First time making a turkey--HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

i never brine, the key is to have the entire turkey done at the same time.

Ice the boobies 20-30 minutes before you put it in, this will lower the tempature and not dry them out because they are done too early.

[Anonymous]

you should get an 18# turkey for that size group

[Anonymous]

Three pieces of advice:

1. Brine the turkey.
2. Brine the turkey.
3. Brine the turkey.

It increases the likelihood of a non-dry turkey exponentially.

[Anonymous]

plan out the tools you'll need too -- those grabber things to flip/move it, baster, cheesecloth, etc.

[Anonymous]

"while in the over, turn the turkey" What? That is right, ovens can cook un-evenly...spin it.

[Anonymous]

over = oven

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i never brine, the key is to have the entire turkey done at the same time.

Ice the boobies 20-30 minutes before you put it in, this will lower the tempature and not dry them out because they are done too early.

Or you could just brine it and the whole thing will be juicy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: thanks for the tips everyone! My Mom, who usually hosts was the one who told me to do 24 pounds. She promised to consult without laughter, and my Dad will be the expert carver. I definitely will use my roasting pan and will check to make sure I am not over doing the side dishes, my sisters and SIL will also be bringing some side dishes.

Maybe I will re-think 24 lbs and go for more like 20? It is 9 adults and 5 kids.

I was one of those who suggested reducing the size or going with two 12 pound turkeys if your kitchen can handle it. 24 pounds is a lot and there is a general adage that the larger the bird, the older and the tougher. I rarely go over 14 and have been very happy. If you don't want to try two smaller turkeys, I would do a 14 pound turkey and a honeybaked ham. So easy and everyone seems to like it (we're not Jewish). It would give variety to the table.

[Anonymous]

I've brined smaller turkeys and the results were great. I can't imagine trying to brine a 24 pounder in my frig

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

24 lbs is too big for 1st time. So, that wou l d be the first advice. The next advice is to keep it simple. Make one carb dish, one veggie dish and one sweet dish. For example: stuffing, salad snd cranberry sauce.

I disagree. The technique is the same, regardless of the size of the bird. The only things that are different are the size of the roasting pan and oven, and the thawing and cooking times. Unless OP is too small to physically flip a 24-pound bird over or remove it from the pan (and if so, aren't there others in the family to help?), I don't see a reason to worry about how big it is.

You just made my argument.

[Anonymous]

i never brine, the key is to have the entire turkey done at the same time.

Ice the boobies 20-30 minutes before you put it in, this will lower the tempature and not dry them out because they are done too early.

You mean the turkey, right?

[Anonymous]

I was one of those who suggested reducing the size or going with two 12 pound turkeys if your kitchen can handle it. 24 pounds is a lot and there is a general adage that the larger the bird, the older and the tougher. I rarely go over 14 and have been very happy. If you don't want to try two smaller turkeys, I would do a 14 pound turkey and a honeybaked ham. So easy and everyone seems to like it (we're not Jewish). It would give variety to the table.

I'm the "all sizes are the same technique" poster, and this is a point I hadn't thought of. I would say that if you're buying a commercially produced bird (which 98% of us are), don't worry about it. They're bred to be huge and kept to a fairly uniform standard. I've done 22-26 pound birds many years, and never had a problem. By "commercially produced bird," I'm including "free range" and organic birds from Whole Foods or MOM, if they're still coming from a medium- or large-scale producer.

If you're buying a heritage breed turkey straight from the farmer (and you know if you are--you're paying three figures for your turkey) then this might be a good point to consider. It may very well be true of turkeys in their natural state.

[Anonymous]

Fortunately, Serious Eats has posted a lengthy explanation for why you don't have to. The motivation behind brining -- or, in simpler terms, soaking your turkey in a salt bath overnight -- is to preserve moisture and create a juicier bird. But it turns out that simply salting your meat before it goes in the oven can have the same effect and doesn't dilute the quality of your meat.
The writer for Serious Eats treated several turkeys in a variety of ways to see which provided the juiciest, best-tasting meat. The ultimate determination was that brining doesn't make a turkey juicier but rather waterier, whereas salting the bird before it goes into the oven helps preserve the moisture already in the turkey. In the end, it was decided that a turkey doesn't need any extra help staying dry from an outside brine as long as the chef makes sure it doesn't overcook. Long story short: Don't leave your bird in the oven for an extra 15 minutes, and it will taste just fine.

http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2012/11/m-thanksgiving-turkey-do-you-need-to-brine-your-bird.html

Don't brine. Just follow the directions that come with the turkey. If you do not over cook the bird, you will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So not forget to take the giblets out of the cavity!

THIS! I baked my first bird last year, thought I took out the giblets & couldn't find the bag. So I went on as scheduled. I found the bag after dinner was over! OMG.


FYI, if you do forget, everything will still work out. The bird was cooked & we didn't end up with any one getting sick.

[Anonymous]

I have a big roasting pan, but I never use it. I prefer to buy an aluminum pan and throw it away after. I use a roasting rack so the bottom doesn't collapse. (That's my only tip that hasn't already been covered. )