I was doing the weekly shopping yesterday and lo and behold, the local grocery store was selling bone-in whole turkey breasts for 59¢ a pound! All-natural, minimally processed, not full of crap, fresh breasts. I bought two – one for the oven and one for the freezer. For less than 10 bucks I have LOTS of dinners, lunches, sandwiches, and snacks!
We postponed a dinner date with a friend tonight because of the icy weather, so into the oven this little guy went! 8 pounds of joy!
I’ve cooked a bazillion turkeys in my life and always just eyeballed them, did the poke, the leg-movement, the clear-running juices and usually ended up with a pretty good bird… but ever since I got my first digital thermometer some 10 years ago, I rely on it. And I have had perfect turkeys every time!
Rule number one is NOT to overcook them! Those websites and places that say to cook the bird to 180° are a sure recipe for failure. You are guaranteed a dried-out bird. No two ways about it. If you pull the bird out of the oven at 155° and let it sit for at least 15 minutes, it will continue cooking to 165° and you will have a perfect, moist turkey – every time!
So time to start working on some new turkey recipes. We have lots!