Thanksgiving is a festival primarily observed in United States and Canada. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in the month of November in United States, whereas in Canada, it falls on the second Monday of October. Turkey dishes form the main attraction in the Thanksgiving dinner. A well chosen and deliciously prepared turkey sets up the right spirit of the festival. However, you need to buy the turkey before the Thanksgiving Day and freeze it to keep it fresh for the day. There are certain ways to defrost and roast turkey, so that it retains its flavor and freshness. In this article, we bring you some helpful tips for defrosting and roasting turkey.
Turkey Preparations
Defrosting
Read about defrosting turkey, roasting turkey
and turkey preparations.
Defrosting & Roasting Turkey Preparations
- Defrost the turkey three days before the feast. Move the turkey from the freezer to the refrigerator three days prior to the festival, in order to allow it to defrost properly.
- Do not defrost the turkey by leaving it outside the refrigerator for a whole night, before Thanksgiving. If you leave the turkey in such a way, there can be bacterial growth that can lead to food poisoning.
- If the turkey weighs more than 20 pounds, it may take 4 or 5 days to defrost it properly. In such a case, you will have to move it to the refrigerator from the freezer 4 or 5 days in advance.
- There is nothing much to do to defrost the turkey, except to remember to remove it from the freezer and put it in the fridge at the proper time.
Roasting
- On the morning of Thanksgiving Day, preheat the oven to 325°F, while you remove the turkey wrapper.
- Wash the turkey by scrubbing its body lightly with cold and wet paper towels, in smooth and gliding motions.
- Use dry paper towels to dry the turkey and then pull out its neck from the body cavity.
- Remove the giblets from the neck cavity and drain the juices. Again use paper towels, to blot out the remaining juices from the cavities.
- Dip a clean brush in olive oil and rub it along the turkey's body and then rub salt and pepper on the turkey. Now, the turkey is ready to be roasted. You can just follow the roasting instructions on the package.
- Use a pan, which is about 2 inches deep, to roast the turkey. Put it, breast-side up, on a flat rack, in an open roasting pan.
- For larger birds, cover the pan with aluminum foil, so that they cook properly and do not get browned.
- Let the turkey roast for about 10 minutes to half an hour, depending on its size, or just wait until the meat thermometer (in the turkey's thigh) reads 175 -180° F.
- Let the turkey cool down on a rack, for about 15 to 20 minutes, before you start carving it up.