Turkey Talk

Thanksgiving is just 4 days away. If you're cooking, the clock is ticking. Tick, tock. Have you decided on your menu? Do you know how big of a turkey to buy? Fresh or frozen? Do you know how long to cook it? Who's going to carve it? And what about all those leftovers?

Don't panic! There are tons of resources available on the web. Let's start with a plan ... a schedule of what to do when. Martha Stewart has this covered. You don't need to follow it to the letter but you can get an idea of the major tasks you need to complete and when you should do them. Here's Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving Planner. Epicurious has a planning checklist and Williams Sonoma has a Thanksgiving Timeline with a handy grocery list.

Next, what are you going to cook? Again, Martha has lots of options for you, about 27 different ways to cook your turkey. As does Epicurious, but they only have 18 suggestions.

You're probaby wondering how big of turkey you need to get. The general guideline is about 1lb per person. If you want leftovers, plan for a 1.5 lbs per person.

Now the big question, fresh or frozen. I prefer fresh. I usually order it from the grocery store a week in advance and pick it up before the day before Thanksgiving. If you prefer a frozen turkey, make sure you allow enough time for it to defrost and follow the proper thawing techniques. Here's what the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) recommends:

The next decision is how to cook it. I like to brine it first and then roast using basic ingredients. Brining tenderizes the meat and adds flavor to the meat, especially to the breast. Once again, Martha Stewart provides detailed steps on how to brine a turkey. If you prefer action, check out Williams Sonoma's video. Click on the icon next to Brining. I like to keep the recipe (for brining and roasting) simple so the turkey can be the star. I usually put salt, sugar, peppercorns, crushed garlic and thyme in the brine and I stuff the cavity of the turkey with a head of garlic, thyme, onion and sometimes half of a lemon. These are called aromatics and add flavor to the turkey. Brush the bird with butter and you should be set.

Now it's time to cook the turkey. Most recipes suggest starting at a high temperature (400F or higher) for about 30 minutes and then backing it down to 325F for the remainder of the cooking time. This is what I normally do. And since no wants dried out turkey meat, make sure you cook it for the right amount of time and check the internal temperature to make sure it's cooked enough. This is where the USDA comes in again.

Here's some details from Williams Sonoma on checking internal temperature of your turkey. Again, if you prefer action, check out the video from Epicurious on how to check if your turkey is done.

So you're turkey done's and you need to carve it. This takes some skill ... after all, you've spent hours cooking the turkey, you want to make sure it looks as great as it's going to taste. Here's how Martha does it. And for those who prefer video, here's how Epicurious does it.

By now, all the heavy lifting is over (and cleaning too). You need to figure out what to do with the leftovers. Well as you might've guessed, everyone has an opinion. So here's the links to the most popular sites:

Martha Stewart Leftovers
Epicurious Leftovers
Williams Sonoma Leftovers

I hope you found this helpful! Have a great Thanksgiving!