The turkey is the most important part to any Thanksgiving dinner. I personally have never seen a table without a turkey on Thanksgiving.
Since the holiday is coming up in about a week, I thought maybe I will share some of my tips for cooking a turkey.
I know how stressful cooking the turkey is. At least in my household, everyone is always in the kitchen surrounding the food. It is so hard to work!
With these tips, you will not need to be in the kitchen for a long period of time or may not even need to go into the kitchen at all.
Let’s get started…
Smoking a Turkey:
When smoking a turkey, it is very easy to let the turkey dry out. Especially when you plan on leaving the turkey in the smoker all day.
First of all, do not stuff your turkey if you plan on putting it in the smoker. The reason for not stuffing the turkey in the smoker is to prevent the turkey from cooking unevenly. Some places of the bird can get dried out more quickly than others.
Keep the smoker closed! Do not keep checking on the turkey. I promise you the turkey cannot use its legs anymore… the bird will not escape.
I suggest getting a digital thermometer. You will be able to see an accurate temperature fast. No need to get out your reading glasses to use the manual thermometer.
Frying a Turkey:
I’ve found that frying a turkey has become very popular over the years. The crispy crust on the outside of the turkey is to die for! I can never get enough.
I recommend not frying the turkey inside. This will be much safer and less messy. Who wants even more of a mess on Thanksgiving?
Testing the amount of oil needed to put in the pot is key. You can test the level of oil needed by first putting cold water in the pot with the turkey. Make sure the water covers the whole turkey.
Using a fresh bird is very helpful. Once a drop of water hits the oil, it will start to splatter everywhere. You can also use a fully thawed frozen turkey.
This can be a very dangerous process. Keep emergency blankets nearby and never leave your turkey unattended. Something could go wrong in a split second.
I wanted to find methods to cook a turkey that didn’t involve cooking the turkey inside. With so much going on in the kitchen, it’s better to focus on your turkey elsewhere with no distractions.
I love thanksgiving and everything it has to offer but I know how difficult it is to prepare for it. I hope these tips were helpful to you. Come back soon!