Here is a great hint to save time for Thanksgiving or Christmas if you are cooking a Turkey.
You can precook and slice your turkey up to a month ahead. Then, on the day; while all the side dishes are cooking; you take a roasting pan and line it with LETTUCE. A couple of layers. Put your turkey in, you can separate dark and white meat. Cover with another couple of layers of lettuce and put the lid on. Put in a 325* oven while you are cooking the potatoes and veg and reheating the gravy and stuffing. I imagine the stuffing can go in the oven too. Usually by the time everything else is ready, and you take the lid off the roasting pan it will be steaming and the turkey will be moist and delicious just like fresh cooked.
This was a hint on a local TV station by the weatherman's mother who has been doing it this way for years. And I've been watching the station as long as he's been on there and everyone there raves about the results.
You can precook and slice your turkey up to a month ahead. Then, on the day; while all the side dishes are cooking; you take a roasting pan and line it with LETTUCE. A couple of layers. Put your turkey in, you can separate dark and white meat. Cover with another couple of layers of lettuce and put the lid on. Put in a 325* oven while you are cooking the potatoes and veg and reheating the gravy and stuffing. I imagine the stuffing can go in the oven too. Usually by the time everything else is ready, and you take the lid off the roasting pan it will be steaming and the turkey will be moist and delicious just like fresh cooked.
There is something sooooooooo wrong about this, to me. Part of my pleasure is the smell of roasting turkey (as well as all the labor) on the actual day of Thanksgiving. It feeds into my need for tradition. What do you serve and carve at the table? I don't have any trouble preparing a large meal with many different items on that day. It just takes planning. I had a neighbor once who roasted then sliced the turkey the night before and just let it sit out. It was so unappetizing, as well as a huge bacterial risk.
There is something sooooooooo wrong about this, to me. Part of my pleasure is the smell of roasting turkey (as well as all the labor) on the actual day of Thanksgiving. It feeds into my need for tradition. What do you serve and carve at the table?
I couldn't agree more. I remember having to sit in agony while Pop Pop carved the turkey at the head of the table in what seemed like slow- motion. He was such a ham when it came to carving the turkey! Proving that you can take ceremony TOO FAR! We've proundly carried on his tradition. 😄
"MoM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:1130157054.2f40514f0f950e04faf037e60817fe36@teranews...
Quoted message said:
Here is a great hint to save time for Thanksgiving or Christmas if you are cooking a Turkey.
You can precook and slice your turkey up to a month ahead. Then, on the day; while all the side dishes are cooking; you take a roasting pan and line it with LETTUCE. A couple of layers. Put your turkey in, you can separate dark and white meat. Cover with another couple of layers of lettuce and put the lid on. Put in a 325* oven while you are cooking the potatoes and veg and reheating the gravy and stuffing. I imagine the stuffing can go in the oven too. Usually by the time everything else is ready, and you take the lid off the roasting pan it will be steaming and the turkey will be moist and delicious just like fresh cooked.
This was a hint on a local TV station by the weatherman's mother who has been doing it this way for years. And I've been watching the station as long as he's been on there and everyone there raves about the results.
MoM
The world is full of people who rave about bad food. Sounds like a disaster.
-- Peter Aitken Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm
"Peter Aitken" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
"MoM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:1130157054.2f40514f0f950e04faf037e60817fe36@teranews...
Quoted message said:
Here is a great hint to save time for Thanksgiving or Christmas if you are cooking a Turkey.
You can precook and slice your turkey up to a month ahead. Then, on the day; while all the side dishes are cooking; you take a roasting pan and line it with LETTUCE. A couple of layers. Put your turkey in, you can separate dark and white meat. Cover with another couple of layers of lettuce and put the lid on. Put in a 325* oven while you are cooking the potatoes and veg and reheating the gravy and stuffing. I imagine the stuffing can go in the oven too. Usually by the time everything else is ready, and you take the lid off the roasting pan it will be steaming and the turkey will be moist and delicious just like fresh cooked.
This was a hint on a local TV station by the weatherman's mother who has been doing it this way for years. And I've been watching the station as long as he's been on there and everyone there raves about the results.
