How to cook turkey properly
Turkey, without which not a single Christmas or Thanksgiving table is complete in America, is becoming popular here too, but not all housewives know how to cook this meat so that it turns out tasty, soft and juicy. Since this product is considered light, low-calorie and hypoallergenic, it should definitely be included in the diet, especially when it comes to baby and medical nutrition. The fact is that turkey contains the least cholesterol compared to other types of animal products, and from one serving of poultry you can get 60% of the daily dose of vitamins and microelements. Although turkey meat is not the easiest to prepare, there are a few tricks that can help you turn it into a favorite dish on your home menu.
Description of preparation:
To make the turkey more flavorful, you can rub it with a mixture of herbs and spices, and add lemon halves and garlic cloves inside.
After you remove the turkey from the oven, it is recommended to cover it with foil and let it sit for half an hour. Thanks to this little trick, cutting the carcass will be much easier for you. To carve the turkey before serving, start with the wings, then remove the thighs, and lastly the breast. Bon appetit! Purpose: For lunch / For dinner / For a holiday table Main ingredient: Poultry / Turkey Dish: Hot dishes / Whole dishes Geography of cuisine: Russian cuisine
Choosing a good turkey
If you are going to cook turkey at home and hope to get a tasty dish, you should choose only fresh, young meat of good quality. Make sure that the skin of the bird is light and smooth (not slippery), and the meat is firm and elastic.
The belly of a fresh turkey is usually moist and shiny, the carcass and comb are light pink, the legs are smooth and gray, the eyes are bulging and transparent, without cloudy spots. The most delicious meat comes from turkey, which reaches 16 weeks of age and weighs 5–10 kg. You should not chase large carcasses weighing 35 kg - as a rule, these are “older” birds, the meat of which remains tough and dry even after several hours of cooking.
How to braise a turkey thigh
Products
Turkey thigh - 1 piece Onion - 1 head Carrots - 1 piece Basil and paprika - 2 pinches each Water or cream - half a glass Salt and pepper - to taste
How to braise a turkey thigh
1. Wash the turkey thigh, cut the meat from the bone, and the sinews from the meat. 2. Cut the meat into large pieces and place in a large frying pan. 3. Peel carrots and onions and chop coarsely. 4. Place carrots and onions in a frying pan and fry lightly. 5. Add turkey meat, mix with salt and spices, pour in half a glass of water or cream. 6. Cover with a lid and simmer the turkey thigh for 1.5 hours.
Turkey Cooking Methods
The turkey is stewed in pieces, boiled, fried in a frying pan, baked in the oven, on a spit, in foil - stuffed or without stuffing. You can prepare minced meat for cutlets, pies, meatballs, or make pate, boiled pork, rolls, schnitzels, goulash, stews and azu.
Fruits, mushrooms, chestnuts, liver, dried fruits, nuts, rice, potatoes and other vegetables are popular as turkey stuffing. Turkey is very tasty in a fruit glaze or with various sauces; this bird is often stewed in wine or champagne.
Turkey has one unusual feature - the white flesh of the bird easily “adjusts” to the taste of other types of meat, and if you mix turkey with chicken, beef or pork, it will be difficult to guess that there is turkey in the dish.
Recipes with photos
A simple recipe that even a novice cook can handle. The taste of the dish is reminiscent of traditional pork kebab. While the turkey is roasting, use the time to prepare a delicious cranberry sauce, the method for preparing it is indicated in the recipe. This dish with a whole roasted turkey will become the centerpiece of the table.
Ingredients:
- fresh turkey – 1 piece (2.2-2.8 kg);
- olive oil – 3 tablespoons;
- softened butter – 3 tablespoons;
- onion - 1 medium size;
- hot pepper - to taste;
- carrots - 1 medium size;
- ground black pepper – 1 teaspoon;
- greens (rosemary, parsley);
- lemon – 1 piece;
- salt;
- cranberries – 300 g;
- sugar – 1 glass;
- water – 75-90 ml.
Cooking method:
- Rinse the prepared turkey carcass well on top and inside under running water. Dry on all sides with a paper towel.
