# Prepping a turkey the night before?



## CluelessFather (Nov 23, 2011)

I'm a moron in the kitchen and want to make this Thanksgiving special for my wife and two daughters.  I've never "done a turkey" so this is my first time.

I was wondering if any of you wise kitchen sages could help me with what I should do to with for the bird tonight?  It's a 7 lbs turkey (we're poor) but I'm excited to make it taste delicious for my family.

I've heard I should rub it with salt and other spices but I don't know if that's tonight or just before stuffing and roasting it tomorrow.

Any help would be appreciated.


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## Dawgluver (Nov 23, 2011)

Oh my.  Make sure it's thawed, and dig the innards out, front and back.  They come in little plastic bags.  Refer to the many threads here as to rubs.  You might want to stick the naked bird in the fridge overnight to allow the skin to dry out a bit,  then use whatever rub, butter and herb, etc. before you cook it.  Any herb or spice will be nice.  You can make great gravy by boiling the stuff from the plastic bags (minus the red liver) with some water to cover, then add to the pan drippings.  Then whisk in some flour, and cook and stir till it looks like gravy, and strain.

Butterball hotline rocks, btw.

Others will have ideas.  Have a great Thanksgiving!


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## Hyperion (Nov 23, 2011)

you might want to brine it. I find brining a very fail-safe way, easily executable for beginners, and very forgiving in case you overcook the turkey.

Even if it's not fully thawn, you can still brine it. For the brine I put 2 tbsp of salt in each quart of water, and then let the turkey soak in it for over night. and then before you bake it, smear a lot of butter on top of the skin over the breast.


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## CluelessFather (Nov 23, 2011)

Thanks very much!!!


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## Robo410 (Nov 24, 2011)

poultry herbs or Bells poultry seasoning are good, mix with salt and pepper for a good rub.


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## Kayelle (Nov 24, 2011)

How did it turn out CF?  As long as you were all together, I bet it was a good Thanksgiving.

Welcome to DC.........stick around, you'll like it here.


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## CluelessFather (Nov 25, 2011)

Kayelle said:


> How did it turn out CF?  As long as you were all together, I bet it was a good Thanksgiving.
> 
> Welcome to DC.........stick around, you'll like it here.



Turned out great!  thanks for all your advice!


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## CWS4322 (Nov 25, 2011)

CluelessFather said:


> Turned out great! thanks for all your advice!


EXCELLENT! I hope you kept the bones for soup? You can freeze those if you aren't ready to tackle soup yet.

A lot of folks on the forum live on limited incomes and can give you lots of ideas of how to stretch your food dollar (and eat well). Don't be embarassed that you are on a limited income. Many are, either by choice or by force. For example, I make my own laundry soap (and it cleans well) as well as my own dishwasher detergent (almost the same ingredients, different ratios as the laundry soap with the addition of white vinegar). It works. And, is a lot cheaper. 

I am so happy that you were able to add a "happy" memory to your kids' memories of growing up. And, your wife probably really appreciated the effort and that you did this for your family. Kudos! What are you tackling next?


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## jennyema (Nov 25, 2011)

Hyperion said:


> you might want to brine it. I find brining a very fail-safe way, easily executable for beginners, and very forgiving in case you overcook the turkey.
> 
> Even if it's not fully thawn, you can still brine it. For the brine I put 2 tbsp of salt in each quart of water, and then let the turkey soak in it for over night. and then before you bake it, smear a lot of butter on top of the skin over the breast.



Wet brining works wonders for your turkey.

But you need to use enough salt to make it work from a physics standpoint.

The basic ratio is one cup of kosher salt to one cup of cold water.  Sugar enhances the savory taste.  I use about 1/4 cup to each gallon of water.


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## Kayelle (Nov 25, 2011)

jennyema said:


> Wet brining works wonders for your turkey.
> 
> But you need to use enough salt to make it work from a physics standpoint.
> 
> The basic ratio is one cup of kosher salt to one cup of cold water.  Sugar enhances the savory taste.  I use about 1/4 cup to each gallon of water.



Jenny, that's a typo right?


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## jennyema (Nov 26, 2011)

Kayelle said:


> Jenny, that's a typo right?




Gack, yes!  That would be a paste!

It's a cup of kosher to a GALLON of water.

Thanks for pointing that out!


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## Effington (Nov 28, 2011)

My "dry brine" was a huge success. I rubbed the turkey down with salt last Sunday, and the night before thanksgiving I took it out of its bag and put it in the fridge uncovered. This dried out the skin and made it nice and crispy when cooking. The meat was moist, flavorful and not salty - as good as any brine, without the bucket, and I didn't have to rinse. It's my new favorite thing.


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## roadfix (Nov 29, 2011)

Effington said:


> My "dry brine" was a huge success. I rubbed the turkey down with salt last Sunday, and the night before thanksgiving I took it out of its bag and put it in the fridge uncovered. This dried out the skin and made it nice and crispy when cooking. The meat was moist, flavorful and not salty - as good as any brine, without the bucket, and I didn't have to rinse. It's my new favorite thing.



I'm going to try this tonight as we have an extra supermarket turkey that was given to us frozen last week, now thawed, sitting in the fridge. 

The drying out the skin in the fridge works.  I did that last week with our T-giving turkey.


EDIT:  Perhaps I should not brine the turkey after all as it is not fresh and has been injected with a salt solution like most all frozen birds.


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