President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, and in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day forward one week to its present day. Celebrating with a roasted turkey dates back to the time of the Pilgrims when most New Englanders associated eating goose with celebrations. Since wild turkey was much more plentiful, a new tradition of serving turkey for celebration began in the New World.
While cooking a turkey is not difficult, many people panic mostly because they are hosting Thanksgiving dinner and want everything to go smoothly. If you are the lucky host for Thanksgiving, I think one of the most important rules is keep the food simple: roasted turkey, stuffing, potato, vegetable, salad, cranberries, and dinner rolls.
Timing is everything, so decide what time to eat and create a timeline so that everything will be done in unison. Most of us only have one oven, and the turkey can take up most of the space. I am able to put the stuffing in the oven while the turkey is roasting, but it cooks longer than usual because the oven is full.
As for potatoes, I make mashed potatoes the day before and put them in a slow cooker to warm six hours before dinner is served. My recommendation is that after potatoes are warm, put the setting at the lowest temperature until serving time.
A vegetable medley of broccoli, cauliflower florets, carrot rounds, and green beans sautéed with butter and seasoned with salt, fresh pepper, and parsley is an excellent side dish. Fresh cranberries are a must and very easy to make. I don’t buy heat-and-serve rolls, but buy good, fresh rolls at the bakery the day before. Guests will give my pear and strawberry salad thumbs-up!
So here are a few pointers to remember about the turkey:
1. Thaw the bird completely before putting it in the oven. Allow 3 to 4 days depending on the size.
2. It takes approximately 3–6 hours to roast a turkey. Most people buy 17- to 20-pound turkeys, which will take approximately 5 hours. You do want it to sit for at least 20 minutes before carving it. A meat thermometer will eliminate a lot of guesswork and frequent opening and closing of the oven.
3. Rub you turkey inside and out with lots of butter infused with fresh or dried herbs and salt and fresh pepper.
4. I don’t recommend stuffing your turkey, but prefer to cook my stuffing separately. A big no-no is stuffing the turkey early in the morning and then letting it sit in the cavity for hours before cooking. Also, if you are stuffing the bird, make sure the stuffing is fully cooked.
Herb Roasted Turkey
14-17 pound turkey
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
Combine butter, rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
Massage herb butter into the skin of the turkey until well absorbed. Put celery and carrots into cavity. Fold wings under the back of the turkey and return legs to the tucked position.
Roast turkey according to directions on packaging, but internal temperature of the turkey reaches 170 degrees F in the breast and 180 degrees F in the thigh.
Allow turkey to rest for about 20 minutes. Remove vegetables from the cavity prior to carving and discard. Place slices on a platter and garnish with fresh parsley.
