Gobble. Gobble. (NaBloPoMo - Day 17)

[prosodic]

So...I now have this massive turkey in my freezer. And I'm grateful for the gift. I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed right now because I've never cooked a whole turkey. I'm used to cooking for small groups of people. We have always gotten by with a turkey breast.

I left a note to put it out to thaw starting on Sunday. It's supposed to take four days, but I want to give it a bit of extra time.

I think I want to do something very basic this year. Something that's hard to screw up.

How are the roasting bags? Have any of you ever used them? This recipe looks pretty straightforward. I have everything I need already, except for the roasting bag.

http://www.ovenbags.com/RDetails.aspx?id=1072&cat=4

Honestly, I'm not interested in brining. I wanted a simple, no-fuss Thanksgiving this year - which is why I bought a tenderloin initially - and I don't really have anything to brine a turkey in.

So I'll do the best I can with this.

I wonder if I can actually return the turkey tenderloin that we're now not going to use. I should see if we still have the receipt.

Comments

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

Brining seems like a huge pain, honestly. And I'm trying to minimize lifting myself, on account of my shoulder injury.

[byron.livejournal.com]

You could always cook the tenderloin and donate the full turkey to a food pantry or needy family.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

We were talking about that last night. Not specifically a food pantry (which I've been thinking about), but one of the families from Lance's unit. They're a big family on one income and the father is gone right now. But I asked her and she said they already had a turkey.

I'm going to check around today. All I can find info about is canned food drives, but the local food pantry is very close to Lance's work, so he could drop it off.

[anmorata.livejournal.com]

I've used the bags. They keep the turkey moist, and keep your drippings from evaporating (always my problem). I am a fan of crispy skin, and I can't remember if it gets terribly crispy, but otherwise it makes a decent turkey.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

I don't think it gets crispy, but I don't eat the skin anyway. :)