MoM
The world is full of people who rave about bad food. Sounds like a disaster.
-- Peter Aitken Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm
And just how would you know? I know the woman is a fantastic cook. Actually, so am I. If the idea I suggested turns out a product just as good as fresh roasted turkey, why not do it and spend the time saved with the family instead of in the kitchen.
But then, there is always someone who will knock a good thing.
"MoM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:1130174476.a9286604f9f0c62cde1ea0e78f82fc00@teranews...
Quoted message said:
Actually, so am I. If the idea I suggested turns out a product just as good as fresh roasted turkey, why not do it and spend the time saved with the family instead of in the kitchen.
Actually, I've found that turkey tends to suffer a bit when frozen, mostly in taste, not texture. Doesn't seem to matter how I reheat it.
The world is full of people who rave about bad food.
Don't I know it.
I am planning a Thanksgiving dinner for a bunch of traveling nurses who are on assignment here in the SF bay area. Due to many of us working on Thanksgiving, we will more than likely be having dinner the weekend after.
Of this group, there are a few nurses that proclaim that they are good cooks, and they offered to help with the cooking, and putting on the meal.
One suggested to me (knowing that I love to cook) that she could go pick up some pies from Costco, since it would save a lot of time, and "Costco does a great Pumpkin pie and other desserts that are just like home made". She suggested that we didn't need to kill ourselves doing this, which is true, but I am not going to sacrifice flavor and quality in the interest of expedience.
I suggested to her that I preferred homemade. 😉 Now I am wondering what her idea of good homemade food is, if she thinks Costco pies are just like homemade.
"Christine Dabney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Peter Aitken said:
The world is full of people who rave about bad food.
Don't I know it.
I am planning a Thanksgiving dinner for a bunch of traveling nurses who are on assignment here in the SF bay area. Due to many of us working on Thanksgiving, we will more than likely be having dinner the weekend after.
Of this group, there are a few nurses that proclaim that they are good cooks, and they offered to help with the cooking, and putting on the meal.
One suggested to me (knowing that I love to cook) that she could go pick up some pies from Costco, since it would save a lot of time, and "Costco does a great Pumpkin pie and other desserts that are just like home made". She suggested that we didn't need to kill ourselves doing this, which is true, but I am not going to sacrifice flavor and quality in the interest of expedience.
I suggested to her that I preferred homemade. 😉 Now I am wondering what her idea of good homemade food is, if she thinks Costco pies are just like homemade.
Christine
Maybe she ate most of her meals on airplanes while growing up.
The world is full of people who rave about bad food.
Don't I know it.
I am planning a Thanksgiving dinner for a bunch of traveling nurses who are on assignment here in the SF bay area. Due to many of us working on Thanksgiving, we will more than likely be having dinner the weekend after.
Of this group, there are a few nurses that proclaim that they are good cooks, and they offered to help with the cooking, and putting on the meal.
One suggested to me (knowing that I love to cook) that she could go pick up some pies from Costco, since it would save a lot of time, and "Costco does a great Pumpkin pie and other desserts that are just like home made". She suggested that we didn't need to kill ourselves doing this, which is true, but I am not going to sacrifice flavor and quality in the interest of expedience.
I suggested to her that I preferred homemade. 😉 Now I am wondering what her idea of good homemade food is, if she thinks Costco pies are just like homemade.
Christine
It may have less to do with Costco than with what the woman likes in pumpkin pie. "Just like mama used to make" can vary from yummy to halacious.
By the way, some of Costco's baked goods are very good. The trick is knowing which ones they are. They have some of the best croissants I have had on the East Coast. Just heat in a hot oven. Their rugelach are wonderful, too, as are their pound cakes. I am not a fan of their pies, but that is because of the crust. Their fillings are often very nice.
And just how would you know? I know the woman is a fantastic cook. Actually, so am I. If the idea I suggested turns out a product just as good as fresh roasted turkey, why not do it and spend the time saved with the family instead of in the kitchen.
But then, there is always someone who will knock a good thing.
