Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sage is the traditional herb for turkey. Many people use prepared poultry seasoning like Bell's because it's cheap, smells great and you dont have to mess around with fuzzy sage leaves.
Let one or two sticks of butter soften at room temperature. Mix in a few teaspoons sage or poultry seasoning.
Gently ease your hand under the skin of the turkey's breast and spread the seasoned butter around under the skin.
If you make stuffing make sure it's seasoned and put some inside the turkey's empty cavity but don't pack it in too tight.
If you don't stuff the turkey at least put an onion cut in half and a couple half stalks of celery inside the turkey. Add some sage and marjoram branches or use poultry seasoning.
I use Bell's poultry seasoning it's been around for over 150 years. It has dried sage, marjoram thyme and a few other herbs. Smells great. Aroma is a big part of flavor.
A good coating of kosher salt/brine on the turkey, refrigerator overnight, bring to room temperature before cooking. Follow roasting instructions. It really does give the meat flavor.
This. Brining is key. Buy kosher If you don’t DIY.
Also stuffing it with aromatics or apples.
I like to put apple juice or white wine in the bottom of the roasting pan.
Rubbing butter under the skin.
Not all turkeys you buy are created equal. Resist the temptation to buy the cheapest. More often than not you will get an old bird; tough, stringy, and tasteless. Freezing affects the quality of the meat. A fresh turkey is the best.
Here's my method:
Lightly oil the outside of the bird with olive oil or canola oil with your fingers. Just a little. Rub the bird inside and out with sparse sprinkles of Seasoning Salt.
Stuffing the bird infuses the meat with flavor too. Dry slices of bread in a low oven, cut into cubes, or buy prepared bread cubes at the market. Saute some celery, onions, garlic, poultry seasoning and parsley in butter until soft and add the cubes and salt and pepper. Toss together in the pan. Some people have family recipes that have chestnuts, corn, mushrooms, diced carrots and so on. Let cool then stuff bird's cavity. I don't recommend stuffing the bird with packages of Stove Top Stuffing. Tried it and it didn't work out well. You can mix part or all of a package in with the homemade stuffing if you desire.
Let one or two sticks of butter soften at room temperature. Mix in a few teaspoons sage or poultry seasoning.
Gently ease your hand under the skin of the turkey's breast and spread the seasoned butter around under the skin.
LOL! Made me laugh. This is what I used to just detest about the "old days" when a turkey had to be tended from dawn to afternoon.
I have morbid thoughts about getting up at the crack of dawn and wrestling that cold, dead carcass around the kitchen doing unspeakable things to its corpse.
After fifty-some years I've finally liberated myself. And turns out everyone is satisfied.
But the last few years I was getting good at producing a fairly tasty turkey. It's a bit of an oxymoron.
I came to say, brine it, stuff it and season under the skin. All three. Those dratted birds.
I used to make a cake pan of extra dressing and then after the turkey was out of the oven gently mix the stuffing from the bird into the pan dressing to add more turkey flavor to it. Don't forget you can stuff around the neck cavity, too.
LOL! Made me laugh. This is what I used to just detest about the "old days" when a turkey had to be tended from dawn to afternoon.
I have morbid thoughts about getting up at the crack of dawn and wrestling that cold, dead carcass around the kitchen doing unspeakable things to its corpse.
After fifty-some years I've finally liberated myself. And turns out everyone is satisfied.
But the last few years I was getting good at producing a fairly tasty turkey. It's a bit of an oxymoron.
I came to say, brine it, stuff it and season under the skin. All three. Those dratted birds.
I used to make a cake pan of extra dressing and then after the turkey was out of the oven gently mix the stuffing from the bird into the pan dressing to add more turkey flavor to it. Don't forget you can stuff around the neck cavity, too.
Brining is too much for me. I'd rather glove up and massage the turkey than deal with salt baths. My daughter makes the turkey now. It's her turn to administer the spa treatments to the bird.
I use dried herbs in melted butter to coat the turkey when it goes into the oven and to baste it periodically throughout the cooking time. I also salt and pepper the outside. But what really made a difference for me was using the 'aromatics' pack that the grocery store sells right around this time: thyme, rosemary and sages branches. They go inside the cavity. I also put an onion in there as others have said. Finally, make sure you don't overcook it. Use a meat thermometer. I love white meat turkey but it isn't really all that flavorful to begin with.
Not all turkeys you buy are created equal. Resist the temptation to buy the cheapest. More often than not you will get an old bird; tough, stringy, and tasteless. Freezing affects the quality of the meat. A fresh turkey is the best.
^This!
I pick up mine from a local farm.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
