Representative

“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.” (Benjamin Franklin)

Have you ever cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner without using your oven? The methods below are some popular alternatives to cooking a turkey in an oven just in case you want to try something different this Thanksgiving (or your oven breaks down) .However you decide to cook your turkey, remember these basic turkey cooking guidelines for best results:  

·     Check the internal temperature of the turkey with a meat thermometer for safety. Test the temperature in the inner thigh, not touching the bone. The turkey is done when the thermometer reads 170 degrees F for an unstuffed turkey or 180 degrees F for a stuffed turkey.

·        When the turkey is finished cooking, cover it with foil and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

·        Refrigerate turkey leftovers as soon as possible.

 Deep Fried Turkey: If you do decide to deep fry a turkey, be sure you follow the recommended safety precautions. These include:  

·        Set up your turkey cooker outside, on a flat surface away from your house and car, and not on a wood deck or in your garage.

·     Ensure your turkey is completely thawed and dried off before cooking to avoid the oil boiling over and burning you or starting a fire.

Deep-frying a turkey isn't as hard as it sounds (though it does require caution). You can use different kinds of equipment: a stockpot, an electric fryer, a pot-and-propane setup (you can buy these at hardware stores or online at sites like Cajun-outdoor-cooking.com).

Barbecued Turkey: Turkeys can be cooked on the barbecue either using a rotisserie or placed in a roasting pan on the grill. If using a rotisserie, it's recommended that your turkey be less than 12 pounds. Your turkey should be completely thawed before cooking it in a barbecue. It's best to cook it without any stuffing inside to ensure it’s cooked properly throughout. This is the method that results in a turkey the most similar to a turkey roasted in an oven.

Turkey Weight	Estimated BBQ Time
6-8 lbs	1 - 1 3/4 hours
8-10 lbs	1 1/4 - 2 hours
10-12 lbs	1 1/2 - 2 1/4 hours
12-16 lbs	2 - 2 3/4 hours
16-22 lbs	2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours

Slow Cooker Turkey: A whole chicken cooked in a Crockpot  turns out very moist and juicy. It doesn't get the nicely browned crisp skin in a Crockpot, Be sure to keep this in mind to avoid disappointment. If you had a very large slow cooker and a small turkey, then you could cook it whole just like you would cook a chicken. In most cases, you would have to chop up the turkey into parts before cooking it in a slow cooker, or cook one of those large turkey breast roasts instead. As we've mentioned, some folks don't like how naturally dry turkey meat is

Smoked Turkey: If you have a grill with a lid and a bag of hickory chips you can smoke a turkey. The recipe for this Slow-Smoked Turkey with Cane Syrup–Coffee Glaze starts by braising the bird first in a mix of coffee, apple cider vinegar and cane syrup or brown sugar. The resulting flavors are marvelously complex—sweet, bitter and herbaceous

Braised Turkey: Braised turkey doesn't mesh well with Thanksgiving tradition, which states that the bird must be a stuffed, golden centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table. But some cooks argue that hacking apart the main dish and braising it does the most to ensure moisture is retained in the meat—a crucial quality that so many recipes fail to address, given the natural dryness of turkey.

Turkey Propped on a Beer Can: You have to see this one to believe it. It involves steam-infusing your bird with beer (and, optionally, herbs) by shoving a partially full 24 or 32-ounce can into the cavity and using it as a stand. It's brilliant and any way to combine beer and food is a worthy endeavor. The turkey is cooked on a large grill using indirect heat, with the beer-can stand ensuring mostly uniform cooking. The evaporating beer keeps the interior moist, and the herbs add flavor. In a sense, this method is like the perfect combination of grilling and smoking: You're using an indirect heat source, but at much higher temperatures than a smoker (usually around 350ºF).

 

 “Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.” (Erma Bombeck)[i]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2018 FROM ROBERT AND BOBBI KINKER

---

[i] Sources used:

·     “5 Ways to Cook a Turkey without an Oven” by Kathy Sima

·      “5 Ways to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey without an Oven” by Food & Wine

·     “10 alternative ways to cook a Thanksgiving turkey” by Reviewed