Leaving aside whether pre-cooked, frozen, thawed, reheated turkey slices can ever be as good as freshly made and carved, it doesn't even sound like big time savings to me. The only part of the process you've really eliminated is carving. It isn't as though roasting a turkey involves much more than turning on the oven and sticking the bird in. For us, the carving and presentation of the bird is part of the fun of the day, and you've taken that away. -aem
"MoM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:1130157054.2f40514f0f950e04faf037e60817fe36@teranews...
Quoted message said:
Here is a great hint to save time for Thanksgiving or Christmas if you are cooking a Turkey.
You can precook and slice your turkey up to a month ahead. Then, on the day; while all the side dishes are cooking; you take a roasting pan and line it with LETTUCE. A couple of layers. Put your turkey in, you can separate dark and white meat.
Wait a minute. What has the sliced turkey been doing for a month? :-) I think we're all assuming it was frozen. Any special instructions for the wrapping and freezing? Do you defrost overnight, or just chuck it on top of the lettuce frozen?
I don't think I would use this method for Thanksgiving dinner, but it might be handy to know about if you're making a huge dinner...e.g. a church supper or something like that.
Anyhow, for me, the best part of Thanksgiving is not the turkey. Every year, my in-laws go up to Pennsylvania and get a fresh turkey from this specialty turkey place. I'm no more impressed with it than I am with the previously-frozen supermarket turkeys my mom used to buy. I'm a side dish girl, myself.
And just how would you know? I know the woman is a fantastic cook. Actually, so am I. If the idea I suggested turns out a product just as good as fresh roasted turkey, why not do it and spend the time saved with the family instead of in the kitchen.
But then, there is always someone who will knock a good thing.
Leaving aside whether pre-cooked, frozen, thawed, reheated turkey slices can ever be as good as freshly made and carved, it doesn't even sound like big time savings to me. The only part of the process you've really eliminated is carving. It isn't as though roasting a turkey involves much more than turning on the oven and sticking the bird in. For us, the carving and presentation of the bird is part of the fun of the day, and you've taken that away. -aem
It's the timing and getting the birdy out and sliced and the gravy made from the drippings and the potatoes mashed and everything needs to be ready and hot at the same time. Dressing cooked outside the bird seems to be in vogue now and that takes some of the pressure off. Some people just don't function well when they're under stress. I can deal but I know those who can't.
The year that I did the turkey the day before and had it and the gravy all ready was the easiest and most pleasant Thanksgiving Day I've had. I was drinking wine with my guests instead of buzzing about in the kitchen. Food was good, too. -- http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 10-20-05 with a note from Niece Jo.
You can precook and slice your turkey up to a month ahead.
(details snipped)
Quoted message said:
There is something sooooooooo wrong about this, to me. Part of my pleasure is the smell of roasting turkey (as well as all the labor) on the actual day of Thanksgiving. It feeds into my need for tradition. What do you serve and carve at the table? I don't have any trouble preparing a large meal with many different items on that day. It just takes planning. I had a neighbor once who roasted then sliced the turkey the night before and just let it sit out. It was so unappetizing, as well as a huge bacterial risk.
Sure, but if big meal productions stress out the cook to the point of getting ugly about things, what the heck. Emily Post or someone always said that the success of a dinner hinged on what was on the chairs, not on the plates. (And our tradition never did involve carving a bird at table. To me, BFD.) -- http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 10-20-05 with a note from Niece Jo.
"Boron Elgar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
On Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:54:53 -0700, Christine Dabney <[email hidden]> wrote:
It may have less to do with Costco than with what the woman likes in pumpkin pie. "Just like mama used to make" can vary from yummy to halacious.
By the way, some of Costco's baked goods are very good. The trick is knowing which ones they are. They have some of the best croissants I have had on the East Coast. Just heat in a hot oven. Their rugelach are wonderful, too, as are their pound cakes. I am not a fan of their pies, but that is because of the crust. Their fillings are often very nice.
Boron
Don't forget their bagels! Almost as good as New York.......
"CooberGirl" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:%ua7f.2791$Yn4.2488@trnddc03...
Quoted message said:
"MoM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:1130157054.2f40514f0f950e04faf037e60817fe36@teranews...
