***Miss Prissy*** I need YOU :)

i have a tip..
dont put it in the over to slow cook over night without actually turning on the oven!

I was looking for my photos from last year and have no clue which file I put them in.

We dispatch our turkey(s) the Monday before Thanksgiving. I brine it andleave it in the fridge until the day before Thanksgiving dinner.

Take the turkey out of the fridge, rinse it well and exchange the brine for clean water.

That evening take the turkey out of the fridge, exchange the water for fresh and leave it on the counter over night. By morning the turkey will come up to room temperature.

Wash and dry the turkey.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. You will remove all racks but the bottom rack.

Combine 2 sticks melted butter and 2 cups white wine in a bowl.

Fold a large piece of cheese cloth into a four layer square that is about 16 - 20 inches large. The bigger the turkey the larger the cheesecloth you will need.

Immerse cheesecloth in the butter and wine and let it soak up as much liquid as it can.

Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack in a heavy metal roasting pan. Fill the cavity and the pan with cut veggies - celery, carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, etc salt and pepper.

Rub turkey with 1 stick softened butter, salt and pepper.

Take the cheese cloth out of the butter/wine sauce, wring it out a little but leave it rather wet just not drippy and lay it over the turkey like a shroud.



Place turkey in the oven. Set timer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes baste the cheesecloth covered turkey with the butter/wine sauce.

Reduce the oven to 350 degrees. Cook for the next 2.5 hours. Every 30 minutes you will baste the cheesecloth covered turkey. (At this point a 20lb turkey has been in the oven about 3 hours)

The turkey is approaching the last hour of cooking. Remove the cheese cloth and baste while letting the turkey finish. The turkey skin will get fragile so baste carefully every 30 minutes.

At the end of this hour use a thermometer in the thickest part of the leg. The temp should read 180 degrees (just like a Christmas Goose ).

At this point if the legs are not done cook it about 30 more minutes but make sure you continue to baste.

Take the turkey out of the oven. Set it on a large wooden board to sit and let the juices go back into the meat for at least 20 minutes before you even think about slicing.

You can use the discarded cheesecloth shroud to keep the turkey covered while sitting.

I wish I could find my photos! This turkey is an awesome golden picture perfect turkey.

!!! Awesome!!!! Oh my gosh I cant wait to try this out!! I will prob. have a 15lb. turkey so I am guessing the time will be slightly lower. I am going out tommorrow and getting a chicken to practice on. I cant wait for Thanksgiving!! Thank you so much. I will take pics of my finished turkey lol!!

One more question-
Do you truss your turkey?
I watched a video on how to do a good tie. I need to practice that too LOL!!

Yes, load the cavity and truss it up.

Good turkey.
I mean turkey that people will talk about for a while.

Starts with a 9-10 pound bird. NO BIGGER!
Room temp.
Weber Smoky Mountain Cooker ( The black bullet smoker)
Foil the water pan.
Put NO water in the water pan.
Start a full load of charcoal and get it glowing.
Throw in a few chunks of hickory, oak, pecan, whatever.
Bird on the top rack breast down.
All vents wide open. You are not smoking, you want a nice 300 degree or above temp.
Bring it up to 180 in the thigh. Takes about 3-4 hours.

Rest for 15-30 minutes.
Eat.

None better anywhere. Remember, you are not smoking it. Smoking is at low temps. This is roasting at 300+.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm slap your granny good.

Our thanksgiving is a family affair! EVERYONE helps at some point.

Mom and I do the turkey and dressing. I don't know the dressing recipe but it has these ingredients. Chicken stock, bread crumbs, sage, celery, boiled eggs, onions. I will have to consult the dressing chef to get the exactos.

I get a best choice generic turkey(these are better than butterball!!!!).....Rinse it well and remove the innerds.(don't forget that part, my sister left them in one year!!! LOL )

Take a stick of butter (YES BUTTER, the real fat, yummy scrumptious butter) and make pats (slices). Take those slices and slide them up inside the skin between the meat and skin. Just on the main breast. To accomplish this, you can use your finger, or for those of you cooking challenged and this seems gross to you, you can use a spoon, to make a cave and just shove the butter pats in. This is better than buttering the outside because the butter will not burn, but will slowly melt releasing yumminess to the breast meat.

This part is for those of us that are not scared of dressing inside a turkey. Shove the dressing inside the cavity. Cram it in there. Also put dresing in the neck cavity closing it off with the flap. Put the rest of the remaining dressing in a casserole dish for those that ick out from stuffing inside the turkey. Make a foil bag and place the turkey in it. 2 pieces of foil crimped at one seam, laid in the roaster. Set the turkey in this foil and crimp the top so the turkey won't burn. We start this about 5:00 in the am so it is done by 10:30 am so we can use the oven for other things. About 40 minutes from the time the turkey should be done, open up the foil bag and let the breast brown. When it is done, take it out and let it cool in the roaster pan.

While it is cooling you have time to get the mashed potatoes ready and the other fixings you need to do.

Mashed potatoes "Aunt Tootsie Roll" style! Peel and cut up about 3 lbs of potatoes(you did say 8 people right) . Make the pieces about the size of large dice. Let it come to a boil on the stove in salt water (salt it now or it will taste crappy, you cannot get enough salt to make it taste right later on!!!!) Check occasionally and when you can slide a fork through one of the chunks easily, it is ready to be mashed, don't let it get goey. Drain off ALL the water from the potatoes. Take a masher and slice through all the pieces, while doing this add a stick of (yes you know it) REAL Butter. Then take a hand blender and get some WHOLE milk. (sorry for you fat conscious people, I grew up on a farm and real is real!) Start the hand blender on low. When you have a good blend going add some milk to the potatoes. Like 1/4 cup or so. I don't measure a danged thing, just add milk till it looks creamy and yummy not soupy. Of course taste it as you go. While I am mashing potatoes, someone is removing the turkey from the roaster pan to slice, removing the stuffing into another casserole to brown the top layer in the oven and draining the drippings into a sauce pan for gravy. Someone else is getting the rolls onto a cookie sheet to put in the oven.....and someone else is making the yamms and hoping to not burn the first layer of marshmallows. What it is about yamms and having to burn the first layer so it melts down between the yamms, removing the burnt layer and trying again. Thanksgiving is not thanksgiving without the burning of the yamms.

I think that covers most of the good stuff. There is a ton of other goodies that you can do. Like orange peel jello and green bean casserole, or cheesy corn, etc. The best part about Thanksgiving dinner is being with family!!!!! Regardless of the meal. If something burns, just say what our family says. I am treating you like an idol and giving you burnt offerings! ENJOY!!!

That's the way to do it! I wish I could be at your house for Thanksgiving!
We have burnt the marshmallows many a year too!
Enjoy your family, eat good food & have fun!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

here is what I do I take the thawed out turkey and throw it in a glass baking pan then I take some butter and use a rubber basting brush and paint the turkey with the butter then rub a salt pepper and other sessanings on the turkey and baked it for thirty miniuts then i repete the last steps again and throw it bake in the oven for an hour and then I take the bird out of the oven and take the basting brush and rub the meat jucie in the turkey useingthe brush and then let finish cooking

Quote:
Finally, a Good Excuse!

Miss Prissy that's exactly how I do mine except i put olive oil before I put the cheesecloth on.
My turkey is only 13lb so I have the morning free as we won't be eating till 2