How to cook a turkey tasty and fast: the best recipes, features and recommendations

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

How to cook a turkey, many housewives who prepare a festive table are interested. For many years it has been one of the most popular dishes in Western countries, especially in the USA. Recently, it is gaining popularity in Russia. It is very important to prepare and serve it in a special way, because the mood of the whole holiday will depend on it. After all, the turkey, as a rule, is cooked as the main decoration of the festive table.

Tradition of cooking turkey

Cooking historians claim that women have been interested in how to cook a turkey for thousands of years. This is one of the most popular dishes for the festive table along with roast beef and pork. The tradition has gone since the time of pagan rites of sacrifice.

In many aristocratic families, they preferred to cook poultry for the holiday. But it wasnot a chicken, like the poor, but a turkey or even a pheasant, a partridge or a swan. Today, turkey, goose and duck remain popular, with the exception of chicken, other birds are cooked very rarely.

Now in our country, in stores and markets, you can find a variety of turkey carcasses weighing from one to five kilograms.

Marinated turkey

Since it is very difficult to cook a turkey, it is better to carefully study the experience of culinary specialists. For example, the recipes given in this article. More recently, it has become popular to marinate a turkey before cooking.

It is believed that this process was inspired by the process that is used in the production of kosher products. It is required to remove all the blood, so it is thoroughly soaked in water. It is noted that it is kosher turkeys that are more tender and juicier than ordinary ones.

In this process, it is very important to prepare the right and effective marinade, then you will know exactly how to cook a turkey deliciously. For a marinade on a turkey weighing about four to five kilograms, you should take:

• six liters of water;
• 125 grams of s alt;
• three tablespoons of black pepper;
• one cinnamon stick (it should be broken into several pieces);
• one tablespoon of cumin seeds;
• two dozen clove seeds;
• 90 grams of sugar;
• two large onions;
• four large garlic cloves through a press;
• ground ginger root (about sixcentimeters);
• one orange (cut it with the peel into slices, and squeeze the juice into the marinade, throw in the slices themselves);
• three stalks of celery (they are cut across into several pieces).

The turkey should be soaked whole in marinade for three to four days. The greater the weight of the bird, the longer it should lie in the mixture. All this time, the bird needs to be in a cool room, you can even put it in the refrigerator. If you're marinating turkey breasts, use a sleeve instead. The main thing - do not pay attention to the fact that there are a lot of components in this composition. If one or two components are not at hand, it's okay, the marinade will still turn out saturated. Let it soak in the brine.

After taking the turkey out of the refrigerator or cool room, wait until it reaches room temperature, only then rinse the bird in cool water, drying with paper towels. Now it can be baked on a baking sheet. Many do not use any additional fat, spices, or special bag sleeves for this, but simply put a little rosemary and sage. The bird itself can be lubricated with vegetable oil to brown its skin.

Cooking turkey drumstick

Turkey shank in lemon-soy marinade is very popular among meat lovers. To prepare this delicious and nutritious dish, take:

• two turkey drumsticks;
• four tablespoons of soy sauce;
• one lemon;
• four tablespoons of vegetable oil;
• one teaspoonground black pepper.

Now we will tell you in detail how to cook a turkey drumstick. Previously, it is recommended to marinate it in soy sauce mixed with juice squeezed from a lemon, as well as black pepper and sunflower oil. Note that if you prefer a spicier bird, you can increase the amount of spices by adding your favorites. For example, red hot pepper is suitable.

Two turkey drumsticks, as a rule, weigh about one and a half kilograms. They should spend at least 30 minutes in the marinade. In general, the more the better. Turn the drumsticks occasionally to marinate evenly.

Then put the meat on the foil, wrap the bird in it. We pinch the edges, creating a form with sides, into which we pour the marinade. Only after that we close the envelope and put it in the oven. The meat should be baked at a temperature of 200 degrees for two hours. Now you know how to cook a turkey drumstick. Rice will be appropriate for a side dish, which can be poured with the remaining broth.

Turkey thighs

To learn how to cook a turkey thigh, you need to study a special recipe. For example, you can bake turkey thighs in foil. For this you will need:

• 1.5kg hips;
• half onion;
• 5 grams of cumin;
• rosemary and olive oil added to taste.

Do you remember how delicious to cook a turkey? This requires a marinade. For marinade on thighs take:

• half onion;
• threetablespoons olive oil;
• two cloves of garlic;
• two teaspoons Dijon mustard;
• one teaspoon of s alt;
• paprika, zira, black and red pepper - to taste.

Discovering the secret of how to cook a turkey thigh. Wash the turkey leg thoroughly and pat dry. Cut the onion into slices.

Put all the ingredients of the marinade into a blender and mix until smooth. This mass rub the thigh, trying to get it under the skin.

Take a foil folded in half, pour a little olive oil on it, put the chopped onion there, and the turkey itself on top. On the sides of the dish, you can decorate with sprigs of rosemary and thyme, and then wrap the turkey in foil.

Put it in the oven on a baking sheet at a temperature of 200 degrees. We cook for about an hour and a half, periodically pouring over the juice that stands out.

Checking the readiness of a turkey is very simple. To do this, it is enough to pierce the meat with a knife in the thickest part. The juice that starts to stand out should be clear.

Approximately 40 minutes before the end of cooking, open the foil so that a crispy crust forms on the bird. Here is one of the best ways to cook a turkey quickly and tasty.

Turkey Fillet

In this article you will learn what to cook from a turkey quickly and tasty. One of the interesting recipes is turkey fillet stewed with sour cream. For this recipe use:

• one kilogram of turkey;
• two tablespoons of sour cream with a fat content of at least 10%;
• twotablespoons of sauce;
• one onion;
• three cloves of garlic;
• s alt, pepper - to taste.

