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January 2006
Posts: 1479
Location: Michigan | I just made my mind up up at 2:00 PM today that I am cooking a Prime Rib Roast tommorow.
I pride myself in my cooking and two weeks ago I spent an afternoon preparing a turkey for a trail run for T-Day. After cooking for the proper amount of time and checking my meat thermometer that said the turkey was just right I pulled it from the oven to let stand for the recommended thirty minutes before carving.
Oh boy I got the mashed potatoes , gravy ,dressing,vegatables ready and then to the ultimate manly duty of feeling like a father showing of his first born ........
I started to carve the bird....
I cut into the leg first as I always do and to my suprise ???? the turkey started bleeding red and the FUC%#&ing Bird was RARE inside.
I was totaly pissed off at myself and ended up sticking it back in the oven for another hour which made it more done but it was a disaster.
Has this ever happened to you?
Also who cooks the bird on Thanksgiving You or your wife or the inlaws?
Please wish me luck on my Primus-Ribis tomorrow.
Everybody have a great Thanksgiving Day . GWB |
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December 2004
Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | My wife doesn't let me cook anything other than Poptarts. |
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August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | Here's a good one for you....
I've never screwed up the turkey BUT.. one Christmas I decided to try and make Beef Wellington for about 20 people. I'd never eaten it before, but damn it always looks so good. Turns out to be an extreme pain in the ass to make.. anyway, in the middle of cooking it, the plague hits our home. It starts with the kids and works its way to most of the adults... fever, vomiting, etc. I had to finish cooking it so everyone could eat... I did finish it but I couldn't eat it, never mind even look at it. It's got liver pate as part of the recipe which didn't help matters. I don't care much any more to try beef wellington.
The poor kids would open a gift and run to the bathroom and puke, then come back and open another one...
I cook every holiday that we have here... this year its the triple play.. thanksgiving, christmas eve and christmas day.
Good luck on the meat! |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | I just eat it. I've always had women around who feel the need to cook. I'll make TV dinners and barbecue. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1479
Location: Michigan | Hey crimsonlake I see that you have a Deluxe players strat in your arsonal.I just picked one up onE-Bay a couple of months ago . It took me a while to find out what I had since it had an 1998 american made neck put on it.How do you like yours? GWB |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Only a llama, never a turkey.
oh, . . . screwed UP a turkey!!! . . .
(never mind.) |
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August 2006
Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | i do the cooking at my house. last easter was a disaster,i got up at 6am,went to mass,cam home put the ham in the oven,it went smooth for the first 1/2 hour. then when i was cooking the veggies the damn oven caught on fire!!! 3hrs later and a trip to homedepot for a new stove we was eating..kinda ruined the whole day..jason |
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Joined:
March 2004
Posts: 629
Location: Houston, Texas | Originally posted by guitarwannabee:
Please wish me luck on my Primus-Ribis tomorrow.
Everybody have a great Thanksgiving Day . GWB The good thing is that Prime Rib can never be too rare.
Happy Thanksgiving. |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Never had trouble with a bird, though cooking is the one thing I do well (so I'm told). Tomorrow, my mother-in-law is cooking, so I'm bringing fresh bread (duh), honey-praline sweet potatoes, mediterranean pasta salad, a couple pies and two bottles of wine. Pretty easy this year.
Traditionally, I've always cooked the turkey, since I was about 15. My folks always had a devil of a time getting it done AND tender, but I stumbled across the right combination, and I'm an anal 20-minute baster...can't have too much juice on the bird.
Trick is to cook it 3/4 done, then cover the whole mess with foil and keep it cooking at the same temp for another hour or so. The "tenting" keeps the bird from burning, retains the juice, and actually amplifies the heat in it to get it cooked more thoroughly. Easiest way to tell is get a meat thermometer (like $10) and temp it before you pull it from the oven. Turkey should be at least 165 to 170 degrees to be considered done.
I'm going to sleep now...I feel myself getting hungry already... |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 1132
Location: Parrish, FL | Andrew,
I'm going into the kitchen this morning, getting the bird ready, stuffing, squash, veggies, salad, pies, the works.
Thanks for the tips on the bird, foil, basting, etc. Mine usually come out pretty good, but I'm always looking to improve. What do you figure timewise per pound on teh bird?
Brad
(looks like we have quite a few handy folks in the kitchen!) |
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October 2005
Posts: 5330
Location: Cicero, NY | I enjoy spending time in the kitchen too. A glass of wine, ok, well maybe a few glasses and I can be talked into making pretty much anything or trying to if I haven't done it before. I think it's a great way to spend time with the family. And SWMBO loves when I cook so I get points there.
We never did Thanksgiving until about 10 years ago when my father in law was food poisoned at a local restaraunt. Spent three weeks in the hospital and almost died (truth is he was begging to die but my mother in law said it wasn't time yet :rolleyes: ). After that, he couldn't stand to even look at a piece of meat that didn't get cooked perfectly and then cooked for a couple more hours just to be sure. Thanksgiving at their house that year was incredible. I kid you not - I left swearing to my wife that I would never, ever eat another piece of turkey in my life. Totally turned me off of turkey.
