Thanksgiving Turkey Tip

Have you always wanted to cook a turkey that looked like the ones they show in a magazine? Well, you can. And, you can save energy too.

A number of years ago a lady at our church gave us a recipe for cooking a turkey. It sounds crazy but it works. I like crazy things that work since my life is crazy.

The trick is that you have to follow directions. This is especially difficult for me. First and foremost you must use a black or dark blue granite pan to cook the turkey. No other pan will work - period. The pan must be large enough to hold a 12-18 pound turkey with the lid closed snugly. I have actually used wire to hold the lid shut when a turkey was slightly large.

Obviously you need a turkey. The ideal size is about 14-16 pounds. It must be fresh or thawed completely. You should take out the plastic bag with the giblets and neck. If you don’t you will be sorry.

Next you will need two medium red apples, two medium white onions, and two stalks of celery, cut in half. Quarter the apples and the onions.

Place the onions, apples and celery inside the cavity of said turkey. Rub some butter on the bird - not too much or it will burn.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Don’t ‘chicken’ out now. Put the turkey inside the pan and be sure that the lid sits down completely. Now, place the pan in the oven and leave it alone for an hour and a half. DO NOT open the oven. At the end of the time, turn off the oven. DO NOT open the oven door for at least 8 hours.

We always do this at night and leave the bird to cook til the next morning. If your oven has a good seal, you will need potholders to get the pan out even after several hours.

The result will be a perfectly browned bird with lots of juices for dressing, provided you followed directions and the oven door seal is good.

I have mentioned more than once that this blog is about whatever I think about at the time I write. Obviously I am thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. I think about that a lot.

If you try this and it fails, I have a chili recipe. It takes six hours and you can’t sleep while it cooks.

PMO
©2011