Tip - Perfect Poultry

From: Mimi Hiller 

Welcome to all the new members of the Cooking Techniques list.  Pull up a
chair to our big table and make yourselves comfy...and let's start posting
our favorites here.


I think my best/favorite technique involves roasting poultry.  When
roasting a whole bird, you have to keep in mind that the white meat cooks
faster than the dark meat, so the tendency is for the white meat to
overcook before the dark meat is fully ready.  My technique is to roast the
chicken or turkey upside-down, meaning breast side down, so that the juices
from the dark meat render down and baste the white meat, which stays moist.

Another thing I do is -always- use a good meat thermometer.  I use the
Polder thermometer, which is a probe connected to an alarm.  I set the
Polder to let me know when it reaches 165F; after the bird rests, the
temperature rises sufficiently to finish the bird perfectly.

Here's my full recipe, with all hints and directions:


The Ultimate Roast Turkey

Rinse the bird inside and out. Drain well.

Grease (butter or oil or Crisco or a light spray of butter-flavored Pam)
the skin and season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Place in a roasting pan breast side DOWN. This keeps the breast meat from
overcooking before the dark meat is cooked.

Put in preheated oven (350F).

After 1/2 hour, baste with a mixture of 3 cups apple juice and 1/2 cup soy
sauce.

Baste every half hour until the last hour, when you baste every 15 minutes.

Timing is critical for turkey...I tend not to follow charts because,
frankly, every bird is different. Rather, I use a meat thermometer stuck
into the deepest part of the thigh.

My thermometer says to take it to 180F internal, but an article in the LA
Times two years ago says that all bacteria are dead at 165F. They recommend
taking the turkey out of the oven at 160F and allow it to come to 165F in a
foil tent, at which time it will be perfect. Myself, I find too often that
parts of the bird are undercooked, so I leave it in the oven till somewhere
between 165 and 170. Once it hits around 155, you have to keep a closer eye
on it because at this point, it could overcook very quickly.

I think what I'm trying to say is that jazzy isn't what people are looking
for in a turkey...you want something special, and I can understand that.
But do it with the side dishes...not the bird.

And whatever you do, don't fall for that hoax popcorn stuffing recipe...as
the myth goes, you put unpopped kernels in the stuffing and when it blows
its a** off, the turkey is done. Doesn't work...never will, because the
internal temp of the bird is too low...you end up with a mess of stuffing
that is inedible because of those kernels, too.

And speaking of stuffing, don't.  In order to produce "safe" stuffing, free
of the bacteria absorbed from raw poultry, you'll have to overcook the bird
severely.  Better to cook your dressing separately.  I use chicken stock or
make a stock from the turkey neck and gizzards to give the dressing more of
that poultry taste.

One last thing. The baste (apple juice and soy sauce) is not only good for
the turkey....while the bird is resting before you carve it, siphon off the
liquid from the pan and it will make the absolutely best gravy you've ever
tasted...I guarantee it personally!


-- Mimi
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