As the title says, it's our second Thanksgiving here. Last year we went to our shared professor's house for dinner, but this year I want to put on a dinner... I still have to check with a few friends to see if they can host it - work on timing and such, but I think we can work it out.
There are a few obstacles and so I'm reaching out for some help:
I've never cooked a full turkey on my own - I don't know how to do it and I don't know how to gauge how big of a turkey I will need
I do not know how to make a pie crust - and the microscopic kitchens here aren't conducive for rolling out pastries
I want the sweet potato dish with pineapples and sugared nuts and little melted marshmallows on top - sweet potatoes are a bit of a novelty here but I can find them... the marshmallows I can't find (same with cranberry sauce - can't find it)
The ovens here are kooky - everything is Celsius and it jumps huge bits between the different temperature settings!
I don't have a lot of confidence when it comes to cooking new things... it takes me a few times to get it down
So - I'd appreciate some tips or advice, encouragement or discouragement... anything at all, actually. Thanks :)
1 comment:
Hello,
My turkey is always delicious and incredibly tender but I never cook a whole turkey. I braise the portions until they are really soft (about 90 minutes), and then I put them in the oven for about 45 minutes. It cannot fail but you would have to buy turkey legs and wings instead of the whole thing, which, I understand, would spoil the tradition.
If I were to cook a full and stuffed turkey, I would choose the method I use for ducks and geese - very, very slow cooking in the oven (about 80-100 degrees Celsius) in a covered pan. 4-5 hours is enough for a duck, and the meat almost falls apart and is incredibly juicy. Geese need 8-10 hours. I guess turkeys are closer to ducks but they tend to be larger.
With ducks and geese, you do not even need to add any liquids because they release a lot of fat (I use a very minimalist recipe for ducks: duck, salt, caraway seeds and that's all - and many people have already told me that the had never eaten such a delicious duck). Turkeys are less fat and I guess I would add some water at the beginning. The advantage of slow cooking is that water does not evaporate so the danger of burning the foods is very low.
I am now looking at recipes on German cooking websites and it seems that 6 hours is more than enough for 4 kg. Some people start with 200 degrees and go down to 80-100 after an hour. This is wise for large poultry because you need a temperature of 80 degrees (inside the meat, not in the oven) for at least 20 minutes to kill the salmonella.
The weight of the turkey obviously depends on how many people will join you, which you didn't share. :) But I am afraid you cannot expect to buy a really huge turkey.
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