Happy Thanksgiving 2011 – Tasty Tuesday & Thankful Thursday All in One!

This year, the boys and I celebrated Thanksgiving Day with my parents.  I was in charge of the turkey, green bean casserole, and sweet potato casserole.  I bought a big turkey – a 20 pounder!  We had yummy cinnamon rolls and fruit for breakfast and then I went to town on preparing the turkey.

First, I removed the giblets and neck from inside the turkey cavity.  Then I rinsed the turkey and patted it dry with a paper towel.  The next step was to stuff the turkey with Mrs. Cubbison’s Stuffing – with the help of my stepmom.  She was in charge of making the stuffing and stuffing the turkey. She did a great job!

After the turkey was stuffed, we had to pin it shut so the stuffing wouldn’t come pouring out into the roasting pan.  It was kind of like sewing.  The first picture is my stepmom’s work and the second picture is my work.  Not bad, but those metal sticks are sharp!  So be careful and watch what you’re doing.

The package directions say to cook the turkey breast side up.  However, my stepmom said that she was taught by her mom to cook it breast side down.  Why breast side down?  Well, all of the juices run down the turkey and end up at the breast at the bottom of the pan.  Oh man was she right!  I’ve never had the turkey breast meat so full of flavor before!  I highly recommend cooking it breast side down in the future.  So, before we put it in the oven, we melted 2 sticks of butter and added some poultry seasoning.  I took a basting brush and brushed the butter all over the turkey, reserving some for the cooking process.

I put the turkey in the oven for about 5 hours, but think it could have cooked a little longer, as I had to cook some of the breast meat in the microwave because it wasn’t completely done.  I would cook it for about 5 1/2 hours the next time I cook a turkey, but let me tell you, cooking it with the breast down made the meat so much more flavorful and juicy.  It was really unbelievable!

We let the turkey set for a little bit and then dished up the feast.  It was complete with Turkey, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, and Croissant Rolls.  I couldn’t even finish my plate and I had just a little of each.  Then for dessert, we ate the yummy pumpkin pie that Brian helped my stepmom make.  It was good!

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we did!  We can be thankful every day of the year.