itself. Furthermore, basting does not penetrate the skin, so any effort to “flavor” the meat or keep it moist will be wasted. In fact, because you’re opening and closing your oven door so often, the oven will cool down and hence your turkey will take longer to cook. Why do you think it took Grandma all day to cook her turkey? She was in and out of the oven a zillion times!
“Are all of your turkeys self-basting? It doesn’t say on the label?”
Any turkey or chicken will turn a wonderful golden brown without your help. Just brush the skin with oil and roast uncovered for the first two-thirds of the cooking time, then tent the breast for the final one-third.
After the first 15 minutes in the oven, the turkey’s skin becomes seared, so pouring juices on it is like pouring water on a plastic tablecloth—the liquid will simply roll off.
“Oh, you have such smart turkeys!” said the caller when I told her there was no need to baste her turkey—the bird would do everything all on its own.
“Yes, we educate them in the basics before we send them to market,” I replied.
The caller continued with her anxious questioning, asking whether she should rinse the turkey in water. When I told her there was no need for this, she thought for a moment and then said, “Hmmm—smart, educated, and practices good hygiene. Too bad I can’t find a man like that!”
Determining Doneness
“I won’t eat at my grandchildren’s house. They don’t use a meat thermometer!”
Compelling testimony from a grandma! A meat thermometer completely eliminates the guesswork in cooking turkey, or any other meat or poultry. It must be important if it would keep a grandma from dining with her grandchildren. A thermometer costs little, and once you’ve used one you’ll wonder how you ever cooked without it.
“I just pulled my meat thermometer from the drawer and it reads 140ºF. I’m toast! How do you know when the turkey is done if you don’t have a thermometer?”
If you just don’t have a meat thermometer, the old-fashioned method of piercing the lower thigh with a fork to see if the juices are running clear will have to do. The color of the skin is not an indication of doneness. Even if the skin is brown, it may be that the outside just cooked too quickly because of a high oven temperature. Conversely, the skin could be pale simply because you used a covered pan and the turkey itself could be done. Poke around with a fork to pierce the lower parts and check to make sure the juices are running clear.
One caller, apparently confused, set her oven temperature at 160ºF. Confusion abounds among chefs and home cooks alike when it comes to oven temperatures and final cooking temperatures. If you were to cook your turkey to an end temperature of 160ºF, the meat—though safe to eat—would be very rare and have an unappetizing quality and texture; the juices would be very pink and the meat would be chewy. So, for optimum taste and visual appeal, it is recommended that the thigh temperature be 180ºF.
“I’ve been in France for five years and engaged to a great guy for about a year. He’s a honey but he mentioned the other day that he wanted me to cook a turkey. I told him I’d make a ham but he said he really wanted turkey for the holiday. He thinks I’ve done it before but I never have and now I’m in a panic. I’m in deep x#@#! I don’t have directions. I don’t have a meat thermometer. Oh, wait, I’ll ask him where his meat thermometer is and he’ll just assume I know what I’m doing!”
You’ll possess confidence once you have a meat thermometer.
Eliminate the guesswork and just follow these simple guidelines:
Cooking to the Proper End Temperature
Regardless of the cooking method— whether roasting or grilling—the end temperatures are the same:
•Stuffing 160ºF
•Breast 170ºF
•Thigh 180ºF
Insert the meat thermometer into the thigh. To determine the right position, push the tip of the thermometer in until you reach the bone, but then pull back slightly so that it does not not actually touch the bone.
“We didn’t thaw the turkey. If I cook it from frozen, do I use a drill to put a hole in for the meat thermometer?”
Wait until about halfway through cooking and then insert the meat thermometer, when the meat is soft. (More on this cooking technique later.)
A Word about Pop-up Timers
Your turkey may or may not come with a pop-up timer. This little bit of technology is designed to take the guesswork out of determining when your turkey is done. It may be convenient if you don’t have a meat thermometer but should not be the sole indicator of doneness. Check to make sure the juices in the lower parts of the turkey—the leg and thigh—run clear.
The pop-up timer is actually a funky thermometer. It works simply. The pop-up is constructed using an inner blob of metal that melts at around 185ºF. The metal is in solid form at room temperature but will become molten as the flesh surrounding it heats up. When the metal becomes liquid, the pop-up indicator pops as a result of a spring mechanism within the outer casing—and the turkey is done.
“Well, the pop-up timer never did go off, so I continued to cook it for 9 hours. Everyone told me it was delicious and couldn’t compliment me enough!”
This turkey roasted for more than triple the amount of time required. The cook was blessed with a patient, gracious, and diplomatic family who were so hungry they would eat anything and think it was good! Common sense should be used with respect to timers that fail to pop. A traditional meat thermometer is a good backup to a pop-up timer and can also take the temperature of the lower thigh area, which is shielded by the roasting pan. The thigh must reach a temperature of 180ºF.
Конец
