Happy Thanksgiving (Not)

[loCAtek]

[BoSoxGal]

Great story Jarl!

[Jarlaxle]

So...is there no love for the 37lb turkey, then?

[BoSoxGal]

I am greatly impressed that your mom cooked a turkey that big, that well. Most can't.

I'm lucky to have inherited great turkey-cooking genes from my grandparents, who owned turkey farms in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. When I was little, the whole family gathered at one of the farms and cooked endless turkeys, pies, stuffings, etc. for the well-to-do to pick up and pass off as their own on Thanksgiving. My grandmother could cook any size turkey to perfection.

God, but I miss her - for so much more than her food.

[Andrew D]

Has anyone tried the deep-fried version?

I'm a big fan of deep-fried stuff, and I've been told that deep-fried turkey is the best turkey that one can get. But from what I've seen about it on TV -- and we all know that everything shown on TV is true -- either I build a contraption that homeless people would be happy to live in or I burn my house down.

[Crackpot]

Just don't try to fry a frozen turky

[dales]

I'd pay a nickel to see that.

[loCAtek]

Has anyone tried the deep-fried version?

I'm a big fan of deep-fried stuff, and I've been told that deep-fried turkey is the best turkey that one can get. But from what I've seen about it on TV -- and we all know that everything shown on TV is true -- either I build a contraption that homeless people would be happy to live in or I burn my house down.

Ha! Well, you'll be glad to know a favorite hobby of deploying troops is: Cooking!


You'll say; how? And I'll say: if there's a way, they'll find it!

A best-seller in the base libraries is the 'MRE Meal-Ready-To-Eat, Cookbook', where the guys take what they can from various military rations and make culinary treats from them.

...but, I digress.

Flashback to 2002, in Naval Station, Pearl Harbor Hawaii, where I was stationed after 9/11 (oh, the PTSD!) ...and we had a guy who bought one of those out-door deep friers at the camping exchange. My Dawg, that was a brilliant way to out-do a Luau. Better than BBQing or a cooking spit; deep frying could be done in 90min. or less, for your average-sized bird, and too perfection! Delicious!
Over-drying was not friggin' possible.
You didn't want to know the calorie count though, but just enjoyed the rich juiciness and hot-oiled flavor.

[Gob]

5 Facts About Thanksgiving Your History Teacher Left Out

#5. THE PILGRIMS DIDN'T CELEBRATE THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
#4. THE FIRST PLYMOUTH FEAST WAS not a THANKSGIVING
#3. SQUANTO WASN'T JUST A SAVIOR, HE WAS A SAINT
#2. LINCOLN DID/DIDN'T DECLARE THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
#1. PORK IS THE TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING FEAST


http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-facts-abo ... -left-out/

[Guinevere]

I cannot imagine a turkey that large. I think we've cooked ones in the upper 20s, but never the upper 30s.

I did a 10-pounder on Sunday, after I returned from my travels. It was a fresh, organic, free-range bird, and while it tasted good, it wasn't all that tender or very juicy. Maybe it was too small. It definitely didn't seem young. My uncle's 25 pounder -- frozen and cheap (I think he paid about 40 cents/pound) was far more succulent.

[Scooter]

Probably injected with copious amounts of hydrogenated oils.

[Guinevere]

Which is why I chose the one I did, and spent about 7 times the price per pound he paid. But it was somewhat disappointing, even after being rubbed with butter and doused with cider and wine. Maybe I over cooked it, but I'm usually pretty good about that.

[kristina]

With all the butter and cider and wine, I'll bet the gravy was delish!

[Scooter]

For me the turkey's only purpose is for the gravy with which to smother stuffing and potatoes, and as an excuse to eat cranberry sauce.

[Guinevere]

The gravy was great (I had cut up oranges and apples in the roasting pan too), but there wasn't much because of the lack of juice from the bird. I should have had a can of turkey stock on hand just in case. Oh well.

I love turkey, so I will probably cook another one some time after Christmas. At the moment, I'm swimming in leftovers, turkey noodle soup, and more stock -- despite giving lots of it away.

[kristina]

What's your favorite combo for a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich?

Mine is turkey (of course!), stuffing (preferably cooked in the bird), cranberry sauce and a bit of mayo. Messy but yummy.

[dales]

Call me "un-American"....I don't care much for turkey.

[dgs49]

I have had deep fried turkey a couple times, and the real attraction seems to be, (a) it's a novel thing to do, and (b) it can be done in a fraction of the time. Turkey is turkey.

Thanksgiving is the holiday when my wife cooks for "everyone," and in past years we have had as many as 16 at our table. And she goes nuts with it. In addition to a minimum 22 pound turkey, she makes Italian Wedding soup (which fills everyone up), two different green salads, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, stuffing, at least one additional vegetable, and a couple different kinds of pie for dessert.

But with deaths in the family over the years and her estrangement from her brother and his family (over my father-in-law's pitiful estate), we were down to six people this year. I tried and tried to get her to back off on the quantities of everything, but she would not cut back. We had our "last" turkey dinner last night (Tuesday), and will still be throwing away enough excess to feed 10 homeless people.

Still, it's always memorable and enjoyable. Next year, if everything goes well, we have an infant grandchild hogging up everyone's attention, so a new generation can start on the tradition.

[Liberty1]

Guine,

My trick for a juicy turkey is
1) cook it breast down until the last 30 minutes or so
2) toss a stick of butter in the cavity
3) when the breast reaches 160 degrees, it's done.

[The Hen]

I've also heard that works well with roasting chickens.

It pools the juices in the breast meat and makes it moister.