How To Roast A Turkey

Knowing how to roast a turkey is essential before you prepare your bird for the big Thanksgiving dinner. There are some important tips and secrets that are shared by some cooks from generation to generation and then there are some new methods and ideas that make roasting a turkey even more tender and tasty. Once you learn how to roast a turkey using these newer methods you may never go back to regular baking the bird again.

To roast a turkey, you'll need;

• Shallow baking pan
• Tin Foil
• Turkey Baster
• Meat thermometer
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh or Thawed frozen turkey
• 5 large carrots, washed
• 5 large stalks of celery, washed
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• Red wine vinegar

1. Clean all surfaces and utensils that turkey comes in contact with as you follow these instructions to prevent spreading of bacteria that can cause illness. This includes your hands.
2. Take turkey and bring to sink. You must remove a bag of innards from one end and the long neck from the other open end of the bird. The organ bag can be saved to help make the gravy or just throw it away with the neck.
3. Rinse the entire bird inside and out with cool running water. Pat dry lightly and salt the inside of the bird. Now you're ready to roast a turkey.
4. Turn on oven to 500 degrees.
5. Place carrots and celery stalks on bottom of baking pan. Then put the turkey breast side up on top of vegetables. Tuck in wings.
6. To roast a turkey, use your hands and slip them under the birds skin to loosen it. Put half of the minced garlic under the skin as evenly as possible.
7. Sprinkle olive oil generously on top of replaced skin and all surfaces of the bird. Rub the rest of the minced garlic on top of the olive oil.
8. Place turkey in oven and check every 15 minutes till bird is well browned.
9. To roast a turkey once the bird is browned generously sprinkle on the red wine vinegar and cover with tin foil loosely like a tent. Watch the wings, those brown quickly so place foil on those when they're well browned.
10. Roast a turkey by using high heat so leave temperature at 500 degrees and baste every 15 minutes or so and this turkey with take less than half the time to cook about 2 hours average.
11. Remove bird from oven when the meat reaches 175 degrees taken with the meat thermometer in between the body and the upper thigh. The turkey will continue to cook outside the oven till it reaches 180 F. Other signs of readiness include wings and legs getting very loose and juices that run clear.
12. Let sit 20 minutes and then the roasted turkey is ready for carving. Toss out the carrots and celery the bird sat on during cooking.

Reference:

turkey recipes