Food for Thought
Stick to basics if you want a tasty turkey

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

This time next week, a lot of us will be staring morosely at a chilly-looking bird taking up most of our refrigerator space, hoping the darned thing is going to defrost in time. It happens every year: The most experienced home cooks see the word "Butterball" and go blank.

Help is at hand. Here's everything I've learned the hard way:

Turkey shopping: Smaller birds cook more evenly and quickly: 10-14 pounds maximum. If you're feeding a crowd, have several people roast smaller turkeys.

Defrosting: Buy the turkey Monday; store breast side down in the refrigerator. It will be defrosted by Thursday morning.

Cooking time: Figure about 15 minutes per pound. With a 10- to 14-pound bird, start checking for doneness after 2fl hours. Instant-read or meat thermometer should register 180 degrees in the thigh, 170 degrees in the breast meat.

Stuffing: Don't. Drizzle some of the turkey juices over the stuffing mixture and bake the stuffing separately.

Basic roast turkey: Trust me, I've tried every way there is: high-temperature, smoked, imu-baked, deep-fried, cooking-bagged. Grandma was right: medium-heat roasting is best.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Don't forget to take out the giblets and neck! Rinse the turkey in cold water; pat dry.

Cut a lemon in quarters, cut a tart apple in half, peel and cut an onion in quarters; places these inside the turkey and sew the cavity shut. (You can add several sprigs of thyme or other herbs, too.)

Loosen the skin over the breast and legs by running your fingers just under it. Blend a stick of butter liberally with salt and pepper. Rub 6 tablespoons of the butter mixture under the skin. Rub the remaining 2 tablespoons of the mixture over the turkey skin, spreading it evenly. (I like to blend the softened butter with a little flour to make a thin paste and rub this on the outside; the flour helps hold the butter on the skin and creates a golden crust.)

Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan. Place in preheated oven and roast for about 45 minutes, until it has turned a golden brown. Then cover the turkey with tented aluminum foil to keep the skin from getting too brown.

About 30 minutes before the turkey is done, remove the foil and baste with pan juices. After 10 minutes, baste again.

Remove from oven. Tent turkey in foil and allow to rest 15-25 minutes.