As the year ends, our homes are slowly surrounded by the excitement of the new year. If the Christmas tree is taken out of the warehouse, it means that preparations for the New Year's menu have begun. Choose what to do with the New Year's dishes in our gourmet recipes corner, the New Year's table is not complete without a stuffed turkey in the middle.
If you don't apply the right techniques, the recipe for turkey can turn into a very laborious endeavor. We have compiled all you need to know for a juicy and tender turkey, with the outside like a pomegranate.
How To Cook Perfect Turkey, Simple Tips and Cooking Guide
You should marinate your turkey to make it soft and cook in a short time. Wash your turkey in plenty of water, clean the inside, burn its hair, and rinse thoroughly. Prepare your sauce by mixing spices such as garlic, mint, curry, black pepper with ingredients such as olive oil, salt, milk, and tomato paste. Blend the turkey meat with this sauce and keep it covered in the refrigerator for at least 1 day. Long duration creates a pleasant aroma and increases the flavor of the meat.
What Equipment Do You Need While Baking Turkey?
- Meat thermometer
- A large lidded pan for juicy brine or 2 oven bags for cooking turkey
- Silicone spatula
- Roasting tray or baking tray
How to Prepare a Turkey for Cooking
For the turkey to be delicious and brown like a pomegranate, it should be prepared a few days before New Year's Eve. The inside of the turkey must be pickled before it dries so that the outside is crispy and pomegranate-like.
If there is any hair on the skin of the turkey, it is removed, the offal is removed and other remains are cleaned. The turkey is thoroughly washed. If dry brine is to be applied, it is thoroughly dried.
Soak the turkey in brine for soft and juicy
There are two types of pickling methods. Pickled is the definitive solution for cooking a crispy, crispy skin and a soft, delicious turkey.
1. Wet Brine
To prepare the brine, heat the water in a deep saucepan, add sugar and salt and melt it. When the water cools, add flavorings. If you are going to prepare your own pickled recipe, use 50 grams of pickled salt, 25 grams of brown or granulated sugar, and the spices you want for every 1 liter of water. You can also add garlic, fresh sage, fresh thyme, rosemary, fresh or dried basil, bay leaf, orange peel to flavor the brine water. Then put the turkey in this pot and refrigerate for 12-18 hours.
If you do not have a saucepan or container that is large enough to keep the turkey in water, place 2 oven bags together and put them in the oven container. Fold the edges of the bags out a little and create a high pool. Place the brine in it and the turkey upside down. Then straighten the curled bags. Close the inner bag tightly, leaving little space above the water. Close the outer bag and place it in the fridge on a baking tray.
2. Dry Brine
You can also apply a dry mixture instead of the brine made with water.
3 tablespoons of pickled salt
1 teaspoon of brown sugar (optional)
1.5 teaspoons of dried herbs or a mixture (rosemary, sage, thyme)
If you want, you can add to this mixture by choosing any of the following ingredients according to your taste. Crushed garlic, black pepper, chili, powdered ginger, or orange zest
With this mixture prepared, the outside and inside of the turkey, which has been thoroughly dried, are rubbed and taken on an oven tray and kept in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours with an open top.
At the end of the time, the turkey is washed to remove the excess salt and left in a pot filled with cold water for 15 minutes and dried with a paper towel. If there is enough time, it is kept uncovered in the refrigerator for a day. It is prepared to be kept at room temperature and cooked.
Bringing Turkey to Room Temperature Before Placing it in the Oven
A few hours before the turkey is cooked, it is taken out of the refrigerator and left outside to warm to room temperature. Flavored butter is applied to room temperature turkey before being put into the oven.
Flavored Butter is Prepared and the Bottom of Turkey's Skin is Greased
Turkey's skin is thick and not permeable. Therefore, the oil and spices you put on the leather will not get into the meat, it will only sweeten the leather. It is necessary to apply the spicy butter you will prepare under the skin to give it flavor.
