Carole Peck
Executive-Chef/Owner of The Good News Cafe
and author of The Buffet Book (Viking), Woodberry, CT

I always cook my turkey in tin foil. Make a T with the foil by taking one strip of tin foil and running it the long way in one direction and another strip of foil running it one way in the other direction. Bring the ends of the foil up so the ends of both strips of tin foil are all together at the top and carry them down. Brush the foil with oil so you prevent the turkey skin from sticking to the foil. Oil whole turkey and season the cavity well.

Roast it at 400F. For a smaller turkey,
the last half hour cut through foil and roll
it back and baste the turkey so it browns.
With a larger turkey cut through 45 minutes
before done and baste. Baste with oil or cooking liquids.

Tin foil helps to make the turkey really moist without having to constantly baste it. You also end up with even more juice in the roasting pan so when you make the gravy you have a little more flavor. Basically, tin foil really simplifies the whole cooking process. You just have the tin foil to clean up. Make sure you use really heavy duty foil though.

Unstuffed turkey eliminates risk of salmonella and cooks the turkey more quickly and more evenly. The turkey cooks more easily and is cleaner to work with (not a lot of stuffing to work with).

Tastes have changed. Personally, a raw cranberry relish is better than the processed one. Combine pears like bosc, cranberries, lemon, orange.

Put in a food processor, Add in sugar and whatever kind of spices. This makes a simple and refreshing relish to go on turkey.

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