Let’s talk turkey!

Just one more reason to love the Internet! Sites such as www.butterball.com offer great recipes for this turkey time of year-from gravy and stuffing to leftovers. But it doesn’t stop at just turkey.
 
The site offers recipes for side dishes, vegetables and desserts, and great tools, such as the turkey calculator. This helps determine the size of bird you’ll need for your crowd. Simply type in the number of adults and children you’ll be hosting and you’ll get a calculation of the number of pounds your bird should be.

If you want the Canadian version of a turkey site, go to www.turkeytuesdays.ca. This is a joint effort of the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council and the Canadian Turkey Marketing Agency. It’s full of recipes, guidelines for cooking times and even tips on carving.


Barbeque whole turkey
Ever wondered how to barbeque a whole turkey? Turkey Tuesdays tells you:


  • Rinse turkey inside and out
  • Place breast side up in a roasting pan
  • Lightly brush with oil or melted margarine
  • Sprinkle the outside and the cavity with seasonings (ied sage is good).
  • Add a half cup (125 ml) of water to the bottom of the pan
  • Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh-be careful not to touch the bone (which heats up faster and distorts the temperature reading).


Pre-heat the barbeque to medium. Then place the pan on the barbeque grills and close the lid. After 20-30 minutes, lower the heat to medium-low and tent turkey with foil to prevent over-browning.

Baste every 15 to 20 minutes. For barbeques with temperature settings, keep the barbeque adjusted to 325 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (160 to 190 degrees Celsius). Add more water to the pan if it dries out during cooking.


Frees up oven
Doing the bird on the barbeque is a great idea for freeing up oven space and sharing the workload. Someone can tend the barbeque in the back yard while someone else tackles pumpkin pies in the kitchen.


And with the bird out back, there’s plenty of oven space for baking pies and vegetables.


Afterwards, when it comes to leftovers, the possibilities seem endless. Sure, you might want to start with the classic cream turkey on toast. But from there, move on to turkey tacos, turkey kabobs, or turkey chowder. The recipes are all listed in the “Turkey Hall of Fame”.


It all makes for good gobbling on Thanksgiving and the days following.