The turkey should come out of the oven at least 90 minutes before serving. The cooked turkey must collect on the kitchen counter for around 1 hour before carving. The turkey will shred if carving is attempted fresh from the oven.
At least 30 minutes before serving, carve the turkey in the kitchen. Norman Rockwell may have depicted carving the turkey at the table, but that’s only a painting.
In the privacy of the kitchen, start carving by cutting off the two wings and two drumsticks. Next cut the turkey in half along the backbone.
Each half separates with a few cuts into large thigh and breast pieces. Decent-looking slices of dark meat and white meat can be carved according to diners’ preferences.
For the actual cooking, ignore the complex recipes in the national media. For a whole turkey, take it out of the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes per pound. If you use a meat thermometer, the turkey is done at 170 degrees.
You can cover with foil at first and remove the foil during the final 1/2 hour. Place an apple in the cavity to enhance the turkey’s sweetness. Cook stuffing separately to keep it crisp – see below.
Bowman & Landes, MOON Co-op’s source for local turkeys, recommends cooking uncovered at 450 degrees for the first 45 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325 and cover loosely with foil, around 20 minutes per pound.
While the turkey cooks, time for some last-minute side dishes. How about cranberry relish.
Coarsely chop 1 bag (8 ounces or 2 cups) of cranberries in a food processor and transfer to a bowl. Mix the crushed cranberries with 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1 apple or a peeled and chopped orange, and 1/4 cup of local honey.
Ocean Spray, the dominant cranberry producer, is cooperatively owned, like MOON Co-op Grocery. Ocean Spray is owned by 700 growers mostly in Wisconsin, whereas MOON Co-op is owned by 1,000 consumers mostly in Butler County.
How about some last-minute easy-to-make real homemade stuffing with some of our awesome locally baked bread from the Farmers Market or MOON Co-op.
Chop or shred 1/2 pound of bread, spread the pieces on a baking sheet, and bake alongside the turkey for 30 minutes. If you have stale bread, you can skip this step.
Remove the bread pieces from the oven, dot the pieces with bits of butter, and sprinkle parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (important: while humming the Simon & Garfunkel song). Return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes.
Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for reading this column and for supporting local journalism in Butler County.
MOON Co-op is Oxford’s consumer-owned full-service grocery, featuring natural, local, organic, sustainable, and Earth-friendly products. The store, located at 516 S. Locust St. in Oxford, is open to the public every day. Visit online at mooncoop.coop.
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