Recipe - Essential Tools For Turkey Roasting

Holiday Feasts

Make sure you have the following:
* A LARGE ROASTING PAN.
* VEGETABLE OIL AND BUTTER, SALT AND PEPPER.
* A TOWEL. You will have greater luck with the drumstick clamp if you
grasp it and the slippery turkey with a towel.
* AN INSTANTREAD THERMOMETER. This is your most important tool. With
this, you don't need a roasting chart or a clock. Read the facts on the
dial. If you don't have one, get one.
* Also Make Sure You've Got o A TURKEY LIFTER. Some recipes out there ask
the cook to flip a hot turkey from breast to back during cooking,
supposedly to distribute juices. Try this once and you'll let nature's
browning take its course. But you will have to lift the turkey out. I
recommend a turkey lifter. The best turkey lifter looks like snow chains
but acts as a sling. Two strands of metal chainlink lie on the bottom of
your roasting pan with handles draped over the side of the pan. The turkey
rests on top of the sling. You simply grasp both handles and heave. This
device will put an end to burned hands, greasy potholders and lost
drumsticks.
* FOIL. For greatlooking turkeys, lay a sheet of loose foil over the
bird halfway through cooking time. Make it loose, or you'll steam the bird
you're attempting to roast. Also, you may need to wrap foil booties around
the drumsticks so they don't get dry and crunchy.
* BULB BASTER, OPTIONAL. Makes basting easy, but begs the question about
basting at all. New thinking discourages basting. Basting causes streaking
through the skin's sheen. Turkey skin is so thick that basting really can't
penetrate it. Basting only keeps the cook busy.
* A STRAINER. For straining clear juices for gravy.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini