With Thanksgiving just around the corner, you may have to brush up on your cooking game. Not only will you be cooking a variety of side dishes in your propane cook top, you’ll also be cooking a gigantic turkey. Cooking a turkey is much more involved than roasting a chicken or throwing a pot roast in the oven.

Unless you are deep-frying a turkey, it takes hours to cook the bird. You’ll also have to prepare the meat using a brine solution in advance. However, the good news is the actual process of cooking the turkey is much simpler than you think. Once you’ve cooked a turkey once or twice, you’ll feel much more confident in your turkey skills.

If you’ve watched one too many Youtube videos of turkey frying gone wrong, keep reading to learn how to safely roast a turkey.

Choosing the Right Size

Expert roasters conclude that you should buy about one pound per person, so if you are planning to have a large Thanksgiving dinner with a lot of people, plan accordingly.

Thaw the Turkey

If you bought a frozen turkey, make sure to thaw it before cooking it. The safest way to thaw your turkey is by placing it in the refrigerator. Basically, for every five pounds of meat, your turkey will need to thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. If you have a 15-pound turkey, you’ll need to thaw it in your fridge for 36 hours.

Did you forget to properly thaw your turkey in the fridge? Try soaking the turkey in a cold water bath and changing the water every half hour until it’s properly thawed.

Brining the Turkey

Brining the turkey basically means that you soak the meat in a saltwater solution so that the turkey will not taste dry and bland. If you choose to brine your turkey, place your turkey in the solution after it’s already thawed out. Cooks commonly brine their turkeys in a solution with water, salt, orange juice, sugar and honey.

Ideally, you should soak your turkey in brine for 16 to 24 hours. After brining your turkey, you’ll want to soak your turkey in cold water for about 15 to 20 minutes. This ensures that your turkey won’t taste too salty.

Dry-Brining a Turkey

If you are meticulous about keeping your kitchen clean, you may prefer to dry-brine your turkey, which involves rubbing salts and other seasonings into the turkey meat. Like traditional brining, dry-brining helps enhance the flavor of the turkey and provides a juicier texture to the meat.

By rubbing salt into the meat and letting it sit, it draws the moisture out of the bird. In order to have the juiciest, tastiest bird, make sure to let the brine sit on the turkey for one to three days in the refrigerator.

Roasting the Bird

Now it’s time to get cooking! Preheat your propane oven to 275 degrees, and place your bird breast-side up on a roasting pan with a rack. Make sure to cross the legs and tie them with kitchen strings. Grab some heavy-duty aluminum foil and completely cover your bird, tucking the foil underneath the pan.

Roasting Stage One

Place your turkey in the oven and roast it for about 10 minutes per pound. While the meat is roasting, prepare a citrus butter mixture to use later. Throw some orange peels in with softened butter, add some fresh rosemary, and sprinkle it all with some salt and pepper to taste.

Stage Two

Once the turkey has roasted for the set amount of time, remove the bird from the oven and discard the aluminum foil. Rub the citrus butter into the turkey, making sure to get into all the little crevices. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees and place a thermometer in one of the turkey thighs. Place the turkey back into the oven and roast it uncovered.

Every thirty minutes or so, you’ll want to baste the meat with the juices found in the bottom of the pan.

Done!

Once the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, you are done! This could take anywhere from an hour to two hours, so keep an eye on your bird.

Your Turkey Needs to Rest

When you grill a steak, you typically let it rest for about ten minutes or so after you cook it for the ultimate flavor and juiciness. You’ll also want to let your turkey rest, but it should probably rest for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Now, it’s time to dig in and enjoy the fruits of your labor. In order to ensure that your propane kitchen appliances have an adequate amount of fuel, make sure to sign up for our propane delivery services at DiSanto Propane. Contact our propane suppliers for your home propane services in upstate New York today.