Turkey cooking and gravy making
Submitted by: DTTB Grandma

Not to belittle the manly art of turkey hunting, for the faint of heart or urban dwellers or anyone else with common sense, a trip to Walmart on sale day will probably get you the same hunting advantage, and actually might get a bird on the table.

Now that you've accomplished the objective, getting the bird, what now?  One major item that I assumed was passed down from generation to generation of turkey cookers was the key info on preparing the carcass, like not only do you take the neck and stuff out of the butt of the bird, but there's that little pocket located at where the neck of the bird used to be where there's this little paper bag full of the rest of the edible parts (gizzard, heart, liver), most of which people throw away anyway, but I like to put it in the gravy (except the liver, that ends up in the garbage or given to the neighbor's cat).  However, I was never given that necessary piece of information when I cooked my first turkey, and it's one of those life lessons that are just never forgotten.....check both ends of the stupid thing or SURPRISE in front of the whole family.  If you wish to use these pieces parts, place them in a sauce pan, cover with water, and cook at a low to medium setting until they're tender.  Remove the meat off the neck (good luck with that), chop up the other pieces and hold to the side to add to the gravy later.

Rinse the bird and pat dry with paper towels.  Set the oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, place the turkey in the cooking pan you wish to use which should be two inches larger all the way around than the bird.  I like to brush on a homemade coating made with half a stick of melted butter, a teaspoon of garlic salt, teaspoon of Beau Monde (Spice Islands is the only brand that has it, or you can skip it and add some celery and onion salt),  a pinch or two or ground parsley, and about a half-teaspoon of pepper.  Mix it all together in a small bowl and brush on the bird with a pastry brush.

After that is done, pour in about two cups of water into the pan with the turkey to help keep the moisture in the bird, then cover with heavy aluminum foil and seal around the whole thing, pan and bird.  Set in the oven, and figure about 15-20 minutes per pound of bird.  Me, I check it after a couple of hours, open the foil, use a turkey baster to, you guessed it, baste the juices over the turkey, cover back up and put it back in the oven.  Check it an hour later and do it again.  When you see the bird beginning to brown nicely and when you wiggle the turkey leg, it comes loose, the bird is done.  Also, a few forkfuls of taste-testing always helps figure out the right doneness.  Then I take the foil off completely, turn the oven temp down to about 300 degrees, use the turkey baster to remove about a cup and a half of juices into a small saucepan for gravy, then put the bird back in the oven for about 20 minutes to finish browning.  Picture perfect!!

To the gravy juices, add about a half cup of water, and heat on the stove until it simmers.  Then in a jar or something with a tight lid, put in about a cup of water and maybe three or four tablespoons of flour, put the lid on, and shake the dickens out of it until it's all mixed together.  Add this slowly to the simmering juices, mixing constantly until it thickens real nice.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste, and you have the gravy.  Oh, this is also the time to add the neck and gizzard meat to the gravy if you like that sort of thing.

The other side dishes I'll leave to you.  Every family has their favorite from mashed potatoes, to green been casserole, rice with raisins, etc.  I didn't go into stuffing a turkey either because I don't do stuffing and somebody else will have to give you that lesson.

So, whether you hunt the bird and slap it on the table for someone else to clean (enjoy that dog house), or the pre-packaged, pre-basted, pre-popup thermometer, you're pretty sure to come out with a great bird for the holiday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

DTTB Grandma