- Peel the vegetables. Cut the carrots lengthwise into long strips and the onion into half rings. Place the bird inside, adding sprigs of herbs to the vegetables. Cover the entrance with a piece of foil, which will prevent the filling from burning.
- Tie the legs with a thick thread so that the beautiful shape is preserved during the baking process. It is recommended to fasten the entire carcass along the longitudinal line in the same way.
- Rub the outer surface with a mixture of salt and ground pepper.
- Having placed the carcass on a baking sheet onto which excess rendered fat will drain, pour it with a mixture made from lemon juice, olive oil and butter.
- The first baking stage should last about 20 minutes at a temperature of 200-210. Reducing the heat setting to 160, leave the turkey inside the warm oven for another couple of hours until fully cooked.
- Cranberry sauce is easy to prepare by combining berries, sugar, water, lemon juice and hot pepper, boiling the mixture for 5-7 minutes and blending with a blender.
In foil
Using food foil for the turkey roasting process can reduce cooking time. Thanks to the reflective properties, a higher temperature is created inside the bird, eliminating burning. Turkey baked in foil has juicy flesh and rich flavor. To form a golden brown crust at the end of the process, the foil can be unrolled.
Ingredients:
- turkey fillet – 800 g-1 kg;
- soy sauce – 6 tablespoons;
- spices for white meat - 4 teaspoons;
- salt.
Cooking method:
- Rinse the fillet pieces well and remove excess moisture with a paper towel. Use the sharp end of a knife to make cuts inside the meat, where to place part of the spice mixture.
- Use the remaining spices for the surface of the fillet.
- Place the pieces of meat in a bowl and pour in soy sauce so that the entire surface of the fillet is covered with liquid. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
- After marinating is complete, wrap each piece separately in foil.
- The oven should be heated to 210-220 degrees. Place the turkey fillet in foil on a baking sheet and set the baking time for 50-55 minutes.
- To obtain a golden brown crust, 5-7 minutes before the end of the process, unroll the top layer of foil.
Up your sleeve
It will turn out tasty and beautiful if you cut medallions from the fillet. Turkey in the oven in a baking sleeve turns out very juicy and aromatic. Portioned even pieces of meat fillet will be baked evenly thanks to the protective film. A mixture of cheese, honey and seasonings will add special taste and aroma to the prepared dish. The dish will be relevant on the table at any time of the year.
Ingredients:
- turkey medallions – 6-7 pieces;
- liquid bee honey – 1 tablespoon;
- mixture of ground peppers – ½ teaspoon;
- salt;
- garlic – 1 clove;
- dried rosemary – 1 spoon (tbsp.);
- balsamic vinegar – 2-2.5 tbsp. spoons;
- grated cheese (Parmesan) – 6-7 tbsp. spoons
Cooking method:
- Rinse the medallions, dry with a towel, and place in a baking bag.
- Mix grated cheese, chopped garlic clove, pepper, salt, dried seasoning, vinegar and honey.
- Place the mixture in the sleeve of the medallions and shake well several times, securing the edge.
- Place in the cold for 50-60 minutes for quality marinating.
- Without removing the medallions from the sleeve, place them on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 40-45 minutes, preheat to 200 degrees. Make 1-2 small punctures on the top of the sleeve.
- A dish prepared in this way will go perfectly with mashed potatoes, boiled rice or fresh vegetables.
Turkey thigh
A simple, basic recipe for cooking turkey in the oven that even a novice cook can handle. More experienced housewives can independently add various seasonings, marinades or spices to the proposed method at their discretion. Each type of added dried herbs or pepper will make the taste of the meat especially interesting and unique.
Ingredients:
- turkey thighs – 4 pieces;
- salt;
- ground black pepper;
- greens (sage, basil, cilantro, dill);
- softened butter – 6-7 tablespoons.
Cooking method:
- Rinse the portioned thighs under running water, removing any remaining feathers from the skin.
- Dry the surface with paper napkins or a towel.
- Rub with salt and pepper on all sides. Place the greens and a little butter under the skin.
- Grease a baking tray with oil and place thighs.
- Bake turkey thigh fillet in the oven at 180-190 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
- Check readiness in this way: pierce the thighs with the tip of a knife. The juice of the finished dish should not be pink or red.
