LET'S FINISH OFF THE FEAST

Over the past couple of weeks I've given you some great tasting recipes to begin your Thanksgiving Feast. Well, this week let's get on to the main part of your meal.

Most of you will be preparing a Turkey for this Holiday--after all, that's the tradition and Thanksgiving just wouldn't be the same without that big 'ole bird gracing the table.

There are a few tips that will help you in preparing that bird for the oven. First, never allow the bird to thaw on the kitchen counter--that allows bad things to begin to grow in the meat. Nobody wants to be sick on Thanksgiving, so be sure to allow yourself two to three days for the Turkey to thaw in the refrigerator. If for some reason you aren't able to do so then you can quick thaw the bird in a sink full of COLD water. This method will thaw the bird in just a few hours and can be used in an emergency. However, the refrigerator method is to be preferred and is safer.

Another thing that is important is to NOT put the stuffing inside the bird before cooking. I realize that cooks have been doing it that way for years. However, in today's world, the safer advice is to prepare the stuffing separately from the turkey. The problem with cooking the stuffing inside the bird is that, sometimes, the stuffing will not be fully cooked and won't reach a high enough temperature to kill any bacteria that might be lurking inside.

One other tip, that will make the breast meat of the turkey more moist and better tasting, is to cook the bird with the breast side DOWN rather than cooking it in the traditional "right side up" manner. This allows all the juices to settle into the breast meat and you will find that it will taste much better that way. At the end of the cooking period, turn the bird breast side up and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes to give it that golden brown appearance that we all like to see.

If, like many of us, you will be preparing a Thanksgiving Dinner for a large family gathering you will want to take a trip to the Thanksgiving Recipe.Com recipe site because you will find recipes designed for 15 or more people.

Some other web locations that will be a big help to you in planning and preparing the feast are the Norbest Turkey Web Site ,

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