Weaning its way into the hearts and homes of many, turkey is fast becoming a popular meat. It’s popular among the diet and health-conscious, as it is lower in fat and cholesterol than most other meats.
Apart from roasting, deep fat-frying a whole turkey has become very popular. Smoked turkey runs a close second and cold cuts are also great.
Turkey is thought to have two kinds of meat: light and dark. Light or white meat is from the breast and wing portions. The dark meat is the leg and thigh portions. These portions contain more connective tissue and fat and also take longer to cook. This is a problem when roasting whole birds, especially 20 lbs or more. The fact that the breast and wing portions cook faster than the leg and thigh portions very often results in dry, overcooked light meat or undercooked dark meat. There are a few ways to help this problem. One method is to roast the turkey breast side-down during at least the first two or three hours. This allows juices and some fat from the leg and thigh to drain into the breast to keep it from drying out. Another method is to roast the turkey on each side for half of the cooking time. Other ways are to buy your turkey in portions like whole, bone-in or boneless breast. Many recipes have been developed for poultry parts.
When you buy the turkey, place the uncovered turkey on a plate in the lowest part of the refrigerator. Try to get a fresh bird. However, if you can only buy a frozen one, don’t forget to allow plenty of time for it to defrost slowly and fully.
turkey pasta salad
Ingredients: 2? cups cooked and drained penne; 2 cups turkey, cooked and cubed; 1/2 cup spring onions; 1/4 cup chopped celery; 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley; 1/2 tsp tarragon; 1 tbs olive oil; 2 tbs vinegar; 1 tbs lemon juice; 2 tbs mayonnaise
Method: In a large bowl, combine pasta, turkey cubes, scallions, celery, parsley and tarragon. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice and mayonnaise. Add to turkey mixture. Mix well, coating each ingredient very well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled. Serve.
