1. Set up a work area, with roasting pan, cutting boards, paper towels, utensils, etc.
2. Remove turkey from refrigerator while you prepare your stuffing(s). Your turkey can be chilled, but not refrigerator-cold.
3. Remove the wrapper from the turkey.
4. Remove the neck and giblets from the body cavity. Check to make sure there ar no other surprises inside.
5. Drain and dry the turkey.
6. Pre-heat oven to minimum temperature of 325 °F.
7. Prepare "stuffing." For optimum safety and even cooking, preparing bread stuffing in your turkey is not recommended. Instead infuse your turkey with your favorite aromatics and herbs such as cinnamon sticks, orange halves, rosemary, gloves of garlic, and shallots.
8. Place your turkey or turkey breast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Add a 1/2 cup of water to bottom of pan.
9. Brush inside of turkey with canola, vegetable, or olive oil.
10. Stuff turkey with aromatics.
11. Re-tuck the legs. Tuck wing tips under the shoulders of the bird for more even cooking.
12. Oven-safe meat thermometers can be placed into the turkey before placing in the oven. Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh. Make sure it is not touching part of the bone.
13. Cover turkey with foil as snugly as possible.
14. Place in oven and begin roasting!
15. See below for approximate cooking times.
16. Use a quick-read, electronic thermometer after your turkey has roasted for 3/4 of the recommended cooking time has passed.
17. Remove foil for the last 20 -30 minutes of cooking time. You can raise the temperature of the oven at this point for maximum browning to 400 degrees F.
18. For the highest quality, let the turkey stand for at least 20 minutes before carving. This will allow juices to set giving you the most moist turkey and one that will be easier to carve.
19. Before carving, remove all stuffing from the cavities of stuffed turkeys.

• For those who opt to stuff your turkey, we recommend you prepare the stuffing the day of the cooking, fill all of the cavities loosely, and cook the turkey immediately. Stuffing ingredients that can be prepared ahead of time include: butter/margarine, cooked celery and onions, broth, etc. Keep chilled and separate from your dry ingredients (bread, herbs, etc.) Reheat wet ingredients before mixing with the dry and just before filling the turkey cavities. Use a food thermometer to make sure the center of the stuffing reaches a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.

Whole Turkey Unstufffed

• A whole turkey is safe when cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F as measured with a food thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. And, please check the inner most part of the turkey thigh.  The thigh (dark meat) will need to reach 170 degrees before removing from the oven. *
• Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. Check your turkey temperature within 45 minutes of end cooking time.
• Use the timetables below to determine how long to cook your turkey. These times are approximate. Always use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of your turkey and stuffing. Source USDA.
• Rule of thumb: Cook for between 12-15 minutes for every pound.

• Sure! Brining your turkey is a great way to insure moist, soft texture. It's also a good way to "get to know your" turkey a little bit before the big day and start getting into the Holiday spirit.
• Basting? Nah! You've brined your turkey and he or she is roasting away at the perfect temperature. The less you fuss with your bird, the more time you have to spend having fun preparing your other dishes and enjoying your guests.
• More on Brining: Brining is a wonderful way to attain the juiciest turkey while adding flavor. We recommend brining the turkey overnight in a covered non-porous container - fully immersed. The primary reason brining works well is because the salt and water bath locks the water inside the meat during soaking creating a barrier during the cooking process, thus preventing the juices from escaping. Defrost your frozen turkey first! We recommend this brine for an aromatic and moist turkey.

ChesLine Chef Jackie's Favorite Turkey Brine

Serving: 12-16 pound turkey

Suggested Menu: This brine lends an earthiness to your holiday turkey. Ideal for wild mushroom stuffing and pairs well with glazed root vegetables and corn.

Ingredients:
1 cup Kosher salt (per each 2 gallons of water)
1 cup sugar (per each 2 gallons of water)
8 whole allspice pellets
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 sprigs of fresh sage
4 oranges (cut in half and juice)

Method:
Bring 1 1/2 quarts of water, the salt, sugar, and spiced to a simmer.  Simmer until sugar and salt is dissoved and then cool. Add the orange halves, juice, and enough water to immerse turkey in the brine. Remove giblets, neck, etc. from turkey and wash the bird, inside and out. Immerse washed turkey, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours (or a minimum of 12 hours). Do not rinse turkey after removing from the brine but dry before roasting.

FAVORITES FROM THE INTERNET

A very Martha Menu: This brine will leave your turkey succulent and full of flavor. This European inspired marinade makes your turkey a perfect match for herb roasted potatoes, creamed onions, or stuffings studded with jewel-like dried cranberries or currants. Martha Stewart > > >

Hearty New England : Terrific choice with nice sweetness, just perfect for traditional New England dinner or great choice to pair with a cornbread stuffing. Bruce Aidells Molasses-Brined Turkey > > >

Light and Veggie: The citrus notes from this brine will bring out the best in vegetables or light dishes. Great classic brine recipe! Emeril Lagassee > > >

Rich AND Sweet, Cider-Brined and Glazed Turkey: This brine produces a moist and delicious turkey that goes beautifully with winter squashes and harvest fruits (apples, pears). A lovely touch of sweetness.
Emeril's Brine-Herb Roasted Turkey > > >

AND OUR BEST OF THE WEB AWARD GOES TO . . . .