Turkey fillet carefully cut into small slices and stew in a pan for a quarter of an hour. Add chopped onion to the fillet, continuing to simmer for another five minutes, until it becomes soft enough. Cut the garlic as finely as possible and also add to the pan with meat and onions.

The final touch is sour cream and spices. It can be s alt, pepper, soy sauce. Mix everything thoroughly, add boiled water, this is necessary so that the sauce turns out to be quite liquid, continue to simmer for another ten minutes until it thickens completely.

This is the best recipe when you are struggling with what to cook with turkey fillet quickly. Absolutely any side dish will suit the dish.

Oven option

If you have enough time to devote to cooking, it will be useful to learn how to cook turkey fillet in the oven.

To do this, take:

• one kilogram of turkey meat;
• 50ml lemon juice;
• s alt and pepper to taste;
• three cloves of garlic;
• 50 grams of soy sauce.

To begin with, wash the meat well and thoroughly, as cooking turkey meat without observing this condition will not work.

Prepare the marinade in parallel. To do this, mix soy sauce and spices. You can expand their list, focusing solely on your own taste. Add finely chopped garlic and lemon juice to the marinade.juice.

Now place the meat in a deep bowl and pour the marinade over it. Leave it like this for at least a few hours. From time to time, it is recommended to turn the turkey over so that it is well marinated on all sides.

Now put the meat in the sleeve and send it to the preheated oven. The temperature should be around 200 degrees. The fillet should be baked for about forty minutes. Now from this article you have learned how to cook a turkey tasty and unusual.

Turkey breast

There is another popular option to cook turkey quickly and tasty. This is the breast of a bird. It should be remembered that chicken and turkey breasts are significantly different from each other, so certain rules must be followed when cooking.

One of the main ones says that the breast must be in the maximum amount of liquid. By the way, there are several ways to cook turkey breast. This can be done in a slow cooker or oven.

Of course, it's easiest to cook in a slow cooker. You just need to make sure that the piece is sufficiently moistened, then it will turn out guaranteed delicious. Put a jar of your favorite broth and vegetables in the multicooker bowl, season with pepper and s alt. Set the timer to a low temperature and two to three hours.

If you are concerned about how to cook turkey meat in the oven, then be sure to water it periodically with broth, and in order to retain moisture, it is recommended to cover the baking dish or pan with a regular lid. CookBest of all, too, at low temperatures. So you will achieve maximum juiciness and tenderness of the dish.

Also, marinate the turkey breast for a few hours before putting it in the oven. Ideally, get a special cooking thermometer to measure the temperature inside the product. For turkey breast, the optimal indicators are 160-165 degrees. If the temperature rises to 170, the meat will become dry and tough. To measure meat temperature, insert the tip of a thermometer into the thickest part of the breast. It's best if you manage to pierce it through.

Ground turkey

In stores today you can find minced poultry for sale, to which our article is dedicated. If you are wondering what to cook with minced turkey, then you will find the answer to it in this material.

There are many original recipes, such as meatballs in tomato sauce. For six servings, take:

• one piece of white bread;
• 50ml milk;
• half a kilo of minced turkey;
• bunch of fresh parsley;
• 200g frozen spinach;
• a quarter cup of olive oil;
• one onion;
• two cloves of garlic;
• one carrot;
• 300 grams of tomato sauce;
• pepper and s alt to taste.

So, soak a piece of bread well in milk, mix minced meat with it. Add chopped parsley and pre-thawed spinach to the same mixture. S alt and pepper. Form small and neatmeatballs.

Chefs advise frying in olive oil for three minutes on each side. After that, remove them from the pan and leave to cool. Fry the garlic and onion in the remaining oil. Add diced carrots. When the onion is browned, pour in the tomato sauce, let it boil and start simmering the meatballs for a quarter of an hour.

On the table, this dish is recommended to be served with rice or pasta.

Lazy cabbage rolls

You will be surprised, but even lazy cabbage rolls can be prepared from minced turkey. For this you need:

• half a kilo of minced meat;
• one kilogram of cabbage;
• one carrot;
• 100 grams of round grain rice (you can take rice in a bag);
• one bulb;
• one chicken egg;
• two tablespoons of tomato paste (it can be replaced with ketchup);
• 300 grams of sour cream;
• 70 grams of hard cheese.

Mix minced meat with rice, adding grated carrots, as well as slightly boiled cabbage and a little onion. If desired, cabbage can be chopped in a food processor.

Stir this mixture thoroughly, adding egg and spices to it. After forming small cutlets, place them on a baking sheet. Top them with a mixture of garlic and grated cheese.

Mix sour cream with tomato paste, put one spoonful of this mass on each of the cutlets. Put the dish in the oven for 25 minutes.

Turkey liver

In this article you will also find a recipe for how to cook turkey liver. Classic recipe with onions and sour cream.

At 700grams of liver you will need:

• three onions;
• three tablespoons of sour cream;
• s alt and other spices to taste;
• vegetable oil (required for frying).

Chop the onion finely and fry a little in a pan. The liver should be washed with running water and cut into small pieces. By the way, it is very convenient to do this. In the liver of a turkey, there are no veins and films that have to be removed additionally. As soon as the onion in the pan begins to turn yellow, we send the liver to it. Fry over high heat for about ten minutes so that a characteristic crust appears.

After that, reduce the fire so that it is fried to the end. Next, add spices, s alt and sour cream. Simmer for another five minutes until fully cooked and serve.