How to Roast a Turkey and Keep it Juicy

Dry turkey, blech! Hot, juicy turkey, now that's what everyone wants. How to get a beautiful, juicy turkey every time.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Roasting pan
• Brown paper bag (grocery bag)
• Turkey
• Butter
• heat-proof clips (paper clips, wooden clothespins or staples)
• An orange
• Poultry seasoning

1. Thaw the turkey. Allow plenty of time for it to thaw in the refrigerator, which is the safest way to thaw meat and poultry. Allow one day in the refrigerator for each five pounds of turkey. A typical family's 20-pound bird would need four days to thaw in the refrigerator.

2. Prepare the turkey. When you are ready to roast the turkey, remove it from the packaging, and rinse it under cold water. Coat the outside of the turkey with butter. Sprinkle it inside and out with poultry seasoning, or any secret recipe herbs and spices you use.

3. Prepare the bag. Coat the inside of the brown paper bag with butter. Place the paper bag in the roasting pan, and slip the turkey into the bag. Make sure the turkey rests breast side down. Juices will run downward during roasting, and this creates a juicy breast. Roasting breast side up almost guarantees dry turkey breast meat. Fold down the top of the bag if possible. Clip the opening of the bag closed with the heatproof clips.

4. Roast the turkey. Roast it at 300 degrees F, until a meat thermometer put deep into a thigh reads 185 degrees F. For a 10-20 pound turkey, this will take about three hours; for a 20-25 pound turkey, about four hours.
   
   About half an hour before the end of the roasting time, remove the turkey from the bag and turn it breast side up in the roasting pan. Cut the orange in half and rub the skin with the surface of the cut orange. Return to the oven for an additional half an hour, then start checking for doneness.

5. Enjoy your turkey! After your meal, carve the turkey leftovers, put them into baggies and freeze them. Put slices together, chunks together in other baggies, and even bag up the litle pieces. They all have their use. The slices will be great for the times when you get the craving for turkey and gravy. The chunks are great for putting into casseroles or skillet dishes, and the little pieces make great barbecue turkey sandwiches or turkey salad sandwiches.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to put leftovers into the refrigerator or freezer within two hours of coming out of the oven.
• Always having a box of dressing mix on hand to go with your frozen turkey leftovers makes it easy to have turkey and dressing with gravy any time of the year.
• Be safe when thawing, roasting and storing poultry.

[presnick]

on 11/29/2008 Interesting way to do turkey! I'll have to give it a try next month.