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PERFECT BIRD FOR "DUMMIES"

Written by Corinne Copelan

Friday, 07 September 2007

Perfect Bird For 'Dummies'
by Corinne Copelan (first published November 2005)
When I say 'Dummies' I just mean anybody, even true beginners can achieve the perfect roasted chicken or in this case, the perfect turkey. My own recipe for a perfect bird is simple, easy & delicious:
First, when the turkey (or chicken) is completely defrosted, wash the bird with cold water, then with a good knife cut open the back of the bird (opposite of the breast) clean it out of any insides under cold water, pat it dry with paper towels, and set it on a big cooking metal dish. Put a little salt and black pepper evenly all over the bird, inside and out. Then put crushed Italian herbs (marjoram, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage etc...) on the inside of the bird, and on the outside brown spicy mustard all over the skin. First because you opened the bird it will cook twice as fast, enabling you also to carefully turn it over and to control it's cooking better, switching from 'bake' at 350. to 'broil' on low for a short time to give it that perfect golden rotisserie look. Also the mustard will keep it moist and juicy to perfection. On the top stove, in a big frying pan, you can make a great stuffing with olive oil, garlic (crushed fresh 6-7 cloves or from a jar), fresh parsley washed and chopped, washed, diced fresh mushrooms, some shredded carrots, and sliced almonds (first quickly roasted in a dry pan on the stove). Start all of the ingredients, had a little drippings from the turkey and some chicken broth (even the little packets from your ramen soup and water if you don't have anything else) then when everything looks and smell pretty cooked had a fresh loaf (or half fresh) regular french bread from your local market, cut in small pieces . I said a little of the turkey drippings, because you want a lot left to serve your guests on the meat of the turkey. And the stuffing will not get too soggy or too dry because again you have a better control of his cooking, and with all of that, you also avoid the risk of salmonella by not putting the stuffing in the bird. For presentation sake, you can put the stuffing in the bird once everything is cooked, but I, personally prefer setting it in a deep microwavable dish for quick warm up and easy serving. Same for the turkey drippings.
For the rest of the meal, it is up to you to make your mom traditional vegetables. Or you can cook wedged potatoes, sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms (maybe portabella mushroom for more flavor) a little diced celery, around the turkey with more garlic and more parsley. Keeping in mind that since you want enough gravy for everybody, if you cook the vegetables around the turkey they will get more flavor but will suck up a lot of the juices. So you have to leave all the fat on the turkey before cooking it and even had some water without soaking. So if you are a beginner, you might want to cook them in the oven but in a different dish with their own oil, garlic, parsley, salt & pepper etc. or other combinations.

Perfect Bird for 6 to 10 people:
One turkey
salt & pepper
crushed Italian herbs
one jar of brown mustard
olive oil (light)
garlic 5-6 cloves (or from a jar) (x 2 for the veg)
one bunch of fresh parsley (x 2 for the veg)
fresh mushrooms 8 ounces(x 2 for the veg)
a few small or 1/2 a small bag of shredded carrots (x 2 for the veg)
1 1/2 potatoes per person if you do garlic vegetables
Helping Note:
Garlic and his cousin onion are good for keeping blood 'thin', good against heart attacks.
Parsley has iron and antioxidants, good for healthy eyes and overall health.
Carrots have carotene and antioxidants, good for healthy skin, fights sunburns and skin cancer and overall health.
Almonds also help against cancer.
all herbs besides giving a lot of flavor without adding calories, have many beneficial properties.
Olive Oil is one, if not the best, unsaturated fat, the 'good fat'. If you don't like the strong taste of cooked olive oil, use the light kind and keep the full flavored First pression for salads.

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