Got a Rack?

To cook the turkey on a rack or directly in the roasting pan, has always been a debate in my house. By cooking the turkey on a rack, it allows the heat to surround the turkey, making it golden on all sides. This method allows the turkey to be supported and it doesn't sit directly in the roasting pan. There's no need to flip the bird every half an hour and it frees up your time to do other things.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with flipping the bird every half an hour. I grew up in a house that was use to doing this and I still enjoy the Turkey Olympics: You know, weight lifting (taking that heavy turkey out of the oven while you're bent over) and the heat challenge (trying not burn yourself putting it back in). We must not forget the mad dash from the other side of the house when you realize you haven't basted the bird lately.

The turkey pictured was cooked on a rack and turned out a perfect golden brown. This bird was 20lbs and was cooked 20 minutes per pound on 350 degrees. Start the turkey off by being covered and remove the tented tin foil after 120 minutes to allow the turkey to start browning slowing.

Cooking the turkey directly in the roasting pan is absolutely fine. Make a bed of whole root vegetables (carrots, onions, celery) and place the turkey on the veggies. (cut the onion in half and leave the other in large pieces). This will allow your turkey to roast, absorb the flavors of the vegetables and still not sit directly on the pan.

This turkey was smaller, and weighed in at 18lbs. It was still very juicy and you can see the pan dripping ready for me to make gravy. I removed the large vegetable and strained the drippings. By that I mean I used a gravy separator before transferring the drippings to a sauce pot to make the gravy.

This will allow the grease to rise to the top and the pure pan dripping will be on the bottom. This is glass and dishwasher safe. Getting this gravy separator changed the way I made gravy and removed the extra calories from the fat.

Cooking a turkey is easy when you think it's just a big chicken! If you can cook a chicken you can make a turkey. Allow your turkey to come to room temperature before you clean it. Rinsing under water and cleaning the cavity will make your turkey tasty. Take paper towels and dry off the bird. You're going to rub vegetable oil all over the dry turkey. Like a spa treatment for the turkey before it goes in the oven. I know it sounds weird but the oil will allow the seasonings to stick evenly to the bird.

Make sure you tent the tin foil or use non-stick foil to cover the turkey. Nothing worse then having tin foil stuck to the breasts and ruin your presentation. After typing that, I realized it really didn't sound good, but my blogs are family friendly, so I know you'll understand what I meant.

No matter what method you cook your turkey, the goal is a beautiful turkey that wins ahhhhhs as you bring it to the table. I like to carve the bird at the table so everyone can see the final presentation before I take a knife to it.

Fun fact: did you know that turkey was not served at the First Thanksgiving? The English made migrating waterfowl like ducks and geese (now those are difficult to cook). The Wampanoag Native Americans brought five deer with them, so venison was also on the menu.

I'm thankful that I can go to the store, purchase a turkey that is already cleaned (no plucking needed) and put it in my oven. I can't imagine cooking deer, ducks or geese over an oven fire for hours. No wonder when you see pictures of the Pilgrims, none of the women were smiling!

A turkey for Easter or Passover, has a way of bringing the family together to share a meal. In our house, this always comes with memories of all the fun times we had together and some I can't mention in public. We reserve those memories until we know our company better. A turkey feast can provide an opportunity for great leftovers like turkey pot pie, gobbler sandwiches, etc.

Enjoy your holidays.