Quoted message said:
Here is a great hint to save time for Thanksgiving or Christmas if you
are
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
cooking a Turkey.
You can precook and slice your turkey up to a month ahead. Then, on the day; while all the side dishes are cooking; you take a roasting pan and line it with LETTUCE. A couple of layers. Put your turkey in, you can separate dark and white meat.
Wait a minute. What has the sliced turkey been doing for a month? :-) I think we're all assuming it was frozen. Any special instructions for the wrapping and freezing? Do you defrost overnight, or just chuck it on top
of
Quoted message said:
the lettuce frozen?
I don't think I would use this method for Thanksgiving dinner, but it
might
Quoted message said:
be handy to know about if you're making a huge dinner...e.g. a church
supper
Quoted message said:
or something like that.
Anyhow, for me, the best part of Thanksgiving is not the turkey. Every year, my in-laws go up to Pennsylvania and get a fresh turkey from this specialty turkey place. I'm no more impressed with it than I am with the previously-frozen supermarket turkeys my mom used to buy. I'm a side dish girl, myself.
Chris
I agree. Side dishes rule! The turkey is, well, just a turkey. I've never been especially fond of turkey, though. My husband's turkey is good, however. He injects it with garlic, butter and honey and then smokes it for about 4.5 hours. It comes out juicy, sweet and smokey. From now on, that's the only way you'll see me eating turkey.
The year that I did the turkey the day before and had it and the gravy all ready was the easiest and most pleasant Thanksgiving Day I've had. I was drinking wine with my guests instead of buzzing about in the kitchen. Food was good, too.
My guests all tend to congregate around the kitchen anyway, so I might as well be cooking -- but that doesn't preclude drinking wine as well.
By the way, some of Costco's baked goods are very good. The trick is knowing which ones they are. They have some of the best croissants I have had on the East Coast. Just heat in a hot oven. Their rugelach are wonderful, too, as are their pound cakes. I am not a fan of their pies, but that is because of the crust. Their fillings are often very nice.
My local Costco regularly carries ciabatta from the La Brea Bakery, which is one of the best bread bakeries in the country. It's fantastic stuff. But pies are a different story. To my way of thinking, the pie crust is the most critical part of the pie, and if it's not good, then the pie isn't good.
The best pie crust recipe I've found is the one from _CookSmart_. It's got cream cheese in the crust, which makes it a bit unusual, but wow, it makes a terrific cherry pie.
I agree. Side dishes rule! The turkey is, well, just a turkey. I've never been especially fond of turkey, though. My husband's turkey is good, however. He injects it with garlic, butter and honey and then smokes it for about 4.5 hours. It comes out juicy, sweet and smokey. From now on, that's the only way you'll see me eating turkey.
kili
I never understood why some people weren't crazy about turkey until one Thanksgiving I was a guest at a friend's house. The turkey was cooked without garlic. Then I understood...
Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
"Curly Sue" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
kilikini said:
I agree. Side dishes rule! The turkey is, well, just a turkey. I've
never
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
been especially fond of turkey, though. My husband's turkey is good, however. He injects it with garlic, butter and honey and then smokes it
for
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
about 4.5 hours. It comes out juicy, sweet and smokey. From now on,
that's
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
the only way you'll see me eating turkey.
kili
I never understood why some people weren't crazy about turkey until one Thanksgiving I was a guest at a friend's house. The turkey was cooked without garlic. Then I understood...
Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
You've just gotta have the garlic. Hands down. You gotta have the garlic.
The year that I did the turkey the day before and had it and the gravy all ready was the easiest and most pleasant Thanksgiving Day I've had. I was drinking wine with my guests instead of buzzing about in the kitchen. Food was good, too.
My guests tend to be in the kitchen with me, sharing some last minute vegetable prep or the like. That's part of the tradition and fun for me also. I've got my timing done so that I have plenty of time to visit until that last hour when making gravy, boiling and mashing the spuds and steaming up some veggies. Things I do ahead on that day like peel potatoes and leave in water, make my cheese sauce for the broccoli, my stuffing and dressing and the baking I do early in the day on TG and it gives me a long stretch of time with nothing needing attention. Goomba
