Doneness Of A Turkey
Source of Recipe
Emma
List of Ingredients
How To Tell Doneness Of A TurkeyRecipe
The trickiest part of roasting a turkey is being sure the
breast and thigh meat are done at the same time. All too often, the
breast meat ends up dry and overcooked while you're waiting for the
thighs to finish cooking. Any one of these techniques will help
prevent the breast from overcooking: " For an unstuffed turkey,
roast the turkey, breast side down, for the first one-third of the
cooking time. This increases the rate at which the thighs cook, so
they'll be done at about the same time as the breast. " For a
stuffed turkey, loosely cover the breast with a double- thick piece
of aluminum foil for the first two-thirds of the cooking time. This
slows the rate at which the breast cooks, so it will be done at about
the same time as the thighs. Checking the Internal Temperature The
breast and thighs must reach different internal temperatures for
ideal doneness. The breast should register 165 F and the thigh, 175
F. Begin testing for doneness about 30 minutes before the total
roasting time is reached. The turkey will continue to cook
internally after you remove it from the oven, so you may take it out
when the thermometer registers 3 to 4 F below the minimum
temperature. Then cover the bird loosely with aluminum foil. If
roasting a stuffed bird, be sure the stuffing reaches 165 F. TO TEST
THE BREAST: Using an instant-read thermometer, insert it into the
meatiest part, several inches above the wings. TO TEST THE THIGH:
Insert the instant-read thermometer away from the bone, along- side
the opening of the main cavity underneath the drumstick. This is the
meatiest part of the thigh. Feeling more confident??? I surely hope
so. Anything I can do to help you...well, you can always count on
me! Lizzy
f A Turkey from Emma
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