It’s Almost Turkey Time! How to Cook the Bird…

If you're like me, that Thanksgiving turkey is always a big deal. It's not Thanksgiving if there's no turkey. So, this year, I have two options. No. 1 cook my own Butterball. Why Butterball? It's the one my mother always cooked.

Make sure you have your bird already thawed out in advance.  It's needs about five days.  Then you bake it for about 5 hours on 325 degrees in the oven if it's about a 20-22 pound turkey.

Cook it in a shallow 2-inch pan with no water and don't add the foil tent to it until halfway through the baking process.  At least that's what the Butterball turkey hotline elves told me.  Add the foil tent to it after about 2 and a half hours if your turkey needs to bake for five hours.

The turkey hotline folks also say use a cooking thermometer to get the temperature in 2 different places.   It goes deep into the lower part of the thigh muscle but not touching the bone.  When thigh is up to temperature, and if turkey is stuffed, move thermometer to center of stuffing.  Stuffing temperature should be 165 degrees when done.

Your turkey is done when the meat thermometer reaches 180 degress deep in the thigh. At this temperature, juices should be clear, not reddish pink, when thigh muscle is pierced deeply.  And secondly you have to 165 degrees  in the center of the stuffing,  if turkey is stuffed.

If your stuffing has any uncooked ingredients like sausage or oysters it needs to be cooked before it goes into the turkey.

The second option I have for my Thanksgiving Day turkey is the one I'm going to choose.  Getting a Cajun fried turkey already cooked from Shane's Seafood and Barbecue.  It's done for you, there's no fuss and hassle, and it's very delicious.  Here's their website if you wish to take the easy way out as I'm doing: http://www.shanesseafood.com/home