This year, I have agreed to cook Thanksgiving dinner for my family. This decision, of course, has brought on panic. When I am experiencing a panic about serving food, my go to guy is my friend Duke Adamonis, a culinary school graduate and all around foodie extraordinaire (and also a person who had an interesting airline experience a while back). While I was begging him for information, it occurred to me that it might be a friendly thing to share his knowledge with my faithful readers (also, that it might be an easy column to write). So, here it is:
Ok, I’d like to remove any shred of credibility right away. Give me your best Turkey Day mix up.
One year, my sister went to check a turkey that had been in the oven at 375 for hours, and found that the internal temperature was only 75 degrees. So, she called over my Mom, who checked and saw that, yes, it was only 75 degrees. My Mom called over my grandmother, who went in to see what was wrong – maybe the oven wasn’t working right, or maybe the poundage of the bird was more than what was labeled.
Now, it’s funny that anyone would have asked my grandmother for help, since years earlier she had put a turkey in the oven and over the next few hours kept opening the door, looking in, etc., but never actually turned the HEAT on.
Anyway, my grandmother checked the weight and the oven – by now she was an expert on the oven – and she pronounced everything shipshape. So, she called the rest of us over and we all started checking things out. We took the temperature all over the bird – breast, thigh, leg, other breast, and it never topped 90 degrees. We double-checked the oven, and it seemed hot enough.
Then we tested the thermometer to make sure it was calibrated correctly, and sure enough, in ice water it read 0 degrees…Celsius.
Nice! So, since we’re on the topic, what temperature should a turkey reach before you take it out of the oven? Fahrenheit, of course.
The internal temp for any fowl should be 165 (f) minimum to kill off any potential Salmonella bacteria. So, I recommend that the turkey should reach an internal temp of 160 degrees, measured in the turkey’s thigh (just above the drumstick). Once it’s out of the oven; it will continue to cook due to residual heat and the internal temp will pass 165 (f). Let it rest, covered in foil for about 20 min before carving.
Whatever you do, don’t wait for the pop-up thing. That pops at 180 degrees and you will likely have a very dry bird at that point.
I’m thinking that I might not stuff the turkey this year, which is causing a bit of a ruckus in my family. Why wouldn’t you want to stuff a bird?
Because the liquid from the bird will flow into the stuffing, thus any potential Salmonella bacteria will do the same. To make it safe to eat, the stuffing has to come up to 165 degrees, and it’s bringing that stuffing up in the middle of the bird to temperature that will likely dry out the rest of the meat.
What do you recommend instead?
Stuff the bird with apples and onions or any aromatics of your choice, which should add flavor to the meat while the turkey is cooking. Then, just throw the apples and onions away after you take the turkey out of the oven.
I have noticed that some turkeys available at the store are pre-brined. Should I brine my turkey, and if so, how?
Many of the turkeys that you can buy at the store are injected with liquid to make them weight more – thus they can charge more – so there is not really a need to brine them. A fresh turkey should always be brined, as it will add flavor and help to keep the turkey moist.
To brine the bird, soak it for at least 24 hrs in a container large enough to hold the bird and COVER the entire bird in the brine. The most common mistake is to not cover the breast with the brine. The container must be refrigerated, or packed in a cooler with ice.
Take the bird out of the brine and pat it dry. Bring it up to room temp if you have the time (about an hour or so). Rub the skin with duck fat (or fat of your choice, but if you don’t use duck fat I will know and I will find you) and some pepper. Bake it off as usual.
Great! How do I make a brine?
Your basic recipe for brine should be a gallon of water, 1 cup of kosher salt - not iodized salt - and ½ cup of sugar. Make enough, obviously, to cover the turkey.
Take ½ of the gallon and put it in a pot over medium heat, add the solids and stir until they dissolve. Take it off the heat and add the rest of the water to cool it down faster. Then, you can put it in containers and refrigerate it if you want; it will last for weeks.
Ok, so I’m brining the bird. Do I need to baste it?
You can if you want. It tends to crisp the skin, which makes the skin taste better and look really nice, but it does nothing for moisture. If you want to baste, just use the juices at the bottom about every 20 minutes or so, maybe a bit more toward the end to make sure the skin looks evenly cooked.
One more thing, what’s an easy recipe that people can make to impress their Thanksgiving guests?
Well, an easy thing to do would be to add a tablespoon or so of truffle oil to your mashed potatoes, but truffle oil is pricey and not always easy to find, so instead I’ll recommend roasted squash with sage and maple.
Peel the squash (any squash will do) and cut into ½ inch cubes. Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast in a hot oven (400 degrees Farenheit). Once they start to caramelize, toss them with freshly torn sage, and then put them back into the oven until they caramelize to your liking. Take them out, toss them with a little maple syrup (not too much – you don’t want them to be wet, just enough to taste), and that’s it.
Thanks. One last question: How do you know when they start to caramelize, and if I’m cooking this for the first time, how do I know when they caramelize to my liking?
The edges turn brownish blackish, which means that the sugar has risen to the surface and is cooking off.
To see if they are caramelized to your liking, take one out and pop it into your mouth; it should be sweet and soft (make sure it cools first, though, no need for an ER visit on Thanksgiving).
