The Fourth of July and Thanksgiving are the two most important national holidays celebrated in the United States. Every country in the world has its national day, but Thanksgiving is a strictly American holiday, celebrated only in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, and marks the commemoration of the first corn harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony in 1621. On that occasion, the Pilgrim Fathers hosted a feast to which they invited their Native American neighbors, to thank God for their bountiful harvest and for having survived the bitter New England winter. It has become customary for families to gather around a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, a reminder of the wild turkey eaten by the Pilgrims on that first Thanksgiving feast.
The turkeys Americans eat on Thanksgiving today are very different from the wild birds that were hunted, cleaned and cooked in colonial days. Turkeys in America today are commercially bred for size and amount of meat. It is no longer necessary to go out and hunt a wild bird since turkeys are widely available in supermarkets across the nation. However there are still decisions to make and the tips below can help you make the right ones.
When you go shopping for your Thanksgiving turkey, you will first have to decide whether to buy a fresh or frozen bird. You'll also have to choose among natural, free-range and kosher turkeys and decide whether to buy a self-basting turkey or not and whether you want your turkey with or without a pop-up thermometer. Once you bring your turkey home, you will need to decide on a cooking method. Do you want to roast the turkey, grill it, cook it in a crock pot or fry it? Will you cover the bird as it cooks? Will you stuff it or not? How will you season it? Will you brine it or use traditional seasonings? These are some of the many decisions cooks have to make today when they buy and cook Thanksgiving turkeys.
Most cooks prefer to roast and baste the turkey themselves rather than use the self-basting variety injected with broth and seasonings. Pop-up thermometers may be helpful, but, again, many cooks will not rely on them to test whether the turkey is done, as they believe that they tend to result in overcooking.
The kind of turkey to buy for Thanksgiving depends on personal preference and a few important considerations. Some people believe that fresh turkeys are moister than frozen turkeys, which they claim have less flavor, but most people cannot tell the difference between a properly thawed and cooked frozen turkey and a fresh one.
One of the important factors to consider when you are buying a turkey is how much time you have for preparing it. If you need to cook the turkey immediately, then buying a frozen turkey is certainly not an option. Turkeys take days to thaw inside the fridge; de-freezing them on your kitchen counter is hazardous to your health. You must also allow several hours for roasting the turkey. Exactly how mush time a turkey needs to thaw (or to roast) depends on its size, but you can see that any last-minute Thanksgiving turkey purchase involves disregarding the frozen variety. Using slow cooker recipes for Thanksgiving turkey can be practical if you have a lot to do and are not able spend hours in the kitchen basting a roasting turkey.
Another essential factor you should keep in mind when you shop for Thanksgiving turkey is the bird's age. Age affects the tenderness and flavor of turkey, with older turkeys being tougher than younger ones. If you plan to fry the turkey, make sure you don't buy one that is over four months old. Roasters, however, may be as old one year and still taste good. The gender of the turkey makes no difference in how it tastes. Both hen (female) and tom (male) turkeys will be succulent and tender if you cook them correctly.
The turkeys Americans eat on Thanksgiving today are very different from the wild birds that were hunted, cleaned and cooked in colonial days. Turkeys in America today are commercially bred for size and amount of meat. It is no longer necessary to go out and hunt a wild bird since turkeys are widely available in supermarkets across the nation. However there are still decisions to make and the tips below can help you make the right ones.
When you go shopping for your Thanksgiving turkey, you will first have to decide whether to buy a fresh or frozen bird. You'll also have to choose among natural, free-range and kosher turkeys and decide whether to buy a self-basting turkey or not and whether you want your turkey with or without a pop-up thermometer. Once you bring your turkey home, you will need to decide on a cooking method. Do you want to roast the turkey, grill it, cook it in a crock pot or fry it? Will you cover the bird as it cooks? Will you stuff it or not? How will you season it? Will you brine it or use traditional seasonings? These are some of the many decisions cooks have to make today when they buy and cook Thanksgiving turkeys.
Most cooks prefer to roast and baste the turkey themselves rather than use the self-basting variety injected with broth and seasonings. Pop-up thermometers may be helpful, but, again, many cooks will not rely on them to test whether the turkey is done, as they believe that they tend to result in overcooking.
The kind of turkey to buy for Thanksgiving depends on personal preference and a few important considerations. Some people believe that fresh turkeys are moister than frozen turkeys, which they claim have less flavor, but most people cannot tell the difference between a properly thawed and cooked frozen turkey and a fresh one.
One of the important factors to consider when you are buying a turkey is how much time you have for preparing it. If you need to cook the turkey immediately, then buying a frozen turkey is certainly not an option. Turkeys take days to thaw inside the fridge; de-freezing them on your kitchen counter is hazardous to your health. You must also allow several hours for roasting the turkey. Exactly how mush time a turkey needs to thaw (or to roast) depends on its size, but you can see that any last-minute Thanksgiving turkey purchase involves disregarding the frozen variety. Using slow cooker recipes for Thanksgiving turkey can be practical if you have a lot to do and are not able spend hours in the kitchen basting a roasting turkey.
Another essential factor you should keep in mind when you shop for Thanksgiving turkey is the bird's age. Age affects the tenderness and flavor of turkey, with older turkeys being tougher than younger ones. If you plan to fry the turkey, make sure you don't buy one that is over four months old. Roasters, however, may be as old one year and still taste good. The gender of the turkey makes no difference in how it tastes. Both hen (female) and tom (male) turkeys will be succulent and tender if you cook them correctly.
About the Author:
Michelle is undoubtedly an accomplished article writer whose niche is writing articles about simple, but tasty, household cooking. Her posts generally stress the many benefits of crock pot recipes including slow cooker recipes, which is one of her favorites.