Breast
Some housewives avoid cooking breasts in the oven, fearing that the meat will be dry and not tasty. The proposed recipe, despite its simplicity, will help you cope with the preparation of the dish and get a wonderful taste. The result will exceed all expectations; the breast will turn out juicy, soft, with the aroma of herbs and spices, which will add a special piquancy.
Ingredients:
- breast fillet – 0.9-1.1 kg;
- salt;
- ground white pepper;
- rosemary.
Cooking method:
- Sprinkle well-washed turkey breasts generously with salt, pepper and rosemary, removing excess water first.
- Place the breast pieces in a sleeve and, securing both sides, leave for an hour at room temperature. During this time, the meat will absorb the required amount of salt and spices and marinate well.
- Place the sleeve on a baking sheet and place in a hot oven (preheat to 220 degrees in advance) for 25-30 minutes. After the time has passed, there is no need to rush to remove the turkey from the oven and sleeve. A gradual decrease in temperature and a protective film will prevent the natural juice from evaporating. After a couple of hours, the cooked pastrami can be cut and placed on a dish, garnished with sprigs of herbs.
Buzhenina
Turkey roast that has been cooked in the oven will look great on the holiday table. It can be flavored with different seasonings and have fillings, which, when cut, will give the dish originality. It is recommended to try one of the options for preparing turkey boiled pork with the addition of dried herbs and French mustard.
Ingredients:
- fillet – about 1 kg;
- ground pepper;
- salt;
- French mustard – 2-3 spoons;
- Provençal, Mediterranean dried herbs;
- garlic - several medium cloves;
Cooking method:
- For boiled pork, it is advisable to choose a thick part of the fillet, wash it well and dry it.
- Make numerous more cuts around the circumference and on the sides, where to insert thin strips of garlic. The greater their number, the more piquant the meat will be.
- Top the poultry pieces with a mixture of salt, dried herbs and pepper. Spread with mustard. Cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
- Place the marinated meat on a piece of foil and wrap it in the shape of an envelope, bringing the edges together tightly.
- Heat the oven to 210-220 degrees, place the envelopes on a baking sheet and bake for about half an hour.
- Unfold the foil after the boiled pork has cooled.
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Steak
Based on steak, you can make original baskets with filling that will decorate any table, even New Year’s or wedding. You can use a grill instead of an oven. Any vegetables at the hostess' discretion are suitable for the filling. The combination of turkey meat with mushrooms will add zest. Learn how to cook this unusual, delicious dish.
Ingredients:
- turkey steaks – 8-10 pieces;
- fresh champignons – 250-300 g;
- medium carrots - 1 piece;
- eggplant – 1 piece;
- onions – 1-2 pieces;
- hard cheese – 150 -200 g;
- mayonnaise – 100 g;
- salt, seasonings.
Cooking method:
- Start preparing 2-4 hours before baking. To do this, rub washed and dried steaks with salt, spices, and coat with mayonnaise or sour cream. Leave for several hours to marinate.
- During this time, you can prepare the filling for the baskets. Wash and peel onions, mushrooms, carrots. Cut the eggplant into cubes, add salt to remove bitterness, and after 10-15 minutes drain the resulting water. Grate the root vegetable on a coarse grater, finely chop the onion and champignons. Fry everything in vegetable oil until golden brown.
- Place the marinated steaks on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil and place on the middle shelf of the oven at 200 degrees. After 30 minutes of frying, the edges of the steaks will rise, giving them a basket-like appearance.
- Place a fried mixture of vegetables and mushrooms on each serving of steak. Sprinkle with grated cheese and put back in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve hot.
With potato
Deliciously cooked turkey baked in the oven with potatoes is very simple, quick and has an unsurpassed taste. It is prepared in the same way both in the sleeve and inside a clay pot. Using heat-resistant film will speed up the process of preparing a meat dish with potatoes. When using pots, it is recommended to remove the lid to crust the top layer.
Ingredients:
- fillet – 500 -600 g;
- potatoes – 800 g – 1100 g;
- salt;
- greenery;
- spices to taste.
Cooking method:
- Cut the meat into medium-sized pieces (2-3 cm), rinse, and allow the water to drain.
- After peeling the potatoes, cut them into pieces equal in size to the meat pieces.
