Cooking my first turkey

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Turkey bag is great for keeping turkey moist.

The downside is that you don't get the nice brown crispy skin, it will be soggy.  Also, the presentation will suffer because the skin will stick to the bag when you take the turkey out.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Gonna' try to fry one again this year... hopefully I don't burn my house down.
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Whatever you do, don't overfill the fryer with too much oil.  If you do, there will be a big grease fire in your backyard.  I am assuming you will do it in your backyard and not inside the house.
 
Frying tastes great and if done right, is not greasy.  It also takes a lot less time, about hour to hour and half.

I don't think you should season the turkey.  It will just burn.
 
ps99472 said:
We're hosting this year and never cooked a turkey before.  Any tips?  I'm thinking of going with this recipe..

http://www.cookingindex.com/recipes/35716/roast-turkey-chinese-style.htm

Should I still use a turkey bag?
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I've roasted lots of turkeys. I checked out that recipe. If it were me and I wanted to do that one, I'd make the following modifications: Bake the stuffing separately in a casserole dish. Modify the temp to 325 on the turkey. Using the indicated ingredients in that recipe also brush with some melted butter (or put pats of butter under skin by making pockets), vegetable oil, and lastly sprinkle with seasoned salt to enhance the golden appearance. Tent loosely with foil. The air circulation will help it brown but the lower temp prevents it from drying out. Plan on baking 20 min. per pound until 170. Remove the foil the last 30-45 minutes of the cooking time. I've tried brining, basting, etc. and this has been my best result. For small gatherings, I don't do a whole bird - just breasts and use a stoneware baker with a domed lid. Easier and quicker. I have never had fried turkey and would love to see it done sometime.

Carve like this. Good luck, ps994472!:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcjR8dNPQII[/youtube]
 
ps99472 said:
Is frying more tasty?  How long would that take?  Do you still season the turkey?
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I just fry it... not sure how is prepped but from what they tell me, they inject some flavor into it so when it's frying, it gets distributed throughout.
 
It's funny... I was actually overly cautious the first time we fried a turkey because of all those "grease fire" stories... but once you do it... it's really no different from deep frying anything.

<knocking on wood>
 
anyone know where I can get allspice berries?  I'm switching to the alton brown good eats turkey instead of the chinese turkey.. 
 
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