating it.

[Aerows]

24. You can have as much of it

as you like!

If I ever get a coupon offering free Tofurky dinners, you will be the recipient - far be it from me to deny those who enjoy something.

[Tree-Hugger]

35. Wait...what?

Jello and mayo? Good God........WHY?

[Aerows]

40. I'm telling you

there are worse concoctions in the universe than even Tofurky.

Lime Jello with Cabbage suspended in it slathered in mayo for example.

[Tree-Hugger]

44. That's just not right

It's not okay.

Are these foods served as punishment?

[Thor_MN]

50. Probably, but your Grandmother made it, so take some, eat it, and shut up!!!

If you don't eat it, you will get it as an enema!!!

[Tree-Hugger]

54. .

[NV Whino]

11. To brine or not to brine. That is the question.

[packman]

37. Been brining my turkey BREASTS for years

moist and juicy. Roasting makes a turkey lose something like 35% of its moisture, hence dry white meat. Brining holds the moisture in so only something like 15% of the moisture is lost on cooking. Brining (7 oz. of KOSHER salt not table salt) to a gal. of water and overnight brining does it. I use Emeril Lagasse brining and family loves it. However there are simpler ones that only use salt/water/sugar and whatever flavors you like to enhance the taste.




http://beta.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/roast-breast-of-turkey-recipe.html#!

[Thor_MN]

55. Should one really brine that long? I thought overnight was recommended...

[packman]

59. They develop a nice salt crust after the 7th month

Good one

[Xolodno]

57. Would love to try brine one day....

....but obtaining a fresh turkey a bit difficult. Have family that are on farms.....maybe one day I can get them to help out. That is, I'll pay for the thing and pay them to butcher it. Saw a lamb butchered once....and didn't eat meat for a year.

[NV Whino]

58. I confess I buy pre-brined, kosher turkey breasts from Trader Joes.

you can get whole kosher turkeys there, too. But for one person, a breast is perfect.

[packman]

60. Fresh or frozen - doesn't really matter

BUT- of course, defrost the frozen turkey or turkey breast per instructions. I don't believe I have ever had a fresh, off-the farm, killed turkey so I may be wrong--

FUNNY, this popped into my mind: Sarah and the turkey -

?t=3

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

12. No point if there's no turkey gravy

Just sayin'

[MowCowWhoHow III]

14. Just don't Nuke it

[KamaAina]

16. Thread win!

[Chan790]

17. Turkey is awful.

Give me a nice lasagna instead or a mac-and-cheese.

[shanti]

20. probably just baked

but i always use those big cooking bags for moist turkey. before i started using them, the turkey often came out dry.

[Codeine]

27. I wish those had been around when I was a kid.

Dry turkey year after year.

[shanti]

31. yeah, it's not the prettiest turkey when using them

but that doesn't matter to me

[ellenrr]

26. my favorite part is when they cut the beak and feet off the turkey. I wonder how that feels.

yum...

[potone]

30. Oh dear, I thought you were talking about the country!

Never mind.

[Snobblevitch]

33. I think the deep frying of a turkey is over rated.

The oil needed to fry the bird costs more than the turkey.

I cooked a turkey on a gas grill a couple of weeks ago. Thursday I'm cooking one on our oven to bring to a Thanksgiving meal at a family gathering.

[Purveyor]

34. Weber grill with apple wood for smoke. eom

[cwydro]

38. Brined and then roasted.

Yum.

[JanMichael]

39. tvp. nt

[randome]

46. Just don't talk about turkey at Olive Garden or there WILL be hell to pay here!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[MineralMan]

47. Cold. I like mine cold.

[randome]

48. No wonder. You're in Minnesota. EVERYTHING is cold there.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[MineralMan]

49. It's getting that way, now. First snow in

St. Paul probable tomorrow. Only place I ever have lived where you need three different jackets to get through winter. A light jacket for fall and spring. A medium parka (mine's a Swedish Army parka) for temps between 10 and 32 degrees. A major L.L. Bean winter-buster parka that cost $150 for everything under 10 degrees. Each jacket or parka has its own pair of gloves in the pockets, also suited for a particular temperature range.

Three hats, too, including the big ear-flap one that makes you look like Elmer Fudd while you're out shoveling and blowing snow in the middle of a blizzard.

But, hey, we get 4 months of beautiful weather each year, punctuated by thunderstorms and tornados. It's a wonderful place to live. Lots of variety. Variety is good.

[HuckleB]

51. All work well, but it's best if brined.

[HuckleB]

53. The 7 Best Deep-Fried Turkey Disaster Videos

http://gizmodo.com/5698696/the-7-best-deep-fried-turkey-disaster-videos

[Goblinmonger]

56. Well, just to add more fuel to the debate

Family of vegetarians

[prouddemfromaustin44]

61. Oven baked, hands down.

I don't particularly care for turkey as a whole, though. I much prefer eating chicken or roast beef on Thanksgiving.

[Thor_MN]

62. Read the packaging on your turkey.

If it says that it is injected or contains a "solution", there is no point in brining, it already has been done. Brining will increase the weight (water) in the turkey, so it is common for that to be done. You are paying by the pound, so go figure...

[Xolodno]

63. Just saw another way on food network....

...steaming it.

Wonder if they do it in a Turkish Bath.

[madokie]

64. Deep fried is great

Smoked in a Big Green Egg cooker is awesome. Deep fried scared me in the fact its so dangerous and won't be doing it again


http://www.biggreenegg.com/

ETA: Oven roasted is good too