Quick And Easy Turkey Recipe

The first thing you have to do is Thaw The Bird! That is the most important part. The rest of the recipe hinge on this one little part, so make sure you calculate the amount of time needed to thaw the Turkey. There should be some time lines on the outside of the Turkey for thawing. Read them carefully.

OK, so your Turkey is thawed out and your bacon is cooked. The next step is the tricky step. I know this sounds strange in a recipe, but it's important. Make sure you clean your sink thoroughly and rinse it very well. I can't stress the second part of that. Your going to have to prep the Turkey in the sink and you need a clean work area. You don't want to contaminate the bird. Sorry, that's not the tricky part. It's coming.

Now you need to set some things next to you for easy access. You don't want to be going around the kitchen and touching things with Turkey hands. Put the bird in the sink and put the trash can right next to you. Also, get a big wad a paper towels next to you, the container of bacon grease, and the pepper.

Then unwrap the Turkey and take out the yucky stuff in the cavities. (Don't forget the neck cavity.) That's not the tricky part either. Rinse the Turkey like you were washing a baby in the sink. Get all the little creases and pluck any remaining feathers. Then pat it dry with the paper towels. Still not the tricky part.

After you finish that open the grease container and start smearing it all over the Turkey. This Is The Tricky Part! Be careful not to turn around with the greased bird in your hands when someone calls you. It will fall in the floor! I promise. You want to slather it on all over and under and around and in. Get the loose skin around the neck and breast real good and inside both cavities. Now thoroughly pepper the bird inside and out.

Most Turkeys now come with a thermometer already inserted. You just have to check to see if it pops out. My experience with those has been that they usually only work about 50% of the time. Not to mention it's sometimes hard to tell if it is popped out by looking through the cooking bag.

I will just cook my Turkey until the legs are nearly falling off. You will be able to tell even through the bag that the legs are kind of splayed out to the sides and upon further inspection you will see the legs are held on only by the skin.

Just to be sure it is completely done however, you should use a meat thermometer according to the directions on the turkey wrapping. Remember when taking the Turkey out of the oven it will still be cooking in the bag and you should let is sit for about 20 minutes in the bag to let the juices settle so is doesn't dry out when you cut it.