Holiday Kitchen Tips - Cooking Tips

Holiday Kitchen Tips

Classic Turkey

12 to 16 ounces per person allows for second helpings and leftovers.

The safest method of thawing turkey is in the refrigerator. Place turkey in a shallow pan at a rate of 5 pounds per 24 hours.

Speed thawing by submerging frozen turkey (in original sealed bag) into cold water. Change cold water every 30 minutes. Turkey will take approximately 30 minutes per pound to thaw.

Roasting a turkey breast-side down for first hour keeps turkey moist. Turn turkey over after first hour to finish cooking.

Celery layered at base of a roasting pan adds flavor to the juices for a delicious gravy.

If turkey browns too quickly, make a tent of aluminum foil and place over top of bird.

Rest turkey 20 minutes after roasting by turning oven off and leaving turkey inside or remove and cover with foil. Resting a turkey makes carving easier.

Holiday Ham

A bone-in ham provides 2 to 3 servings per pound, a boneless ham provides 4 to 5 servings per pound.

Jazz it up, mix equal amounts of powdered mustard and brown sugar. Sprinkle mixture over ham surface for the final 30 minutes of cooking.

Line your roasting pan with aluminum foil, it will make clean up easier.

To avoid drying out ham, cook slowly at 325ºF. Allow 30 minutes per pound for ham that has not been precooked. Follow the directions on the label of pre-cooked ham.

Plastic wrapped ham will keep in refrigerator for about one week.

Plastic wrapped and vacuum packed hams can be frozen up to 2 months. To preserve flavor/texture, wrap tightly in freezer paper.

Perfect Gravy

To thicken gravy, whip 1-2 tbsp instant potato buds in drippings.

Stir a dash of brandy or port in gravy for a boost of flavor.

To smooth lumpy gravy, try a whisk or rotary blender. If all else fails, strain the gravy.

To fix greasy and/or fatty gravy, soak grease up with a slice of fresh bread or drag an absorbent paper towel lightly across the surface.

To darken the color of your gravy, add a ½ teaspoon of instant coffee.

Cranberries

To microwave cranberries, cook 2 cups of cranberries to one cup of water on high until boiling. Continue to cook in 5 minute intervals until cranberries begin to burst. Sweeten with sugar.

Fresh cranberries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Do not wash cranberries until you are ready to use them. Moisture causes cranberries to spoil faster.

Pies

Prevent the edges of your pie from becoming too brown by covering the edges with foil after the first 15 minutes of baking.

Prevent soggy crust on your pumpkin pie by breaking one egg, careful not to break yolk, into the unbaked pastry shell. Swirl egg around, covering entire surface. When surface is covered, use the egg in filling mixture.

To bring a beautiful gloss to your pie crust, brush a beaten egg white over crust before baking.

Let the children create fun shapes with left over pie dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake in oven until golden brown.

Stuffing

Today's trend is to cook stuffing seperately from the turkey to avoid absorbing bacteria from turkey. This allows you to save time by preparing stuffing in advance. Keep stuffing in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

If you choose to prepare stuffing with the turkey, mix stuffing just before it goes into the turkey. Stuff turkey loosely (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup per pound of turkey) to allow for expansion, immediately place turkey into oven. Stuffing must reach a temperature of 165º F inside of turkey cavity to be considered done and safe to eat.

To moisten dry stuffing, add chicken broth.