How to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving

Here is a challenge for all you students studying ESL in Vancouver. As some of you know, it's Thanksgiving and Canadians love to eat, drink, and relax during this harvest holiday. However, the main reason for this fall holiday is to give thanks for our food, health, and loved ones.

Typically Canadians love to eat turkey during this holiday. We generally roast the turkey in the oven along with stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, and pumpkin pie.

The challenge is for you to roast a turkey for your friends this weekend. Here is an easy and delicious recipe that your friends will never forget.

Roast Turkey Recipe

Preparation time: About 4 to 5 hours.

Ingredients

* 1 turkey, approx. 12-15 lbs. (5-7 kg) for 10 to 12 people

* Juice of a lemon
* Salt and pepper
* Melted butter
* 1/2 white onion, peeled and cut into large pieces
* 2 sticks of celery cut into big pieces
* 2 carrots
* fresh parsley
* fresh rosemary, thyme, sage (found in one pack)

Method

1. To start, if the turkey is cold, bring it to room temperature before cooking. Keep it in its plastic wrapping until you are ready to cook it. While in the refrigerator, and or while you are bringing it to room temp, have the bird resting in a pan, so that if the plastic covering leaks for any reason, the juices go into the pan.

If you get a frozen turkey, you will need to defrost it in the refrigerator for several days first. Allow approximately 5 hours of defrosting for every pound. So, if you have a 15 pound turkey, it will take about 75 hours to defrost it in the refrigerator, or around 3 days. Make sure you have enough time to defrost your turkey.

Remove the neck,heart,liver from inside the turkey. Don't worry, they are already in a small bag inside the turkey.

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

3. Wash out the turkey with water. Dry with paper towels. Put the juice of half a lemon inside of the turkey and outside. Take a small handful of salt and rub all over the inside and outside of the turkey.

4. For flavour, put inside the turkey a half a white onion, peeled and quartered, a bunch of parsley, a couple of carrots, some celery, and the rosemary, thyme, and sage . You may need to close the body hole with some aluminum foil so that the stuffing doesn't easily fall out. Make sure that the turkey's legs are tied together, held close to the body.

5. Rub melted butter all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle salt all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle pepper over the turkey.

6. Place turkey on the bottom rack of the oven in a roasting pan big enough to catch all the juice.

7. Put the turkey in the oven and cover it with aluminum foil loosely like a tent around the turkey. Here is table to show you how long to cook it.

Pounds Kilograms Hours of Cooking
6 - 8 Lbs 2.5 - 3.5 Kg 2 - 2.5 hrs
8 - 10 Lbs 3.5 - 4 Kg 2.5 - 3 hrs
10 - 12 Lbs 4.5 - 5.5 Kg 3 – 3.5 hrs
12 - 16 Lbs 5.5 - 7.5 Kg 3.5 - 4 hrs
16 - 22 Lbs 7.5 - 10 Kg 4 - 4.5 hrs

8. Be sure to take the turkey out of the oven every hour and pour the turkey juice from the bottom of the pan onto the turkey. Be sure cover the whole turkey. You can also pour more melted butter on it as well. Don't forget to cover the turkey again with the aluminum foil.

To check the turkey cut into the breast. If the meat is pink or the juice is pink, it's not done yet.

9. For the last 20 minutes take off the aluminum foil to allow the turkey skin to turn brown.

10. Once you remove the turkey from the oven, let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Making Turkey Gravy


Get all the juice off of the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour into a small pot. In a separate small bowl take two table spoons of corn starch or flour and add just enough water to dissolve the corn starch or flour. Beat the mixture with a spoon to remove lumps. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the juice, stirring constantly. You may not end up using all of the cornstarch mixture. Only add as much as you need to get the desired thickness. Allow time for the cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, or other seasonings to taste.

After you are ready to eat!