Ok, when you roasted your turkey did it look like this or some pale thing that was falling apart and had no flavor. I bet you put the aluminum foil tent over the bird or actually put the cover on the roasting pan. Thank you, you just steamed the fuck out of that bird. Whenever you cover the bird with some material such as aluminum foil, the foil captures the moisture which has been turned to steam, the oven is at 325 F, and water turns to steam at 212F, so I think you can do the math here, which causes the bird to be steamed. So the bird comes out pale, falling apart and tasteless. Enjoy.Or might you desire something more than steamed poultry. Might you just want to roast that bird and roast we will do, the right way.
Ok, lets do it. take the bird out the night before to make sure it is defrosted. At this time, you might want to clean the bird and do whatever you will, with the gibblets, neck, etc. I don't like them, so they really don't get used in my household. If all is ready put the bird back in the refrigerator, be sure to cover him or her with a wet towel so that the bird does not dry out overnight. We all know that you do not stuff the bird till you are ready to put him or her in the oven.
The night berfore is a great time to make the turkey dressing, I would prepare everything in the dressing short of putting the eggs in the dressing. Once again the eggs are a raw product and do not mix them into the dressing until your ready to stuff the bird and put him or her in the oven.
The next morning, you get up real early, you have been thinking about roasting this bird, so now you are all primed and ready to do that bird. So now you can rush to the kitchen eager to get going on that bird. We take the bird out of the refrigerator and remove all his wrapping and the wet towel from last night. You want him to warm up a little, so when he or she jumps in the oven, it will be a pleasant and comfortable warmth for your bird. Meanwhile you make yourself some coffee or tea and make yourself something to eat for breakfast. You sit down and have a restful and relaxing breakfast. You think to yourself this is the calm before the storm.
After breakfast is done, you put the dishes in the dishwasher or do them yourself and send everyone out of the kitchen. You are now ready to do this old bird. Ok let's get started.
The bird is rince and cleaned from last nite or you can still do that if you partied last nite. Last nite was for partying, today is for cooking. Get out the stuffing, you remember making that last nite, I hope so. You are ready to put the eggs in the stuffing and maybe a little chicken broth, use the low salt commercial stuff with no MSG. Add just enough to make it moist, we're not making soup here. Save the rest of the broth for the gravy. Turkey gravy with a bit of chicken in it, who is going to know the difference, I'll never tell.
Now take that bird and salt and pepper inside and out and he is ready to get stuffed. Modern day Turkeys don't generally need to be sown up, so we use the little plastic thingy to hold the legs together. Don't forget the back end, put some stuffing in the crop and fold the skin around to hold it in place. Now that turkey looks like he ready for the aluminum tent. This is where the road diverges into two paths, we are going to take the less worn path.
We are now going to take 2 tablespoons or more of butter and melt it in a pyrex measuring cup, use the 1 cup size. Next take a piece of cheese cloth, yes, they do sell it at the market. Run down there and get some while the store is still open. Cut a piece big enough to cover the bird. I extend the cheese cloth out and refold it so I have a double layer to cover the bird. Carefully fold up the cheese cloth as small as absolutely possible. This is the yukkie part. Push the cheese cloth into the pyrex 1 cup measuring cup with the melted butter. Turn the cheese cloth over and try to absorb all the butter, squeeze the cheese cloth as a sponge to get the cheese cloth as saturated as possible with the butter. Now unfold the the cheese cloth and place over the turkey making sure the turkey is well covered. The cheese clother will keep the turkey well buttered and help to prevent burning of the skin as the bird roasts.
Put him in the oven and record your time. If he has an internal doneness popper you can watch that for when he is done. When he comes out of the over, the cheescloth can be pulled off and he will have that beautiful roasted look. Not only that, he will be a lot tastier than those steamed turkeys you used to have.
