Читать книгу Talk Turkey to Me - Renee S. Ferguson - Страница 23
“I’m newly married and we’re pregnant and I feel like I live on Stupid Street. I’ve never done this before and I know I have to wash the turkey. My husband said that it’s just like washing a baby and to just hold it under a shower of water—and that I should get used to it . . . the baby will be here before we know it!”
ОглавлениеGood news. You don’t live on Stupid Street and you don’t have to practice Baby Bathing 101 on the turkey. There’s no need to wash or rinse a turkey, chicken, fish, or any meat product you plan to cook. The cooking process will kill any bacteria that are present. That’s the purpose of cooking—not to mention the fact that it enhances the taste! But truly, the reason we don’t wash turkeys, or any other meat products, is to minimize the splashing of raw juices. Scattered drops of raw juices can inadvertently splash other food products and cross-contaminate them.
Prepping the turkey and roasting it are easy to do despite attempts by many to complicate the matter. Simply place the turkey on a rack in a shallow, open pan. If you’re using a disposable roasting pan, place the pan on a baking sheet for support. Most disposable foil pans have some “bumps” on the bottom that act as a rack, helping to keep the turkey out of its juices as it cooks.
Brush the skin with oil, or use a cooking spray to add moisture to the skin.
Why oil?
Vegetable oil results in more even browning than butter, which tends to produce tiny brown specks on the skin. However, some people are passionate about their choice of “massage oil.” Choose whatever makes you feel better!
A sweet-voiced elderly woman described her method of moisturizing the turkey’s skin before putting it in the oven:
