A Turkey How-To, Part I

Why do the holidays stress us out? Is it the added family? The shopping? Or is it really just as simple as the big feast preparation?

This time of the year, we are inundated with hilarious images of frazzled ladies desperately trying to impress their mothers-in-law with culinary masterpieces that turn into Thanksgiving disasters. Quite frankly, we see the "what not to do's"more than the "what to do's" and no one wants to give it a try anymore. I know, because I felt the same way until I had to do it myself one year.  

Enter, Thanksgiving 2007.

My husband and children and I had moved far away from family. Thanksgiving loomed upon us. What were we going to do? Certainly I couldn't prepare a turkey! I had never done it before, nor did I have my mother nearby to walk me through the process. The task seemed impossible! Nope, that year we were just going to have to eat out! Perfect plan, right? That's what I thought until my husband informed me, his long lost buddy and family would be joining us for the holiday.  Oh great, get the cameras rolling!

If nothing else I could at least win some money for a hilarious video right?

Luckily, some ladies at my church decided to hold a class on proper turkey preparation. I attended and frantically took notes (until I realized they had prepared handouts). Long story short, I learned it's not impossible to prepare a delicious turkey for the big day. Follow these turkey preparation tips, and toss those fears to the birds! After all, if an inexperienced 20-something could undertake it for the first time and play hostess, anyone can. Right?

Preparation is Key

When I say preparation, I'm not just referring to how the bird is prepared. I 'm talking about having a game plan in mind.

I grew up in a house with a coach for a father. Nothing was done without a game plan, so plan out your meal. Figure out what needs to be done the night before and the day of and divvy out those tasks. No one said you had to do this all alone! Recruit help from kids or a spouse or even guests (assign them dishes to bring). Pies can be made the night before. A green salad can be chopped the day before (most chopping can for that matter) and stored in the refrigerator. Have all ingredients bought.

Nothing wastes more time or adds more stress than running out to the store.

Plus, it's been proven that you can't just buy one thing when you make a quick trip to the store. Keep that in mind.

How Much Turkey Should You Buy?

Plan on one pound of uncooked turkey per person, that's usually plenty for a feast and leftovers.  Obviously a fresh turkey will taste the best and require zero thawing, but for this article we will address a frozen turkey. 

Now, let's talk turkey.

Thawing Your Turkey Safely

Put your frozen turkey in its unopened wrapper on a cookie sheet in your refrigerator. This will prevent any of those 'juices' from getting all over your fridge. Plan on one day of thawing for every four pounds of turkey (i.e. a 12 pound bird needs to thaw for three days). A thawed turkey can be kept in the fridge for about four days before you cook it.

You can also thaw it in cold water. I recommend using a sink that is out of the way of normal kitchen functions (like a laundry room sink, just wash it really good before and after using it). Submerge the turkey breast side down in cold water and allow 30 minutes of thaw time per pound of turkey. Remember the water needs to stay cold and be replaced every 30 minutes. This method is not my favorite because with everything else going on that week, replacing the water could slip your mind.

I do recommend doing it if you find your turkey still frozen on Thanksgiving Day. Just plan it into your preparations accordingly.

We'll address handling the illustrious bird and it's stuffing, roasting and consumption in part II…

 PART II of our "turkey how-to" will appear later Wednesday on Odenton Patch.