The next year it ended up at our place and we've been hosting ever since and I've since found the key to a successful holiday is having enough ice. Between the Bloody Mary's and manhatten's, the dinner is an afterthought for the in-laws and they go home happy regardless.
And the turkey is delicious. |
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September 2004
Posts: 777
Location: East Wenatchee, WA | It's the "manly" duty in our household to make the Turkey and stuffing. Everyone else puts the rest of the dinner together.
I get up early every Thanksgiving (well every day actually) and start my "Swedish Chef" impersonation (Muppets). The son-in-laws haven't caught on yet (lazy slugs want to sleep in past 7 a.m.), but the grandsons are getting the picture.
When we used to be close to the mountains, we would pop the Turkey in the oven, load the kids and sleds into the 4x4 and drive until I buried the truck in snow. Then the kids and wife would go sledding while I dug the truck out.
Then we would go home to a perfect turkey. |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | GWB - I like it alot. It takes awhile to get used to the 5 way switch, the push button and all of the different combinations that they entail. I like the way the neck feels ... it's pretty easy to play. I never had a trem before so that also takes some getting used to. The only thing that I don't like is the vintage pickguard... I may change that out at some point. |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | I usually use a blend of butter, lemon-lime soda, a little brown sugar, and white wine for my basting sauce. Use a liberal quantity - the more juice, the moister bird and more gravy you can make.
We typically make a 20 pounder, and it takes about 4 1/2 hours to be just perfect at about 300 to 325 degrees. Somewhere in that range.
#1 rule - USE LOTS OF SEASONING!!! I use a ton of basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, bay leaf, etc...one year, I opened a jar of the Basil Artichoke Spread we make in the bakery and spread it on top of the turkey...it was really good.
Happy Turkey Day to all! |
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August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | The best tip I ever got for cooking the bird is to rub butter between the skin and the meat and to add herbs in there as well (thyme, sage, etc.). Basically you separate the skin from the body as much as you can. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Soak the turkey overnight in a (clean) spackle bucket filled with ice and a high concentration of kosher salt & water. Yank it out the next morning, rinse thoroughly, and cook it. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | At this very moment, my bird is roasting on my grill.
Totally foolproof: Get a small fire going, spread the coals to the outside of the grate, pile on a bunch more all the way around, but leave a big open spot in the middle.
Take your bird, stuff it full of apples or whatever you've got. Place it in the middle of the grill. Wait for the popper to pop.
I guarantee it will come out looking like a Norman Rockwell painting. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4832
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | "Popper?", must be an American thing.
The grill is definately my favourite method. Largest I've done so far was 27lbs, which is about the limit for my grill and I don't think the rotiserrie motor liked in much either.
The grill does the best basting job and the skin looks gorgeous! I don't recommend stuffing the bird as it creates more mass for the heat to penetrate. The bird will be done in 1/2 to 3/4 the time it takes in the oven.
Hint: If you use a meat thermometer (recommended) test in the meatiest part of the thigh only. White breast meat cooks fastest, course dark meat slowest. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1479
Location: Michigan | Hey Cliff,If I do it your way I would have to marinate it tonight and wait until tommorrow to have my bird?
Where were you yesterday???
My dinner guests would not understand and wouldn't show up on Friday.
Hey wait a minute , this recipe just might work great for me...
Thanks Cliff you have a marvelous Turkey recipe.Happy Thanksgiving to Ya . GWB |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Actually, I've never "had" it (I'm a vegetarian), but my ex cooked one that way one year to rave reviews.
Got the "tip" from Alton Brown on "GoodEats" on the FoodNetwork.
Alton is my "hero"(F@ckEmeril!). |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 2791
Location: Atlanta, GA. | We've done turkeys every which way (oven, outside grill with and without rotisserie, even deep fried). This is the ONLY way we do them anymore. Most used small appliance in the house.
My daughter just brought me a sample taste... UMMMM! Falling off the bone tender and juicy!!!
She did a cajun injection to it before cooking. |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | A few years back my neighbor invited us over for deep fried goose. It was out of this world ... |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I always cook the turkey using a free standing roaster oven available at most big department stores for about $70. Cooks an 18 pound turkey in less than three hours, never requires basting, and always is very moist. I rub the bird (inside and out) with cooking oil and douse the entire thing with seasoning salt before placing it into the oven. Check the leg at 2.5 hours and it will likey be done. Only downside is that the skin doesn't brown as much as in a conventional oven. Worst thing that ever happened . . . left the bird on the counter for a few minutes before carving one year, left the room to visit with guests, returned 15 minutes later to find the turkey had disappeared, followed the trail of drippings down the stairs to the doggie door, then found the 3/4 eaten carcass outside next to my dog looking very overstuffed but otherwise wagging his tail. Not a good day. |
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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 354
Location: Flushing, MI | Where was this thread YESTERDAY when I so desperately needed it???
Can we make a "sticky" out of this and leave it up until NEXT Thanksgiving???
BTW - I'm NOT a good cook, but I've never screwed OR screwed up a turkey (yet anyway, on either count). You'd have to either not cook it enough, or burn the livin' shit outta it to ruin it. Anything in between is edible I'd say. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Best turkey we ever had was the year an ice storm took out our power. We did the turkey on the Weber kettle grill and the rest of the fixins on the Coleman. |
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Ever screwed up the turkey???
