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Thanksgiving Turkey Tips You’ve taken the time to choose the perfect turkey, or maybe this year you’ve decided to roast a turkey breast instead — whichever you choose — use our turkey tips to ensure your Thanksgiving feast is a delicious success. How Much to Order? The general rule of thumb is to order one pound per person — this ensures plenty of leftovers for turkey sandwiches, pot pie, soups and stews. Why Choose a Henry's Turkey? FREE RANGE What it means: Producers must demonstrate to the USDA that their turkeys, chickens, etc. have been allowed sufficient access to the outside. Why it's better: Exercise enhances the development of the muscular flesh, resulting in a more tender and tasty bird. Turkeys treated humanely are happier, too. FRESH What it means: To be sold as "fresh" turkeys must be stored at temperature no lower than 26 degrees F. Why it's better: Fresh turkeys are more tender and juicy with richer flavor and firmer texture unlike their frozen counterparts. USDA NATURAL What it means: Turkeys that are minimally processed and contain no artificial flavors, colors, chemical preservatives or any other artificial or synthetic ingredients. Why it's better: Natural turkeys are naturally tender and juicy and do not need to be injected with water or stock, which often results in a mushy texture and off flavor. NO ANTIBIOTICS OR HORMONES What it means: Raised without antibiotics or added hormones Why it's better: Natural turkeys are raised the old-fashioned way, allowing rich flavor and firm, tender meat to develop. This slow-growing method eliminates the need for antibiotics or hormones. Preparing Your Turkey for Roasting Thawing All-Natural Deep-Chilled Turkeys What is a deep-chilled turkey? While frozen turkeys are flash frozen to 0°F or below, deep-chilled turkeys are chilled to 26°F, which is cold enough to create a crust of ice over the bird, preserving its freshness and ensuring tender, juicy flavor in every bite. While deep-chilled turkeys do not require the thawing time of a frozen turkey, please keep in mind that a deep-chilled turkey will need a few hours in the refrigerator to lose its ice shell, making it ready to roast. Options: 1) To ensure your turkey is ready to roast, pick your turkey up at least one day before you plan to cook it and keep it refrigerated until you are ready to roast. 2) Brine your turkey! (see recipe below). When brining a deep-chilled turkey, simply place the turkey in brining solution with its ice shell intact, and brine for 8 to 12 hours. All Natural Frozen Turkeys Frozen turkeys are a good option when fresh or deep-chilled turkeys aren’t conveniently available. For example: Grilling a whole bird in July! To thaw a frozen turkey, please follow these guidelines to ensure kitchen safety and dining pleasure. 1. Never thaw a turkey at room temperature. 2. Never thaw a turkey in the microwave. 3. Thaw a turkey in the refrigerator (40°F). This takes about 3 to 4 days (about 24 hours for every 5 pounds) and is considered to be the best and safest method. Keep the turkey in its original wrapping, but place in a pan to catch any juices. Use the table below to calculate approximate thawing time in the refrigerator. Turkey Weight / Thawing Time (in refrigerator) 8 to 12 pounds / 1 to 2 days 13 to 16 pounds / 2 to 3 days 17 to 20 pounds / 3 to 4 days 21 to 25 pounds / 4 to 5 days 4. Thaw your turkey using the cold water method. Place turkey, in its original wrapping, in a large sink. Fill sink with very cold water. It’s very important to change the water, every half hour or so, to ensure the water stays cold. This method thaws a turkey in about 5 to 10 hours (about 30 minutes per pound). Use the table below to calculate approximate thawing time using the cold water method. Turkey Weight / Thawing Time (cold water method) 8 to 12 pounds / 4 to 6 hours 13 to 16 pounds / 7 to 8 hours 17 to 20 pounds / 9 to 10 hours 21 to 25 pounds / 11 to 12 hours Brining 101 Brining is the secret to a truly tender, moist and juicy bird. It’s easy to do and results in the best-tasting bird you’ll ever serve. Brine is simply a solution of water, salt, sugar and spices. As the turkey soaks in the brine it absorbs the salt, which allows water and spices to permeate the meat, as well. 1 c. salt 1 c. sugar 2 Tbsp. peppercorns 3 bay leaves 4 sprigs fresh rosemary 6 sprigs fresh thyme Dissolve salt and sugar in 4 cups warm water. Fill a large container about a third full of water. Mix in salt/sugar solution and herbs. Place thawed or deep-chilled turkey (with neck and giblets removed) in container and fill with water - so the turkey is completely covered. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours, up to 12 hours. Pat the turkey dry and roast according to your favorite recipe. NOTE: Drippings from brined turkeys tends to be very salty. Keep this in mind when using drippings for gravy. Taste the gravy before adding salt and use low sodium chicken broth, water or wine instead of traditional broth. Stuffing While stuffing a bird creates a most, flavorful and traditional side dish, it turns out that it may not be the safest way to cook stuffing. Since the stuffing is placed in a raw bird, it often doesn’t reach a safe temperature (165°F). We recommend baking the stuffing separately to ensure it reaches a proper temperature and doesn’t come in contact with raw turkey. However, if you decide that you want to stuff your turkey, we recommend stuffing it right before roasting. You’ll need about a 1/2-cup of stuffing per pound of turkey. Do not pre-stuff our turkey or place stuffing between the skin and the meat. Another option is to stuff the bird about 1 hour before it is done roasting. With both of these methods, we recommend testing the temperature before removing the turkey from the oven. The stuffing should be at least 165°F. Roasting Try our easy method for roasting a turkey to juicy, melt-in-your mouth perfection. 1 all-natural turkey 1 lemon, cut into wedges 1/2 c. olive oil sea salt and fresh cracked pepper 5 sprigs fresh rosemary 5 sprigs thyme 4 c. chicken broth 1 c. white wine Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove neck and giblets from bird. Rinse and pat dry. Rub bird with lemon and olive oil and then generously sprinkle it — inside and out — with salt and pepper. Place herbs under the skin. Pour broth and wine in roasting pan. Place rack in pan and put turkey — breast side up — in the pan. Cover or create a loose cover with a large piece of foil. Place in oven and roast until the internal temperature of a thigh reaches 180°F. Resting Another secret to a juicy turkey is to let it rest for 30 minutes after it comes out of the oven before carving. This allows all the juices to redistribute through the meat. Is it Done Yet? Roasting a turkey to perfection is the goal of any Thanksgiving chef and is certainly appreciated by everyone around the table! Use our handy table to help calculate the perfect roasting time for your bird. Remember that all-natural turkeys often take less time to cook, since they are free of additives and preservatives. Turkey Weight / Cooking Time 8 to 12 pounds / 2 1/2 to 3 hours 13 to 16 pounds / 3 to 4 hours 17 to 20 pounds / 4 to 5 hours 21 to 25 pounds / 5 to 6 hours |
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