Chef Lagasse and His Perfectly Spicy Brine:

This juicy turkey has some bite....and is the perfect main event for our Southwestern Thanksgiving menu. Paired with our delicious chipotle mashed potatoes and delightful Santa Fe green beans, this turkey really brings home the smoky flavors of the old southwest. Emeril Lagassee>>>

Serve with:
Cornbread Stuffing
Chipotle Mashed Potatoes
Santa Fe Green Beans
Cranberry-Jalapeno Relish
Apricot Walnut Pie
Sour Cream Pumpkin Chai Pie

Deep Frying Turkey allows the skin to be cooked to a delectable crispiness, while the inside is still moist and juicy.

Equipment Needed:
Turkey Deep Fryer Pot Set
Turkey Injection and Injector
Meat Thermometer
Peanut/vegetable oil
Oven mitts

Do’s:

1. The first thing you should do is determine how much oil you need to heat up. To do this, place your turkey in the cold pot. Fill the pot with water to cover the turkey allow for it to cover 2 inch above the turkey. Take the turkey out. Mark where the water level is…..this is how much oil you will need. This is an important step because if you do not determine how much oil you need and just fill the pot with oil, heat the oil then place the bird in…..chances are you have too much oil and it will spill over the pot roll down the sides to the open flame and catch on fire.
2. Dry your turkey off completely.
3. Fill pot with oil to the determined level.
4. Heat your oil outside to 350°-375° F.

1. Do not set up Deep Fryer indoors, or under an overhang. Never place close to the house, allow to be about 4 feet away from any structures.
2. Do not leave hot oil unattended.
3. Do not allow children and pets to be around your hot oil.
4. Do not Place hot oil on any surface that is not flat.
5. Do not use olive oil.
6. Do not brine your turkey. Make sure your turkey is completely dry.
7. Do not stuff your turkey.
8. Do not forget to remove giblets in the cavity of your turkey.
9. Do not try to fry a frozen turkey, the turkey should be completely defrosted.

Use a butter based turkey injection:
Melt 1 cup of whole butter and cool, add your dry seasonings. Suggestions are: cajun seasonings, or poultry seasoning, granulated garlic, salt and pepper. To inject the bird, fill injector with butter & seasonings. Inject each breast 6-8 times and inject each thigh 4-5 times. Pressing down on as you slowly pull injector out.

Use an egg white wash and season:
Smear 2 egg whites all over the outside of the turkey. Egg whites will help the seasonings stick to the outside and make the outside crispier. Season the outside of the turkey with Salt and White Pepper, you can also sprinkle with poultry seasoning, or if you used cajun seasoning in the butter, you can also sprinkle the outside with this seasoning.

Select the right oil:
Peanut is most popular, but you can use canola, or any other vegetable oil. Rice or rice bran oil is also a great oil to use because it has a high temperature before it starts smoking.

Cooking the deep fried turkey:
If your turkey pot comes with a basket, place your prepared turkey in the basket, using your oven mitts; gently and SLOWLY lower the turkey into the hot oil. DO NOT JUST DROP THE TURKEY IN THE OIL, it will boil up and hot oil could fling up at you. Or worse yet, the oil could boil over the pot and go down the outside of the pot, and fall into the open flame which would catch on fire.

Turkey will take 45 minutes to 1 ¼ hours to cook depending on size. Ideally you will use a leave in meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature. Remove the turkey when it reaches and internal temperature of 165° F.

Using your oven mitts, pull the basket out of the hot oil. If you are cooking more than one turkey, you may place the next turkey in the fryer. If not, turn off the hot oil.

Allow the deep fryer to fully cool before discarding the oil.

Allow turkey to rest 15 minutes before carving.

Linda is looking for a substitute to peanut oil for her deep fried turkey. Canola oil is a great alternative. To find out how much oil you'll need, put your turkey and basket into the unheated fryer. Add water until the turkey is covered by about an inch bbut not more than halfway up the fryer. Remove the turkey and measure the water.

Amanda from Silverhill ask: "How long do i deep fry an 18 pound turkey?"

The ideal size for a frying turkey is 8 - 12 pounds, 12 -15 pounds is pushing it and 18 pounds is a problem for two reasons. First, it’s quite dangerous adding a turkey that size to 375 degree oil and equally dangerous removing it. Second, because bigger birds take longer to cook, the extra cooking time will result in over exposure to the skin, which will likely be over cooked.

But there’s a solution.

Remove the thighs and legs as a unit and fry them first, then cook the rest of the bird. Figure 3 minutes per pound. And watch the oil temperature — it will cool quickly when you add the turkey. If it drops below 350 for figure it will need to cook a bit longer, if above 350 then reduce the time. Also, after removing the leg/thigh pieces, bring the oil back up to 375 before adding the turkey body.

from, Chef Kevin Weeks