Recipe(tried): Some thoughts for PLR (re: Frustrated Thanksgiving Cook)

Hi PLR - Wow a house full of hungry guests and a slow-cooking turkey! Oh my. That could really test your patience. I understand your wanting to cook the larger bird so you have leftovers. I love leftover turkey!

I have a few thoughts about your turkey taking so long to roast... and the dry breast.

Cooking Time: If you stuff your turkey it will take longer to cook (but your 6 hours "should" have been long enough for a 22 pound turkey at 325 degrees). I am wondering if maybe your stuffing was packed too tightly into the cavity of the bird. That would have slowed down your cooking time considerable.

Butterball.com says to allow 1/2 to 3/4 cups of stuffing per pound of turkey. Again, pack the stuffing loosely. Do not pack stuffing tightly in turkey.

[Note: Butterball also says do not stuff your turkey the night before you cook it. They say to always prepare your stuffing right before stuffing the bird and always put your bird in the oven shortly after your have stuffed it.]

Turkey Breast/dry meat: I cook my turkeys using Reynolds oven bags (be sure to follow the instructions on the box..flour in bag, slit top, tie end, etc.). The turkey-sized cooking bags will handle turkeys up to 24 pounds. Place your turkey (inside the cooking bag) in a roasting pan that is at least two inches deep. This is important because during cooking, meat juices and melted fat may collect in the corners of the bag. If the bag hangs over the sides of the pan, these meat juices and melted fat may touch the heating element, broiling element, oven walls, oven rack or floor of the oven. This may cause the oven bag to melt and to create a grease fire in the oven. Your turkey will brown inside the cooking bag if you brush your turkey with butter, margarine or vegetable oil before tying the cooking bag. And, the larger the turkey, the longer it cooks and the more it will brown.

Before I started using cooking bags, I would baste and baste and baste AND make a "tent" over the turkey using aluminum foil. Some recipes call for cooking the turkey without the foil tent until the turkey is about two-thirds done. I usually did the reverse... tent over the turkey breast and top of drumsticks most of the cooking time. I would remove it near the end of the cooking to allow the turkey to brown more.

Lastly, if you are not presenting a lovely browned bird on the table whole, and if you are not wanting the crisp brown breast skin on your platter, you can always cook the turkey breast-side down. This will allow the dark meat juices to permeate the light meat. I have done it a number of times... especially breast side down in a cooking bag.

Oh, wait, one more thought, I usually cook extra stuffing/dressing in a smaller cooking bag in a casserole dish. And, back in the days when I had 4 guests who wanted turkey legs, I would buy a couple of extra legs and put these in the bag to cook with the extra stuffing/dressing. Yumm.

I hope some of this helps, PLR. That was very nice of your to go to all of that work for your family and friends. I applaud you! Kel