Thread: WILLIAM: Turkey Cooking Tips Needed?

All you female kitchen chauvinists here better go watch some television or fix us up some gravy and fixins!

W

I could never help with gravy cause it comes out like a blob and you could throw it at the wall and it will stick.

Well, I grew up in a northeastern suburb and there were no whole carcasses to deal with there. Even fishing was considered a bit crude, if you actually brought anything home. We were recovering from the WWII victory garden years, and I cannot tell you how happy my grandmother was to ditch the garden and the mason jars, and buy her food wrapped up nice from the supermarket. I can still remember the older stores with wood floors, where they would spot clean by throwing down fresh sawdust and then sweeping it up. There was a store where you could buy fresh eggs and freshly butchered chicken, just out on a counter, and let me tell you: clean fresh chicken and eggs has an unforgettably wholesome smell. But that store's days were short lived with the advent of the supermarket. The only time I ever saw men cooking was occassionally at a big family picnic in the summer, and that was rare. Even at our multiple yearly family gatherings, the women did most or all of the cooking. Many of that generation of women never learned how to drive. It was a very different world, better in some ways, not in others.

Betsy Ross,i love your rendition of the olden days,right down to the sawdust on the floors.William,why are you cooking your bird so early?

I enjoyed reading that too, Betsy Ross!

I'll never forget my "first turkey".

It was a freezing cold Christmas Day in Miami 1989. Our first born was five months old.

Usually we went to my mother and father in-law's for turkey....but this year with the new baby I told my husband, "We're eating dinner at home....the three of us!!"

I put the turkey in and I was beside myself with joy as our humble little home soon filled up with all of the delicious turkey dinner smells! It was a real home, I cooked and watched my husband play with the baby. EWWWWW BOY I WAS HAPPY!!!

Finally, about 3pm I "decided" the turkey should be ready and I proudly pulled him out of the oven. I had the table all set, finished preparing all the side dishes and just before we were ready to sit down I asked my husband to please do us the honors of carving our turkey.

I watched as he took the big fork and knife and began to carve it! YIKES!!!!!!! As soon as he carved the first piece it was OBVIOUS that it was HARDLY COOKED AT ALL!! It was totally pink and uncooked!!!


I actually cried. My husband called his mom and she said....if you hurry y'all can make it just in time for dinner!!!

I have never forgotten nor forgiven that turkey.

Growing up in Michigan, my great gramma had a great recipe for a homemade stuffing.

1 1/2 to 2 cups of wild rice cooked

1 1/2 to 2 cups white rice cooked

1/2 cup chopped walnuts [fine or course will work]

3/4 cups fresh cranberries chopped

6 to 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms

3 granny smith [green apples] cored and peeled, thinnly sliced

precook the giblets, and cut to small finer pieces

4 to 6 ounces of water chestnuts

1/2 cup golden raisens

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped or shredded carrots

1 sweet onion finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a huge bowl, season with salt, pepper, sage, and garlic to taste.

Stuff both the cavities of the bird with the stuffing, any remaining stuffing can be placed in the roasting pan around the bird. [It helps to keep the bird moist while cooking]

Use an enamel roasting pan with a cover. Cook according to roasting instructions for the size of the bird you have [Make sure to use the directions for a stuffed bird]. I usually start it the night before, and let it slow roast while everybody is asleep. Since I was usually the first one up in the morning, I could do a bunch of prep work before the ex-wife and the kids were up, so the meal would be ready around noon. Make sure to keep the bird well basted after you wake up.

Any of the juice around the bird in the pan, can be used as a base for gravey. Unless gravey isn't your strong suit. In that case, canned gravey is a fine substitute. If using canned gravey, while carving the bird on the counter, take a couple small pieces of dark and white meat, and cut it up in small pieces, and add to the gravey, before heating.

This was always a nice "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner that dates back to around 1908 for my family. My Mom learned it, and since I was the best cook in the family, it got passed on to me, as I would do the cooking for the family before I left after graduation. So tomorrow, I'm going to teach it to my daughter as she's been nominated to make the holiday meal, so she needs dad's help.

What was fun, was back in the late 60s and early 70s when I was a whole lot younger, the snows and ice came earlier, and usually by Thanksgiving, I could take my baby sister out on the ice and skate. And grams was great as she knew when I needed a break, and she would just tell me to go put on my skates, and burn off some of that never ending energy that kids have.

Any of the juice around the bird in the pan, can be used as a base for gravey. Unless gravey isn't your strong suit.

Thanks, Hylander! Your Great Gramma's stuffing sounds delicious and since I'm always experimenting with the stuffing I just might try that!

Regarding gravy.....I'm good at that. My dad taught me!

Oh the part about you being little and skating with your little sister.......and how the snow and ice came early....that sounds wonderful too. Thank you for sharing that with us.

Originally Posted by LegalUSCitizen

Any of the juice around the bird in the pan, can be used as a base for gravey. Unless gravey isn't your strong suit.

Thanks, Hylander! Your Great Gramma's stuffing sounds delicious and since I'm always experimenting with the stuffing I just might try that!

Regarding gravy.....I'm good at that. My dad taught me!

Oh the part about you being little and skating with your little sister.......and how the snow and ice came early....that sounds wonderful too. Thank you for sharing that with us.

Thankyou! That is very kind.

Forgot to mention, if you need to, adjust the ammounts of the ingredients as per your situation. If you are having a bunch of people over for the dinner, you may want to make more. Just do it proportionally across the board.

The thing that was neat about getting the wild rice back in Michigan, was we used to get it from the Indian Reservation, and would trade fish for rice. But the grandparents knew the peolpe personally.

Originally Posted by wmarincic

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

I took the turkey out to baste and inspect after 45 minutes and found the neck in the other end and pulled it out. The plastic things are still in there but she's cooking without any inserts now

Im not doing stuffing inside the turkey, will prob make some instant when I work on the fixings.

I'm a big fan of rosemary spice on Turkeys

W

William I'm laughing my butt off. My suggestion is find a woman to help or maybe have a doctor on call.. LOL

HAHAHA!! So what does he do, go to a corner in a seedy part of town and "hire" a woman to "cook his turkey"? Oh Lord, the tears!

True southerners make Cornbread Dressing, not Soggy Bread Stuffing.

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

True southerners make Cornbread Dressing, not Soggy Bread Stuffing.

Dixie

That's good too! I haven't had it properly prepared since I was in Virginai, so many moons ago.