Turkey-Lurkey Part II

Well, there isn't much to say other than cooking my first turkey really wasn't that difficult!  You, too, can be a master chef for your family's Thanksgiving!

So after letting the turkey set in the brine from Tuesday night to Sunday afternoon (approximately five days), I prepared it for its ultimate destination: the oven.

Steps to getting the turkey ready for cooking:

Step 1:  Take out the turkey and pat the bird dry with paper towels.  You will want to not only dry the bird on the outside but also the inside.

Step 2:  Take out the gizzards.  If you want to cook them, great!  If not, dispose of them as you wish.  Also, my birds' legs were clamped together with a plastic tie thingy.  I cut that off, so it would not melt into the bird.

Step 3:  After drying the turkey, I brushed the outside with olive oil.  It gives the bird a nice crispy look if that's what you're going for.  It didn't really matter for me since I was tearing it apart right away after it got out of the oven for later consumption this week.

And she's done! :)

Step 4:  Preheat oven for 350 F.  Put bird in baking pan (I bought a disposable one from the grocery store).  Set in oven for about 30-40 minutes at that temperature.  My turkey went in the oven around 2:45 p.m.

Step 5:  Turn down the temperature of the oven to 250 F.  Let the turkey slowly cook for about 4-6 hours.  I took my bird out at about 8:30 p.m., so it wasn't quite 6 hours in the oven.  Use a meat thermometer to check if the meat is cooked.  Stick the thermometer in the thickest part of the turkey (the thigh).  It should read at least 165 degrees F.

Step 6:  Carve your turkey, and enjoy! :)  It should be really moist and have a hint of smokey flavor due to the liquid smoke you brined it in! :)  Yum, yum!

Happy Thanksgiving!