- Put everything in a baking bag, add spices, salt, chopped herbs. Shake well several times and tie the edge tightly.
- Place on a baking sheet and poke a couple of small holes.
- Place the meat and potatoes in a hot oven (about 190 degrees) for 45-55 minutes. The juice released by the meat will saturate the potato pieces and add a special flavor to the dish.
Cutlets
For cutlets, shin meat is better suited, then they will be very juicy and look like beef. The process of preparing a dish from dietary meat is not much different from the traditional one. Baked turkey cutlets are easily accepted by the body and are recommended for people who want to reduce their excess weight, but are not ready to limit their meat consumption.
Ingredients:
- boneless meat – 1 kg;
- egg – 2 pcs.;
- onion – 1 pc.;
- White bread;
- flour for breading;
- vegetable oil;
- salt.
Cooking method:
- Rinse the meat first, soak the bread in milk or water, and peel the onion.
- Grind the turkey meat and onions in a meat grinder.
- Add salt, eggs, and soaked bread to the resulting minced meat. Mix everything.
- Form into medium-sized round balls and roll them in flour.
- Place on a baking sheet. Turkey cutlets turn out juicy and golden brown. Baked at a temperature of 220 degrees. Check readiness by using a skewer: clear juice released at the puncture site indicates the cutlets are fully prepared.
Filled rolls
Turkey roll can have different fillings: onions and carrots, prunes, eggs. Try one of the holiday options, which can become the main dish on the table. Don’t forget to decorate the turkey rolls beautifully laid out on a flat dish with sprigs of herbs, which will go well with the light meat and dark prune filling not only in appearance, but also in taste.
Ingredients:
- Turkey escalope fillet – 800-900 g;
- sun-dried prunes – 150-200 g;
- salt, spices.
Cooking method:
- Cut the sirloin into portions as for an escalope and use a hammer to make thin chops. Rinse and allow time for the water to drain.
- Roll each piece in a mixture of salt and seasonings.
- Soak the prunes in hot water for 10-15 minutes to steam. Cut into strips.
- Stuff, placing prunes on prepared meat “pancakes”. Twist the rolls and secure them with a skewer or thick thread.
- Place on a baking sheet with vegetable oil and bake at 180 degrees.
With apples
The recipe for preparing a wonderful turkey fillet with apples in the oven is ideal for the New Year or Christmas holidays. The dish will become a table decoration; it looks beautiful and bright in the photo. The recipe is identical to the preparation of Peking duck, which many consider a delicacy. Without much effort, please your loved ones with turkey meat prepared according to the proposed recipe.
Ingredients:
- fillet – 1.2-1.5 kg;
- green apples – 2-3 pieces;
- honey – 2-3 tablespoons;
- garlic – 3-4 cloves;
- ginger, black pepper, ground nutmeg - 1 teaspoon each;
- mustard powder – 0.5 teaspoon;
- olive oil – 5-6 tablespoons;
- salt.
Cooking method:
- Wash the turkey fillet and cut into large pieces (4-6 cm). Beat a little, salt and sprinkle with pepper.
- Prepare the marinade by mixing ground ginger, nutmeg, mustard powder, crushed garlic, honey, olive oil. Place pieces of turkey fillet in it for several hours.
- Place pieces of meat on a dry baking sheet, place apples cut into slices on top, which can be combined with pineapple and pumpkin. Pour in the remaining marinade.
- The oven should be very hot (220-230 degrees). Bake for about 30-40 minutes.
Find out how to cook duck with apples in the oven.
Turkey Cooking Secrets
- Buy turkey no earlier than two days before cooking - in this case, the fresh bird carcass should be thoroughly rinsed under water, wiped dry inside and out, covered with foil and refrigerated. Frozen turkey needs to be thawed slowly, either indoors or in cold water, which needs to be changed periodically. Remember that a bird weighing 9 kg can take two days to defrost.
- Never cook cold turkey because only room temperature meat will be tender and juicy. An hour before cooking, remove the bird from the refrigerator.
- Before baking, it is better to pre-marinate the turkey to make it more tender and tasty. Water, wine, champagne, cognac with sugar, honey, spices, herbs, lemon and garlic are used as a marinade. The turkey should be in the marinade for up to three days.
