With Thanksgiving only 17 days away, I thought we should do a post with some helpful tips. These tips were collected around the web. I hope that these Cheatsheets aid you in your Thanksgiving endeavors.
“While frozen, a turkey is safe indefinitely. As soon as it begins to thaw, bacteria that may have been present before freezing will begin to grow again. There are three safe ways to defrost a turkey: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in a microwave oven.” (USDA) We will examine these methods so that you can see which one works best for you.
The USDA recommends thawing your turkey in the refrigerator. This is the safest method because the turkey will thaw at a consistent, safe temperature. This method takes some time, so allow one day for each 4 – 5 pounds of weight. If your turkey weighs 16 pounds, it will take about four days to thaw. Once thawed, the turkey is safe for another two days, so you can start thawing it six days before thanksgiving (the Friday before Thanksgiving).
The other two methods (cold water and microwave) must be done immediately before you start cooking the turkey, so you’ll have to wait until Thanksgiving morning.
Cold Water Thawing
For the cold water method, leave the turkey in its original wrapping and submerge it in a sink (or container) full of cold water. It is important that the water be cold so that the turkey stays at a safe temperature. You should change the water every 30 minutes. Empty out the water and replace it with fresh cold water. With this method, allow 30 minutes of defrosting time per pound, so a 16-pound turkey will take 8 hours to thaw using this method (so you might need to start around 4 a.m. if you want to eat in the afternoon!). Once the turkey has thawed, cook it immediately.
Microwave Thawing
Before you commit to thawing your turkey in the microwave, check your owner’s manual for the size turkey that will fit in your microwave oven, the minutes per pound and, the power level to use when thawing a turkey. Remove all outside wrapping and place the turkey on a microwave-safe dish to catch any juices that may leak. Use the defrost function based on weight. As a general rule, allow 6 minutes per pound when thawing a turkey in the microwave. Be sure to rotate it several times, and even flip it, during the thawing process.
If the turkey starts to actually cook instead of just defrost, let it rest for 5 minutes or so before you resume thawing. Partway through thawing, you may wish to cover the tips of the wings and drumsticks with a small piece of foil to shield them from the microwaves and keep them from cooking. Once the turkey has thawed you should cook it immediately.
Spice your Turkey
There are many Flavor combinations that can be used to make a Delicious Turkey. I scanned the Internet and found a few that are supposed to be superb. Hopefully one of these helps you liven up your Turkey.
This website has multiple spice combinations depending on what type of Turkey flavor genre you want. https://www.thespruceeats.com/top-turkey-rub-recipes-336496
How to Get a Moist and Juicy Turkey?
How to Prep a Perfect Turkey
Here are a Few Diagrams and cheat sheets for you to look over. These topics will include; cooking times, how much you need of each food, and some extra tips. These should help ease the Thanksgiving jitters a bit.
Thanksgiving Food Planning Calculator
Here is a nifty food Calculator you can utilize to see how much food and drinks you need for your Thanksgiving guests. This is a simple calculator. Simply answer a couple questions and it tells you how much you need.https://www.personalcreations.com/blog/thanksgiving-food-planning-calculator?fbclid=IwAR2SdwQG9A42tOutpROD54uBxspaDlcnDbiKtm2zowDT1ALLAiOnwwaRF3c
17 Thanksgiving Turkey Mistakes Everyone Makes
This article goes through the most common mistakes people make when cooking a Turkey. These mistakes are carefully evaluated and then they tell us how to correct them. I hope this helps answer some questions for you and helps you not make these mistakes. https://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/turkey-mistakes-everyone-makes?epik=dj0yJnU9R1ZEMDB0UGhCVXd1TVdxeWFXb29fS0FLRkFFbUR6eHYmbj1IbXdJd2piTjlVOEgyRVAyOUFVMnRnJm09MyZ0PUFBQUFBRjNBcU9R&fbclid=IwAR1nYbgqmWkxVKmkZvflgufwUKu4ZZeqM_xlJlURifyaqN2kOISLTAikzs0
Thanksgiving Music
Thanksgiving Cartoons and Movies
Thanksgiving episodes
Touched By An Angel: S01E07 – An Unexpected Snow
Touched By An Angel: S03E11 – Homecoming
Doogie Howser, M.D.: “Don’t Let the Turkeys Get You Down”
Doogie Howser, M.D.: “The Big Sleep…Not!
Quantum Leap The Leap Home
ALF – S03 E07 Turkey in the Straw (1)
ALF – S03 E08 Turkey in the Straw (2)
Bewitched S04xxE12 Samantha s Thanksgiving to Remember
Community (Season 4, Episode 5): “Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations”
Married… with Children (Season 11, Episode 6): “A Bundy Thanksgiving”
The Michael J. Fox Show: “Thanksgiving”
Mister Ed S3e9 Ed The Pilgrim
Perfect Strangers: “Wild Turkey”
Everybody Loves Raymond “Turkey or Fish”
Everybody Loves Raymond “No Fat”
The Goldbergs – S 01 E 09 – Stop Arguing and Start Thanking
Home Improvement A Frozen Moment
Home Improvement My Dinner with Wilson
Home Improvement The Wood the Bad and the Hungry
Home Improvement “Thanksgiving”
Home Improvement “Thanks, but No Thanks”
Reba “Thanksgiving”
Reba “Invasion”
Roseanne “We Gather Together”
Roseanne “Thanksgiving ’91”
Roseanne “Thanksgiving ’93”
Roseanne “Thanksgiving ’94”
Roseanne “The Last Thursday in November”
Roseanne “Home Is Where the Afghan Is”
That ’70s Show “Thanksgiving”
That ’70s Show “Thank You”
That ’70s Show You Can’t Always Get What You Want
I hope that this gives you a Great start to your Thanksgiving. Please feel free to Subscribe and Share this post with your Friends and Family. We hope to see you back real soon!
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