You’ve got a turkey & an oven, but what happens in between? Here’s how to prepare a turkey for roasting.
You are going to want to season the turkey inside & out, stuff it (if desired), and get things organized to put this bird in your oven.
How to Prepare a Turkey for Roasting:
When roasting a turkey, you may opt to use a brined turkey or a non-brined turkey.
Making sure the turkey skin is dry before preparing it with butter & seasoning is essential. Oil & water don’t mix, so you’ll just be frustrated to the nines if you don’t dry it all adequately.
I pat dry the skin with clean, dry paper towels as best I can, and finish off with the low heat setting on a hair dryer to get it good and dry.
Type: Main Dish Recipe
Serve with: rice stuffing or bread stuffing
Prep Time: 10 min
The ingredients & instructions are listed below the video for measurements & directions. Please enjoy this webisode of Cooking with Kimberly:
Ingredients:
- 1 turkey
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup butter – softened
- poultry seasoning
- paprika
- cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper
Instructions:
- Rinse your turkey under cold water and pat dry with clean paper towels and/or a hair dryer to dry the skin adequately.
- Preheat your oven to a high heat you’re comfortable starting your turkey on. I start anywhere between 420 – 475 degrees F.
- Using softened butter, massage the skin of the bird all over and make sure it’s coated with butter.
- Sprinkle inside the cavity & on the entire outer skin of the bird with salt & pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika & poultry seasoning.
- Stuff the bird at this point, if you have a bread or rice stuffing prepared.
- With the breast side down in the roasting pan, I roast my poultry. This keeps the moisture in the breast meat, which typically gets dry when roasting. You will have juicy turkey breast meat to serve.
- Insert meat thermometer, if desired, at this point to make things easy. * Tip: Be sure to have the end of the meat thermometer inside an area dense in meat, and not mistakenly taking the temperature of the inside of the bird’s cavity or stuffing.
- Roast in the oven & enjoy everything about this turkey once it’s hit the proper internal temperature.
Turkey Cooking Temperatures:
Turkey Farmers of Canada recommends cooking a whole turkey to an internal temperature of 170°F (77°C) in the breast and 180°F (82°C) in the thigh.
When roasting, any stuffing placed in the cavity of the bird should reach an internal temperature of at least 165°F (74°C).
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I hope you enjoy this Turkey Recipe on Cooking with Kimberly. Until next time…
Be a Champion in Your Kitchen & Eat Deliciously!
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