Show home agent gives tips on turkey LETS TALK TURKEY by MARGARET MEEKS home demonstration damom agent bigger crops and bigger hold over from storage bring supplies to an all time high slightly less chicken and more turkey than ever is the forecast for the coming season BUYING THE BIRD since the grade is marked on few individual b birds in retail stores and since size does not necess necessarily aril indicate the age or tenderness of a turkey it is well to know what to look for in selecting a turkey the marks of quality 1 clean waxy skin with few pinfeathers pin feathers not bruises or dincol orations 2 well fleshed breast and legs generally plump appearance 3 streaks of fat under the skin on breast legs thighs and back thip the quantity increasing with the birds age 4 short body and broad breast indicating a meaty bird 5 buy a hen turkey if you want a 8 or 15 pound bird ilen hen turkeys are usually better finished than toms of the same weight buy a tom if you want a 1 li or 25 1 bowd bird they are at their best at this weight and best choice for a large turkey HANDLING UNCOOKED TURKEY 1 place wrapped bird on rack in refrigerator time 2 I 1 to 3 days 2 place unwrapped bird in pan under running cool water time 4 to 6 hours 3 leave wrapped bird on rack at room temperature time 8 to 12 hours time can be shortened by placing before electric fan prompt cooking after defrosting is preferable A defrosted drawn turkey or an unfrozen drawn bird can be kept safely for one or two days if wrapped loosely in waxed paper and kept at a refrigerator temperature of as degrees F or less or it can be stuffed and roasted immediately PRE PREPARING P A R ING to I 1 loosen 0 osen stubborn pinfeather place b bird ird in sin sink unde stream of cold water and scrape serape tub lublow born spots with back of knife remove pinfeathers pin feathers using strawberry huller or tweezers or catching them between thumb and paring knife singe bird if necessary wiping dry if it has been wet remove any bits of lung kidney etc remaining in cavity wash outside well rubbing with cloth or soft brush rinse cavity with cold water drain bird thoroughly by standing it upright for a few minutes refrigerate as described above or stuff and roast immediately STUFFING AND ROASTING correct roasting is slow cooking by dry heat or rack in an open pan it requires no water no basting no cover low temperatures assure better flavor and appearance less shrinkage and loss of juices A shallow pan allows the heat beat to circulate around the bird roasting it evenly A rack that fits th the pan and is at least vt inch high raises the bird off the bottom of the pan keeping it out of the juices STEPS IN ROASTING 1 rub cavity with salt 18 1 8 teaspoon per pound of bird 2 put enough stuffing in neck to fill it out nicely and fasten neck to back with skewer a stuff cavity well but do not pack tightly if you do it will be soggy and bird may burst when dressing expands during cooking 3 truss bird and grease skin thoroughly with melted or softened cooking fat 4 place on rack in shallow pan 5 cover top and sides of bird with fat moistened cloth preferably clean white cheese cloth li cv place in preheated oven set at proper temperature 7 do not sear do not cover do not add water moisten cloth with fat from the bottom of pan if cloth dries slightly during cooking 9 turn bird breast up when about 34 3 4 done if breast meat browns too slowly TRUSSING trussing binding the legs and wings to the body is a simple and worthwhile procedure A trussed bird cooks more uniformly browns more evenly and looks better on the platter than one that is not trussed 1 fill neck cavit cavity y with dressing 2 skewer neck skin to back 3 1 lift wings up and out forcing the tip back until it rests flat against neck skin hold dressing in 1 4 lace abdominal opening to tie legs together and fristen fa sten to to tail time table cooking time oven wt oven temp min lb to 10 lb A 7 de F 1 to 21 al W 10 to 14 lbs vi do de F 0 o t to t 0 I 1 11 I 1 to is lbs de F is t to 0 I 1 11 19 to 20 10 lbs WO de dc R 1 I 1 when d dinner I 1 n n e r i ail t f clr a d di f finite t n hour wise h 0 m e m a li r starts tart the bird 30 to 40 40 s ahead of schedule to avoid delay should th turkey take longer to t cook than s j ti mated this also allows time to make gravy remove trussing cards carda and arrange bird attractively on platter to tell whether hether turkey is done press the fleshy part of the drumstick with your fingers fin gera protecting with laih lulb or pap r it ii dune done ir t meat terl if ff or mii mi hi h drum ait ili up and down ii 1 l beg join gov r adik ur or bit A im U till kv ki v is don BAKED CRANBERRY CRAN nERRY SAUCE 1 I quart cranberries up ugar ogar I 1 cup om olm arup avah berritt and phav in a flat huking haking prin or nr di dish sli about 1 inches incho add cum com arup syrup und sugar blend with barrie place in moderate oven avi 3 degrees F bake bout about 2 AP to W 3 minutes TURKEY A LA QUEEN va U cup fat cup flour 2 cup turkey gravy 21 cups cooked turkey cvet in small mall pieces T teaspoon paprika afi 1 green pepper finely cut djs lj 12 cups top milk 1 cream V cup p pimento en cut in s trips strips 1 1 teaspoon a a alt i melt fat in saucepan add greer green pe pepper cook over low heat thorn until tender add flour and men blen thora hughly add top milk and turkey gravy with a little crea cream n 4 cook stirring constantly until mix lix 4 ture thickens add turkey pimen piment t to salt and paprika heat thor thom 1 I 1 hughly and serve over left over tur key stuffing |