100 grams of room temperature butter, 1 teaspoon of rosemary, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and 2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt, 3 cloves of crushed garlic, if you find 1 tablespoon of fresh sage, fresh tarragon and the spices you want and add the fresh herb mixture and knead it by hand. If you want, use gloves while kneading the butter.
It is necessary to spread the flavored butter prepared under the skin on 2 sides of the breast bone. To create a gap between the turkey's breast and skin, bring your middle and index fingers together and lift the skin and insert it into the chest cavity between the skin and meat. Taking care not to tear the skin, gradually loosen the skin and free it from the flesh. Don't worry, the turkey's skin is thick, it doesn't tear easily. Do not try to lift the skin over the breastbone, loosen the skin on both sides from the flesh.
A small silicone spatula, if available, makes it easier to loosen the skin, especially in the upper areas. With the spatula, take half of the butter and when it reaches up from the left side of the breastbone, press it from the outside with your hand, lock the oil inside and pull the spatula out, do the same with the rest of the butter on the right side. Then, with your hand, spread the butter in a controlled manner from above so that it is distributed as much as possible all over the turkey. If there is any remaining oil in the bowl, apply it to the turkey.
It is necessary to spread the flavored butter prepared under the skin on 2 sides of the breast bone. To create a gap between the turkey's breast and skin, bring your middle and index fingers together and lift the skin and insert it into the chest cavity between the skin and meat. Taking care not to tear the skin, gradually loosen the skin and free it from the flesh. Don't worry, the turkey's skin is thick, it doesn't tear easily. Do not try to lift the skin over the breastbone, loosen the skin on both sides from the flesh. A small silicone spatula, if available, makes it easier to loosen the skin, especially in the upper areas. With the spatula, take half of the butter and when it reaches up from the left side of the breastbone, press it from the outside with your hand, lock the oil inside and pull the spatula out, do the same with the rest of the butter on the right side.
Then, with your hand, spread the butter in a controlled manner from above so that it is distributed as much as possible all over the turkey. If there is any remaining oil in the bowl, apply it to the turkey.
How should the oven tray be cooked and how should it be cooked?
The depth and size of the tray will affect the movement of heat around the turkey. It is best to cook it in a shallow roast pan that is smaller than the oven's own tray, with a size of 5-6 centimeters space left after placing the turkey. Thus, the water of the turkey accumulates in the grooves and the water stays below. If you do not have a roasting tray, clean and peel 1 stalk of leek, 2 carrots, and 1 medium-sized celery in a suitable size baking dish, and then cut into a 2-centimeter height and place the turkey on it by turning it upside down, wrapping it tightly with oiled paper, then with foil and preheated spread on the lower shelves of the oven.
At What Temperature and How Many Hours Does Turkey Cook?
Cook the turkey to be ready 1 hour before eating. So you will have time if you need to cook more. You can cook at 230 degrees for the first 30 minutes and then lower the temperature to 165 degrees. The cooking time depends on the weight of the turkey and is calculated as approximately 36 minutes per 1 kilo of turkey. Take the tray out of the oven 1.5 hours after putting it in the oven.
Remove the foil and greaseproof paper and straighten the turkey with the breast side up. Spread the oil accumulated in the tray on it and put it in the oven again, take this oil with a spoon every 30 minutes and spread it over the turkey. Then, stick a meat thermometer on it, if the internal temperature reaches 80 C, the turkey is cooked.
Let the cooked turkey stand at room temperature for half an hour
After the turkey is like a pomegranate, take it out, put it on a serving plate, and cover it with foil. Put a thick tablecloth on it to keep it warm. Thus, it will withdraw the water it releases and it will become easier to serve. After half an hour, open it and bring it to the table.
By the way, you can prepare a magnificent sauce with the water and vegetables accumulated after the turkey is cooked on the baking tray. For this, add some water to the tray. Bring to a boil on the stove and mash the vegetables, pass through a colander, and prepare your sauce.
0Comments