- Instead of marinating, you can rub the carcass inside and out with a mixture of garlic, salt, olive oil and rosemary, leaving it to soak for several hours.
- Fill the turkey with stuffing (not too tightly) and sew the hole closed.
- How to cook a turkey in the oven so that the meat turns out juicy? Place the bird breast side down on a baking sheet, in a sleeve or in foil, set the temperature to 170-190 degrees and bake, pouring the resulting juice over the carcass.
- Baking time is calculated based on the weight of the meat (including filling) - add 18 minutes for every 450 grams.
Turkey baked over a fire was a favorite dish of Indian tribes, which is why it got its name. Learning how to cook a turkey properly is easy if you practice often. In addition, this bird goes well with all foods, is highly nutritious and inexpensive. And most importantly, it’s quite possible to feed 10-15 people with it, which means you don’t have to worry about the holiday menu. However, you don’t have to wait until Christmas to enjoy delicious meat - cook it at least every week, try different recipes, toppings, sauces and use your own imagination!
How to cook turkey in the oven
The ideal way to cook poultry is to bake the turkey in the oven. Uniform distribution of temperature will allow the meat to fry well and get a golden brown crust on top, which will retain the internal juice. To make the dish perfect, use a few simple practical tips, which can be found below. A collection of interesting recipes will help you decide how to bake a turkey in different ways.
How long to bake
The cooking time will depend on the size of the portions and their quantity, therefore, cooking a whole bird in the oven will take more than an hour and a half. Pre-marinated meat will cook faster; using foil or a sleeve increases the baking speed.
The speed of the baking process can be affected by the model of household appliance in which the carcass will be cooked: the number of minutes for heating the oven should be taken into account. According to average data, if you take a whole bird carcass as a starting point, it will take about one to two hours. For each recipe, an approximate period of time is indicated in which the dish will be ready; approximately 20 minutes are given for every half a kilo of meat.
How to marinate
Each housewife has her own recipe for preparing marinade for poultry. The most popular are soy sauce diluted half with water, or kefir-mayonnaise marinade with herbs. An interesting way to make turkey juicier and softer is to marinate it with vegetable broth, adding spices to suit your taste. The process should last from 4 to 8-9 hours, will depend on the size of the pieces or bird carcass and take place at a cool temperature. Try also marinade for turkey in the oven.
How to deliciously fry a turkey
Turkey products in batter
Turkey fillet – half a kilo Chicken egg whites – 3 pieces Flour – 3 tablespoons Vegetable oil – 2 tablespoons Salt and pepper – to taste
Battered Turkey Recipe
Separate the whites and pour into a bowl. Add flour, a little salt and pepper, and beat well. Cut the turkey fillet into pieces, beat each piece, add salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan, pour oil. Dip each piece of turkey into the batter and place in the pan. Fry the turkey in the batter for 10 minutes on each side over medium heat, uncovered.
How to stew turkey with vegetables
Products
Turkey fillet – 500 grams Zucchini – 1 piece Bell pepper – 1 piece Tomatoes – 2 pieces Carrots – 1 piece Onions – 1 piece Garlic – 2 cloves Olive oil – 4 tablespoons Ground black pepper – half a teaspoon Parsley – half a bunch Turmeric – half a teaspoon Salt - 1 teaspoon
How to stew turkey with vegetables
If frozen, defrost the turkey, wash it and cut it into cubes about 3 centimeters wide. Heat a frying pan, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the turkey, fry for 10 minutes over medium heat without a lid, stirring. Peel and cut the onion into half rings. Peel the carrots and grate on a coarse grater. Wash the tomatoes, cut them, pour boiling water over them and peel them. Cut in small pieces. Peel the zucchini, remove the seeds and cut into cubes. Wash the bell pepper, cut in half, remove the seeds and cut into thin half rings. Peel the garlic and chop finely. Heat a frying pan, pour 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, add onions, alternately carrots, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini at intervals of 5 minutes. Combine vegetables with turkey, salt and pepper, sprinkle with turmeric, add garlic, pour in half a glass of boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes under the lid. Serve turkey with vegetables, sprinkled with chopped parsley and sour cream.