Cooking For Engineers

[sheltonclan]

I turn to you, my engineer cooking friends, with this problem - hopeful that somebody will know the "scientific" answer. The USDA recommends about 170 as the internal temp. for a cooked bird. MY favorite recipe is the slow roasted way...start at 350 for an hour, then down to 200 for hours and hours. The USDA - and others I have read, including my beloved cookbook - tell me this is dangerous.

Yet, we slow roast other meats - such as crown rib roast. And we are only getting the interior temp to 170 anyway...so why do we care how long it takes it to get there?

I would really like an unbiased, honest answer. Can you tell I'm having trouble giving up granny's method? It just TASTES better...with meat so juicy it falls off the bone!

Thanks!

[Guest]

I have used this recipe/technique every Thanksgiving for the past 3 years! I am a relatively confident/competent/proficient cook, but until I discovered this turkey technique my Thanksgiving birds have always turned out "good." After finding this I was delighted with that first result and have never looked back since. Every November finds me in the kitchen with my laptop on the counter, open to this page. Thank you so much for this! I LOVE it! And my family does too! Happy Thanksgiving!

[jkennedy@condorearth]

How about Wild turkey?

[newbietewbie]

No wonder people are getting cancer! One guy on here says he doesn't want to poison his turkey but then suggests using a paint bucket to brine the bird in! Astonishing! Please use your heads people. You can get a food grade bucket at the bakery section of most grocery stores. Just ask for a icing bucket. (good for storing shelf stable foods too) They will throw them out anyway. Clean out the icing and your good to go. Other industrial plastic buckets have chemicals in the plastic that is not good for food. Happy Thanksgiving!

[dbldutch]

We put the turkey in an unused garbage bag with the brining solution inside. We then place this in the refrigerator - preferably a vegetable bin. This way it stays cold, the water is captured if leaking or spilling occurs, and I don't need a special container.

[GeekSmith]

Followed the recipe almost exactly and I'm very pleased with the results. My turkey was pre-brined, so I just washed and dried it Make sure you take the temperature, as that's the only way to know it's done. I'm more a "function" and less of a "form" kind of guy, so I roasted breast-down until the last 25 minutes or so. The turkey was flavorful, juicy, and everybody loved it. Thanks for the great advice!

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@@ron

[Roadrash]

I have used this recipe for the last 2 years and everyone has really enjoyed it.
I'm really glad I stumbled upon it.

Being a Master Dabbler, I'm always wanting to fool with perfection. I have a thought.

We usually have smoked cured Ham along side our Turkey dinner and I soak the ham the day before in water to put moister back in it.

i'm wondering if I was to use that same water with the smoke aroma/taste that the ham was in and use it to brine the turkey?

Food for thought.lol

[Kool]

We used the recycling bin this year and its working great!

[justme tang]

I've gone my brother's house to make Thanksgiving turkey for the last 5 years and he digs this recipe out each year. The pages are now all wrinkled and stained from each past year's prep and cooking of the bird.

My brother brines the turkey overnight, soaking it in one of those restaurant 5-gal plastic pickle buckets with lids. We then rinse and pat dry with towels before we dress the turkey. Hair dryer application not necessary!

We've modified the recipe and do not stuff the bird (it adds 1.5 to 2.0 hours of cooking time since we're feeding a big gang and must bake a larger 22-24 lb turkey). Instead, we chop up chunks of carrots, celery, onions and place them in the bottom of the turkey pan. OMG, the vegetables are so delicious after being cooked in butter, thyme, garlic, olive oil, other seasonings we use to rub and baste the turkey with (but strain the fat/juices out first after vegetables are cooked).

When finishing the turkey breast side up, we sometimes pin a piece of foil over it if the top is browning too fast but the thigh temperature hasn't yet reached 170. This stops the breast from burning before the turkey is all done. Overall, it's best to not overcook it. Can always zap the turkey leftovers in the microwave for the parts that are still slightly pink.

Happy holidays everyone!

[natdalton7]

I am cooking my first turkey for the holidays and was curious if I could use this recipe but in an 18 quart roaster oven? Would I need to make any adjustments?

[link removed because comment is suspected as spam]

[Michael Chu]

[Guest]

Please folks, if brining, and i highly recommend it, DO NOT USE TABLE SALT! Table salt contains Iodine. It will make your turkey taste awful!
use Kosher Salt!
If you are brining for a smoked turkey, i recommend adding a cup or more of real maple syrup, some star anise and a fist full of dehydrated chili peppers to the brine. I have brined a turkey for smoking, and one for roasting with these ingredients for over 12 years and poeple can't get enough.
Stuffing can only be made one way, thus the term stuffing. The pale imitations, baked like a casserole, are termed "Dressing". This is the same lazy thinking that lets people misrepresent meat cooked indoors as Barbeque.

[joeyzapp]

after preping my turkey or chiken, I then put it in upside down, because alll the juices are in the dark meat at the bottom of the bird, this allows the juices to get into the breast ( usaly the dryest part) depending on size determins how long i cook it up sde down. I eventually turn breast up for final hour or hours, again depending on the size of the bird. I always have people tell me how juicy my birds are, and i think its this reason.....

[kellyjo44]

I have a 24 lb turkey- I am going to follow this recipe- I can double the summery which is for a 12lb turkey but I don't know what to do in regards to cook time? Should I just double all the times on the timeline????? THANK YOU!!!