Luxor4u

I always think that it is better to be prepared, so while shopping in KZ this morning, bought a frozen turkey for Xmas, not having had one for over nine years. The weight is six kilo, so the question is, when defrosted, how long should I cook it and on what gas mark? If I do not ask now I will only forget, so I can put the answer on my little kitchen list. Ta.

Gas mark 5 and cook for around 40 minutes per Kg
When cut all the meat should be pink, best tip is when getting close to the total cooking time is to periodically stick a skewer fully into the thick part of the leg and the deepest part of the breast and when you remove it there should be a clear fluid that starts to flow out of the puncture holes.
Obviously you fully thaw it prior to cooking, probably it will take 10 to 12 hours per Kg in a fridge and a couple of hours per Kg at room temperature, saying as it is pretty hot where you are I would go for the fridge thawing method.

Thanks Horus. My cooker only has temperature readings on the dial, 150-260, so what would gas mark 5 equate to. Ta.

More or less
Fahrenheit ........................ Celsius........................ Gas Mark
325 degrees F ................. 165 degrees C...................3
350 degrees F ................. 177 degrees C...................4
375 degrees F ................. 190 degrees C.................. 5
400 degrees F ................. 200 degrees C...................6

When cooking something the size of a Turkey then slow (as in Gas mark 5) is always better, then about 1 hour before the estimated cooking time start to do the skewer test to see if the juices run clear with no traces of blood. Once you are happy with that you can boost the heat up for about 20 minutes without the foil covering to crisp the skin, some good tips if you have not cooked one before are:

1. Do not stuff the cavity as this can result in uneven cooking
2. Cover the Turkey thighs seperately with Baco Foil to stop over cooking in that area
3. Cover the whole cooking tray and Turkey in Baco foil ( a Dutch oven) to retain moisture otherwise it will be too dry
4. As you are unlikely to have any bacon strips available to cover the Turkey breast, then after a couple of hours keep lifting the foil and baste the turkey with the juices that should be comming out, about every half hour during the cooking time.

Once again thanks, you have my juices running now just thinking about it. I'm putting this page onto my favorites so I get it right, would never have thought about the tin foil.

I love roast turkey but it's been a very long time since I cooked one, so I won't say too much about it other than:

You may find it helpful to baste the skin of the turkey before cooking by rubbing in some oil or butter over the skin, you can also add some basic seasoning in the rub. Alternatively, slide some butter under the skin over the breast of the chicken. Both methods will help with giving a more moist turkey.

If you can get grease-proof paper, it is a good inner liner between the turkey and aluminum foil. It makes it easier to check the turkey without the foil sticking to the turkey and tearing.

Once cooked, allow it to 'rest' for at least 15/20 minutes before carving.

I would second ALL of the additional stuff that Hepzi has pointed out as they will all help to give you the perfect roasted Turkey, I especially like the baking paper tip as sticking Baco foil pulling the skin away where it touches the Turkey is always a problem.

Alternatively you could try this method sent to me by my cousins 'Billy Jo Bob & Emmy Lou' and his friend 'Bubba'


Seriously though, PLEASE DON'T

The other problem of course "D" is the regulo's on Egyptian ovens are useless you set them at the temperture given and they are either too low or too high, so no matter what you do you need to keep an eye on things. During our eight years we ended up having 3 cookers none had any temperature baring on what the control knob said. Good luck though!

You could test your own ovens temperature settings beforehand by baking a large potato in it. Set it to Gas mark 6 (around 200 C) and it should take about 1 hour to bake at that temperature. Providing it is near enough to that heat level the actual length of your cooking time will not matter, set your Turkey cooking temp at the Gas 5 level then you just keep checking on it at say 20 minute intervals after the initial 3.5 hours of your total estimated cooking time. If your temperature is low it will just take longer (not a bad thing) if its too high then it cooks quicker and could be dry, the real test is the skewer, if the juices run clear (no blood) when you stick it deeply into the legs and breasts, then it is cooked regardless of time.

I have always believed in the old saying that things come in threes. I got my ''V'', opened my new bank account and getting this turkey was the third. I was actually getting a frozen chicken out of the display when I saw big bird on the bottom shelf. So I hefted it out and told my friend that it was an imported giant chicken from Germany. She looked at it and said ''wow, its as big as a turkey,'' then she saw the description in Arabic on the label. Just then I heard a man talking to her, so turned round, turkey still in now blue hands, to be introduced to a manger that worked in KZ, but was also a neighbour of hers. He asked her did she want the bird, she saying no, but I was just showing it to her. He took it off me and looked at the label. He told her to tell me if I wanted it, as the sell by date ran out at the end of November this year, I could have it for half price, 300Le. It was an imported one from Australia. So I took the chance that we and her family would not get food poisoning at Xmas. So, the turkey was number three. ...and maybe...

PS MT, my oven is an imported double one from the UK, made by Kelvinator, given to me by a friend living here that had two brought over, so never had a problem with temperature control.

Hope it's not a wild bush-turkey Dusak! Could be tougher than a camel's foot.

Just thaw it over a couple of days in your fridge, then put it out in your kitchen (covered) for a few hours until it all moves freely when you handly it with no ice visible in the cavity. Give it a good sniff and if it doesn't smell off, then cook as described and all should be well
Don't forget to thoroughly wash everything down afterwards as Salmonella from raw chicken/turkey is more likely to make you all ill.

Dusak, were there any more turkey's available for sale? If so, you could do a trail run with this one and stock up your freezer with lots of ready made meals for you and your cats. Then, knowing you have mastered the timing, you could cook and serve one to your friends at Christmas and amaze them all.

One thing about buying a frozen turkey now, hopefully soon after the supermarket had stocked them, is that you can store it in your own freezer. That way you will be fully aware if there has been any problems of defrosting and refreezing.

Mmm, as it was at the bottom of the freezer and close to its 'sell by' date, then you do have to wonder how long it has been in stock

From what I could see, they only had the one HEPZIBAH.

Horus wrote:Just thaw it over a couple of days in your fridge, then put it out in your kitchen (covered) for a few hours until it all moves freely when you handly it with no ice visible in the cavity. Give it a good sniff and if it doesn't smell off, then cook as described and all should be well
Don't forget to thoroughly wash everything down afterwards as Salmonella from raw chicken/turkey is more likely to make you all ill.

Even when it is defrosted, I doubt that there would be much movement as it has no head. Sticking my nose up its arse to see if it niff's, to me, sounds a little counter productive.

Well Dusak I am sure we would all like to wish you good byeeeee before your actual departure.

carrie wrote:Well Dusak I am sure we would all like to wish you good byeeeee before your actual departure.

According to newcastle on another post, the big man man himself is contemplating my demise this very moment in time.

Dusak wrote:

Sticking my nose up its arse to see if it niff's, to me, sounds a little counter productive.

Oh I dont know about that Dusak