Thanksgiving Help, Please!

I'm a big fan of the Food Network.  Try covering the top of the bird with cheesecloth if you can find it.  They say it keeps the bird really moist and it was the prettiest color when they uncovered it.  Good luck with your dinner.

we didn't have the tradional Thankgiving dinner. Sure we had the turkey but it was small. We don't have stuffing, my stepmother usually has some baked apples that she had inside the bird. Along with the mixed vegetables we have red cabbage. the potatoes are usually boiled not mashed. The reason for the small turkey because the big meat dish is roladen. It's thin sliced beef rolled with a pickle, bacon, mustard, salt, pepper inside then held in a tight roll with a toothpick, lightly fried to add colour but then put in baking dish, covered in gravy and cooked in oven for an hour so it's cooked through. My stepmother usually has some of these ready in freezer so she just has to pop in oven to reheat

Hi, Helen !  Unlike you, I've rarely made Thanksgiving dinner.  However, I'm preparing one this year and looking forward to it.

Since oven space is at a premium, I'm going to try heating the dressings (a traditional sage & oyster dressing and one with cream biscuits and pancetta) in a couple of crockpots.  I've been told crockpots work well, keeping the dressing moist. 

As for the turkey--cooking meat has caused a lot of conflict in my house .  I'm slowly convincing my husband that removing poultry (and most meats) from the heat source while it's still a bit pink (but not rubbery) and a few degrees short of "done" is one way to keep it from overcooking and drying out.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone !

Sorry Helen, I can't help you with the dressing ;-)

I don't do Thanksgiving of course (french girl here) but I do Thanlsgiving food though : pumpkin pie, pumpkin rolls, turkey and gravy, pecan pie...hmmm (my mouth is watering so i'm stopping here).

I loved reading your first sale story over at DA. I'm glad you made it !

I brush the outside of the bird with butter, sage and pepper.  Last year I basted it with Apple juice a couple of times.  Also, are you keeping it well covered until the last 30 minutes or so?

I cook most of my dresssing/stuffing inside the bird. I wonder if that helps keep it moist?  The last few years I've used a stuffing bag, which is basically a cheesecloth bag, that lets you pull the stuffing out of the bird, without having to spoon it out.

My stuffing recipe is:

Allow ¾ cup stuffing for each pound turkey

¾ cup chopped (finely) onion
1 ½ cups chopped celery (with leaves)
1 cup margarine or butter
9 cups soft bread cubes (about 1 loaf)
2 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
½ tsp pepper

Cook and stir onion and celery in margarine until onions are
tender. Stir in remaining ingredients; toss.

Makes 9 cups stuffing

Good luck!

And really - it looked fine when I previewed it the first time!! I have all my family favorite recipes in word, and copied and pasted into here. Guess I can't do that!

My dad is from Germany and my stepmothers parents are from Germany so there was a lot of German cooking going on around the house. Plus I worked in the kitchen of a German retirement home for 10 years, the last 3-5 mostly cooking

My stuffing recipie is like Lynn's plus:  1 lb italian sausage and a box of sliced mushrooms. I think the mushrooms, celery and sausae help keep the bread from getting too heavy and it's really light and crumbly when I stuff it
into the turkey and under the skin.  Maybe you're packing your stuffing in too tight?

What we've always done is rub butter on the outside of the turkey skin then separate the skin from around the breast and slide about an inch of stuffing between the skin and meat.   The white meat stays moist and has a little more flavor because of the seasonings in the stuffing.  The stuffing under the skin, over the turkey breasts isn't really edible as it gets brown and crispy but it keeps the white meat moist.

I've never used cooking bags, always foil with the shiny side in.  :)   

Added!  Cooking time is like Lynn's too.  Plus I don't put all the stuffing inside the bird.  There's usually a 3 qt. covered cassarole of the rest of the stuffing that I just bake for the last hour with the bird.  Granted, my bird is only about 14 lbs. and the oven is good size.    Good luck!