How do you cook a turkey?

Now, as for how to do it:

(Note: I began cooking at a young age and out of necessity had to learn the basics of cooking large meals, as a mother of 7 children. I found out after years of cooking the dressing inside the turkey (it's called stuffing when it's cooked inside, and dressing when it's outside) that I liked cooking the dressing outside better.)

For the turkey:

Defrost in refrigerator, then when completely defrosted (1-2 days) wash turkey under cool water inside and out, taking out the giblet pack and removing the neck. You should have a roasting pan clean and ready. Sit bird in it.

Cut up in quarters 1-2 onions, cut up a couple stalks of celery into approx 1-2 inch size after cleaning. Season inside of turkey with seasoning salt, garlic powder and pepper(or any seasonings you want). Place onion and celery inside cavity of neck and some in the body cavity. Turn turkey where neck cavity is closed down and (for some take your hand and cover the turkey with butter/margarine on the outside) season outside of turkey as you did the inside. Place the legs down (I usually stick them under the bar that holds the end together). (On TV you'll see the bird with the legs up. You can do this if you wish, but make sure veggies don't fall out the neck end.)

If you have a rack, it's better to place your bird on but if you don't have it you'll be o.k. I cover my bird with foil completely only because my pan is usually not big enough for my lid to cover. Some people use cooking bags.

Place in a oven about 350 degrees, for a 20-22 lb bird, cook for about 4.5-5 hours. In a pot on the stove save your washed giblets in a pot of water cooking to be cut up for giblet gravy.

Baking a turkey

There are many factors in determining the temp to cook the bird. Here's a few suggestions:

1. Is the bird thawed or fresh? Either is preferable to trying to roast a frozen bird.

2. Unlike mom and grandma did it, it is considered unsafe to cook your stuffing inside the bird. Because it takes so long to heat to the center, the stuffing can become bacteria farms while the outside of the bird is cooking. My solution; I usually put a whole, fresh apple and a small, yellow onion into the cavity of the bird. This allows moisture to "steam" out as the bird cooks. When it is finished, I generally take the apple and onion out and chop them up to add to my stuffing that I make and bake after the bird is finished. (I can also add juices from the bird to the stuffing.)

3. Covered or uncovered? Covering a bird traps moisture and, again, steams it which is faster than simply cooking in dry heat. However, the steaming also prevents browning, which most people prefer. Cooking uncovered browns nicely, but tends to end up with the drier bird we think of at holidays. I usually start with a cover, in a large roasting pan for a small bird or foil for a large one, and remove it halfway through (somewhere between 120 and 140 degrees on a cooking thermometer pushed into the thick part of the breast). I also put bacon slices over the larger, meatier areas. It seems to add a little flavor and the bacon takes most of the drying while protecting the turkey. (I don't worry if the bacon looks a little burnt, as long as the turkey is still brown underneath.)

4. Simple answer, I cook my bird at 350 degrees, under these circumstances. If it seems to be cooking too quickly for my pre-arranged dinner time, I might turn it down to 300 to add some time. Finally, when it is cooked, I like to carve it ahead. I know people like sitting around the table watching dad or granddad hack at it, but I like having the pieces cut and arranged by white and dark, to make selection easier. Also, if I need time to finish the meal, I'll put the cut meat into a casserole dish, add some turkey broth, and hold it. Since my oven is probably full of stuffing and rolls baking, or pies finishing off, I set the casserole dish on a VERY low burner on the stove and keep an eye on it.

More advice from other contributors:

• There are many formulas for roasting a perfect bird. My favorite is a combination of high temp to give a nice golden brown crust and lower temp to finish cooking the meat. Regardless of the technique you use, base you time on your thermometer. Let the bird tell you when it's done. A thermomter stuck in the thick part of the breast that reads 165 F means it's time to get out your carving knife.

• Cook it at 325 degrees, 20 minutes per pound. Works every time!

Until a meat cooking thermometer stuck down in the breast says 160 desgrees or when the little red pop up thingy pops up.

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