EASY COOKING STEPS FOR A PERFECT TURKEY DINNER

At Hinck Turkey Farm we want your holiday experience to be nothing but perfect with family, friends and great food. Our whole turkeys are sold oven-ready: dressed, washed, inspected and packaged. Following these steps for safe handling and cooking will ensure a perfect holiday meal

EASY AS 1-2-3

1.THAWING: (If turkey is not frozen, begin with step 2.) Leave turkey in original packaging and use one of the following methods. DO NOT THAW TURKEY AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. Place wrapped turkey in a minimum 2" deep tray, in refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Allow 4 hours per pound of turkey to completely thaw. QUICK THAW: Place wrapped turkey in sink and cover with cold water. Allow about ½ hour per pound of turkey to completely thaw. Change frequently, at least once an hour. Refrigerate or cook turkey when it is thawed. Refreezing uncooked turkey is not recommended, because of a loss of taste and texture when cooking at a later time.

2.PREPERATION FOR ROASTING: Keep the turkey refrigerated at 40* or below in the original wrapping until preparation.  All equipment and material used for storage, preparation and serving of poultry must be clean. Wash hands thoroughly with hot soapy water before and after handling raw poultry. Use hard plastic or acrylic cutting boards to prepare poultry. Remove plastic wrapping from fresh turkey. Remove giblets and neck from the body and neck cavities. To remove neck, it may be necessary to release legs from band of skin or wire hock lock. Rinse turkey inside and out with cool water, and return legs to band of skin or tie loosely. Tuck tips of wings "akimbo" under back of turkey.

3.OPEN PAN ROASTING: – We do not recommend stuffing your turkey.  If you prefer cooking a stuffed turkey, place stuffing loosely inside the cavity. Do Not Pack stuffing. Placing excess stuffing in the cavity will delay cooking and the turkey will cook unevenly, well done on the outside and raw on the inside. - Place turkey, breast side up, in shallow roasting pan, about 2 inches deep. If you are using the pan the turkey was thawed in, the pan should be washed and rinsed thoroughly. Basting with vegetable oil or margarine is optional with our birds because they are grown with a natural finish, which usually needs no basting. Our turkeys are young, fresh and very tender.  Avoid over cooking.
Once you have started roasting your turkey it would be a good time to wash all utensils and all surfaces coming into contact with uncooked product.
Check turkey periodically so the skin is not burned. Once skin has reached a golden brown, place aluminum foil over the bird to protect the skin and help reduce drying. After this is done refer to table below for cooking times and check for doneness about 45 minutes before estimated time. The deepest part of the meat should be the spot for getting the best temperature reading. The thigh should reach 170o F-180o F, the white meat should reach 165o F- 175o F. Signs of the turkey being cooked thoroughly are clear juices, meat that is not pink or bloody, and if stuffing is used it should reach 160o F.

If you have cooked your turkey with stuffing inside, be sure to remove all traces

of stuffing before storing leftovers in the refrigerator.

Our ovens are calibrated for proper temperatures.  Since every oven is different, it would be wise to check the actual temperature with an oven thermometer before roasting your turkey.  Nonetheless, we recommend using meat thermometers to check for doneness.

Weight

Stuffed

No stuffing

6-8 LB

3 - 3 ¼ hrs

2 ½ - 2 ¾ hrs

8-10 LB

3 ¼ - 3 ½ hrs

2 ¾ - 3 hrs

10-12 LB

3 ½ - 3 ¾ hrs

3 - 3 ¼ hrs

12-16 LB

3 ¾ - 4 hrs

3 ½ - 3 ½ hrs

16-22 LB

4 - 4 ½ hrs

3 ½ - 4 hrs

Roasting Boneless Turkey Breast
Turkey breast need approximately 20 min per pound in a preheated 325° F oven. We recommend a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature, make sure it registers 170° F in the thickest part of the breast. Pop-up timers are helpful but a meat thermometer is the best way to determine doneness. A shallow roasting pan is recommended, pans with sides higher than one inch will shield turkey breast from the heat, and the breast will not cook evenly. Breasts can be cooked uncovered with the skin on the top, however if you plan to remove the skin you will want to cover the breast once it has obtained a golden brown. For easier clean up, add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the pan, use these juices for gravy either as is, or thickened.