Turkey~Roasting and Leftovers!
Turkey~BTS (Back to School)
Recipe for healthy and inexpensive lunches!
School is in session! Here in New Mexico school is in the third week of the semester. Now that the dust has settled from buying shoes, clothes, school supplies, and trundling them off on the bus let’s talk about bag lunches!
If you are like me you had sticker shock when you went to the grocery and priced sandwich meats. The cost was at about 18.6 cents an ounce which means that sliced turkey was nearly $3.00 a pound! The deli counter had turkey at $5-6.00 a pound. Ouch! Add to that indignity, the ingredient label that listed additives like salt, chemicals and water as part of the weight. So, the product was not as healthy as I wanted either!
Turkey isn’t that expensive. Why not cook your own turkey? At the frozen meat section I found a whole turkey for a mere .92 cents a pound. This was a great deal better than the $2.97 a pound for sliced and water soaked turkey sandwich meat. So, I purchased the whole frozen turkey at 12 pounds for $11.04.
Wait until you hear how many meals I got out of the turkey and how many WEEKS of wholesome turkey sandwiches we are enjoying!
Talk about efficient, tasty, and good for you!
Turkeys are easy to cook but take time. So, the thawing/brining began on Thursday and the actual cooking took place on Sunday.
Basic Easy-Peasey Turkey Cooking Recipe
Thawing the Turkey
You MUST brine to have a tender turkey. MUST!
Place 1 cup of kosher salt in 1 gallon of water and stir until the salt dissolves.
Immerse the turkey (unwrapped) in the brine. Place in the refrigerator. Turn the turkey every few hours. I use my turkey roaster for this and place a towel (soaked in the brine) on the top of the turkey, so that the part of the turkey that is out of the water doesn’t dry out between the turns.
Generally, it will take 2 days in the refrigerator to thaw.
On about the second day the turkey is thawed enough so that you can remove the gizzard, liver, heart and such from the turkey. (Place the gizzard, liver, and heart in a pan, bring to a boil covered in water, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until done and once cool, chop the meat, and freeze for use in soups, stews, beans etc. Or you may use the broth to make noodles, this is what I did!
Baking the Turkey
Once the turkey is thawed throw away the brine and rinse the turkey.
Pre-heat the oven to 450°.
Rub the turkey breast, legs, and wings with a shortening product (hydrogenated vegetable shortening)
Place the turkey in the oven and after the first 15-minutes turn the oven down to 325°
Did you NOTE the reduction in oven temperature?
After no more than an hour, loosely tent the turkey with aluminum foil.
The turkey should roast for 20-minutes per pound. That is 1 hour per every three pounds.
So, my bird, at 12 pounds, roasted for 4 hours
The brining means you do not have to do ANYTHING to the bird while it cooks. Leave it alone and go about your business.
Your family will comment how good the house smells with all that cooking turkey aroma wafting about!
Remove the turkey when done.
THE USDA recommends that the internal temperature of a turkey reach 165° in order to be done. The legs should be very easy to pull away from the bird.
Here is some turkey talk from the USDA: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Lets_Talk_Turkey/index.asp
Let the turkey sit for 20-minutes.
Slice the turkey.
We had a lovely turkey dinner with some summer side dishes. Then we made up about 6 packages of sliced turkey that we froze for use over 4-6 weeks of school sack lunches!
But wait……this turkey still has much to provide!
Once the turkey carcass is stripped of the meat you can still boil it for all that yummy turkey broth.
Boil a Turkey Carcass Recipe
Place the meat stripped carcass in a big pot and cover it with water
Bring it to a boil and reduce the temperature to a simmer
Let simmer for an hour or two, covered.
Cool and remove any meat, then strain the broth so that little bones do not get in your broth
Once cooled freeze in 1-2 cup portions
HINT: I use my plastic left-over containers to freeze the turkey broth in, once the broth is frozen solid, I pop the frozen broth out and place it in a freezer bag. (The broth pops-out easy if you run the container under some warm water for a minute or two!)
I have pre-labeled the freezer bag “Turkey Broth 8/11.”
What to do with that broth?
~Soups
~Stews
~Beans
~Gravies
~Pasta
~Noodles
The broth is a magnificent addition to these dishes! Oh, the taste that it brings to the dishes!
I use the broth mixed with water in many cases due to the enormous flavor that the broth brings to the pot.
I have provided some links to other dishes that will taste superior when you use this broth over a granulated cube. It also tastes much better than the canned broth too!
- Creamy Healthy Garbanzo Soup
Hearty and creamy winter Soup. This creamy healthy Garbanzo Soup Recipe is both frugal and good for you! It has a huge taste! - Turkey Mushroom and Garlic Soup Recipe
Turkey Mushroom and Garlic Soup Recipe. New Mexico in the fall. - Beans for Good Health on a Budget
Beans healthy and inexpensive
- Refried Beans Using Pinto Frijoles/Painted Beans
Refried beans
- Pasta New Mexico~Fideo (Fee-Day-oh)
This is fideo pasta but you can use broken up angel hair pasta too. The bags I buy cost about 32 cents!Fideo (Fee-DAY-oh) is a Mexican spaghetti side dish. I first had it in Phoenix but have had it at several Mexican restaurants here in New...