Turkey
Hints & Tips:
Turkey Basics - How to purchase, stuff, and
roast a turkey - Choosing a fresh or frozen turkey - How to thaw a frozen turkey
- How to prepare turkey for stuffing.
Thanksgiving Planning - Stress-Free Thanksgiving
- How to plan and prepare your Thanksgiving dinner in advance without stress.
Thanksgiving
Dinner Menu
- Check
out some ideas and recipe for your
Thanksgiving dinner menu.
Turkey Terminology - Types of Turkeys
- Learn the differences between the
different types of turkeys in the marketplace.
Guidelines for Brining Poultry
-
The secret to juicy chicken breast is simple - brine them before grilling or
baking! It's very easy and economical, and requires no special cookware.
Guidelines For
Roasting a Whole Turkey
- Learn how to safely and easily prepare
and roast your turkey.
Advice on
Stuffing a Turkey Safely
-
As the
Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday draws near, learn how to safely
stuff your turkey.
Using a Cooking or
Meat Thermometer
-
Have you ever cut into a
turkey to see if it has finished cooking? Cooking thermometers take the
guesswork out of cooking, as they measures the internal temperature of
your cooked meat and poultry to assure that a safe
temperature has been reached, harmful bacteria have been destroyed, and
your turkey is cook perfectly.
Making Perfect
Turkey Gravy
- Hints and tips for making that perfect
turkey gravy.
Handling
Leftovers Safely
-
Leftover" foods are cooked foods that you or your family do
not eat within 2 hours after they are cooked. Improper handling or
storing cooked food is one of the most common causes of food poisoning in the home.
Let's Make Turkey
Stock -
My favorite thing to do the morning
after Thanksgiving is to make homemade
turkey stock from the turkey carcass. It
is so easy to do and so delicious! The
turkey stock can be used for a delicious
soup or frozen for future use.
Barbecued Turkey
Cajun Fried Turkey
Oven Roasted Turkey
Smoked Turkey
Turducken
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Making Perfect Turkey Gravy -
Gravy Troubleshooting
Tips
 While the turkey is in the oven cooking (or the day
before), cover the giblets, wing tips, and neck bones with water in a large
pot. Add a stalk of chopped celery, a chopped carrot, some parsley, and a
chopped onion (with its peel as the onion skin gives the broth a golden color).
Add about 4 cups of water; let simmer
approximately 1 hour. Remove from heat and strain broth; discard cooked
vegetables and reserve broth for gravy. Either discard giblets or, if
desired, pick meat from neck and wing tips; finely chop all giblets and
meat; add to turkey stock when making the gravy.
What are giblets?
The giblet bag in the turkey you busy
usually includes the heart, liver, gizzard (a part of the
turkey's stomach), and neck.
After the turkey is done roasting,
remove the turkey and rack from the
roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a platter or board with
a lip to collect juices. Place roasting pan over 2 burners on stove over
medium heat (always make the gravy in the same pan you used to roast
the turkey).
Skim and discard any excess fat
from the juices in the roasting pan.
Using a
heavy spoon, scrape all the dark drippings and any crunchy bits from the
sides and bottom of roasting pan. These are what add great flavor and a nice
rich color to the gravy. Add the turkey giblet stock that you previously
made.
For each 2 cups gravy desired,
use 3 tablespoons fat, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, and 2 cups of liquid
(meat juices or broth, vegetable juice, bouillon, and/or water).
In a separate container with a lid, shake together
all-purpose flour and about 2 cups cool water. This is called a slurry.
Adding the thickener (flour) in this way helps to prevent lumps from
forming.
Once the
drippings in the pan are lightly bubbling, slowly add the slurry mixture to
the gravy pan, stirring constantly. If it starts to thicken immediately,
stop adding the remaining slurry, you may not need to use the whole amount
depending on how much or little drippings were in the pan. If lumps do
develop, you should be able to use a wire whisk to remove them.
Summer gently about 10 minutes to cook the flour
all the way through (undercooked flour gives off a raw taste). Correct the salt and pepper to
taste.
Pour the gravy into a warmed
sauceboat or wide-mouthed pitcher for serving. Remember that gravy will
continue to thicken after it has been removed from the heat.
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1-1-1 Formula
When making sauces
and gravies and want to get the right consistency without trial and
error, just remember this easy 1-1-1 formula.
To thicken
1 cup of stock,
use
1 tablespoon butter
and
1 tablespoon flour
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Gravy Troubleshooting Tips:
 Gravy is greasy - If gravy seems
greasy, a fat separator
should eliminate this problem. If you discover that your gravy is
oily toward the end of its preparation, skim off as much fat as
possible with a wide-bowled spoon.
Gravy is doughy - If gravy has a
doughy tasting or chalky,
make sure the flour has been cooked long enough: When flour is added
to the pan drippings or butter, whisk constantly while the mixture
cooks until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty. If the
gravy tastes floury when you’re almost finished, turn up the heat to
maintain a rapid simmer for several minutes; then thin it again with
more stock or water if necessary.
Lumpy gravy - If gravy has lumps,
strain gravy just before serving, using a fine sieve; discard
solids. Another method is to place the lumpy gravy in your food
processor or blender and process until smooth.
Thin
gravy -
-
If gravy is too thin,
simmer over medium-high heat, allowing liquid to reduce.
-
If your gravy
is still too thin, make a paste of equal parts flour and cold
water, and add it a little at a time to the prepared gravy, whisking constantly, until
the gravy thickens.
-
You can also
blend 1 teaspoon per cup of cold water, and then mix
into the prepared gravy. Continue to cook and stir to eliminate the
cornstarch flavor.
Thick gravy - If gravy is too
thick, gradually whisk a
little stock or water into the gravy until it reaches desired
consistency.
No flavor - If gravy lacks flavor,
you should adjust seasoning as necessary with coarse salt and
freshly ground pepper. If you use canned stock instead of homemade,
the gravy might lack depth of flavor. Homemade stock, even made with
chicken rather than turkey, will produce a superior gravy—so it’s
worth the effort.
Salty gravy - If the over
salting is severe, the gravy must be repaired by increasing the
quantity. Prepare another batch of gravy, omitting all salt. Blend
the two batches together.
Gravy too light in color -
-
If you brown the flour
well before adding the liquid when making gravy, you will avoid
pale or lumpy gravy.
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You can also make dark gravy with unbrowned flour by making a
dark roux. A roux is
a thickener made from equal amounts of fat and flour. Heat the fat, add
the flour, and
cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the roux becomes a deep
brown. When
making gravy with the roux, it will not thicken as well, so
you will need more of it.
-
If all the above tips fail in getting your gravy to brown to a
rich color or you just want a
quick and easy solution, add 1/8 teaspoon instant coffee granules and
stir to blend.
-
Thin gravy can be easily thickened by adding a mixture of either
flour and water or
cornstarch and water, which has been mixed to a smooth paste. Add
gradually, stirring
constantly, while ringing to a boil.
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