Turkey or Baking Hen - How to Cook

This past Thanksgiving, I found myself with the task of preparing The Turkey. Believe it or not, this is the first whole turkey I've ever baked and I was nervous .... really nervous. Fortunately for me, my Aunt Helen has been raving for years about her daughter-in-law's turkeys. Here's a direct quote from the recipe she wrote out for my mom:

"This is an unbelievably delicious recipe obtained by Esther's mother when Reynolds Aluminum foil first became available. The turkey/hen will be nice and moist (from the steam). Esther said she always buys the cheapest turkey on the shelf in the grocery store".

So, armed with this recipe and after obtaining a very large, incredibly cheap ( on sale for 39 cents a pound!!!) 20 lb. turkey and a box of 18" Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap Foil, I set out to cook The Thanksgiving Turkey. Did I mention that I was nervous .... really nervous? I decided to make sure I was doing it 'just right' so I went online and checked for any instructions Reynolds might have posted and sure enough, they had a video. The video demonstrated leaving openings in the foil for the steam to escape ...... hmmmm, this was confusing. Very confusing.

Fortunately for me, Esther was in town for Thanksgiving Day and I managed to catch her by phone just before she left for church, at 9:00 in the morning. She assured me that the turkey should be completely sealed in the foil ..... no escape vents for steam.

The final result of using Esther's method of cooking the turkey was an absolutely delicious turkey in 3.5 hours. When my brother went to carve it and grabbed a leg, the leg fell off in his hand. I forgot to open the foil the last 20-30 minutes and the turkey was golden brown anyway. Since I have no idea how this happened, I would suggest following the directions from Esther! I used butter to rub on the skin. The stuffing was baked separately, not in the bird. I did cut an apple in half and placed both halves in the turkey cavity for extra moisture - I read this tip somewhere and they also suggested putting in a stick of butter with the apple, but that seemed like overkill on grease.

Finally, here's how to do it ....

Esther's Recipe for How to Cook a Turkey or Baking Hen

 (via Aunt Helen)

Totally defrost turkey/hen

Bake at 450 degrees - open heavy foil the last 20-30 minutes to brown.

Lbs.             Bake Time
6-8            1.5 - 2.0 hours 
8-12          2.0 - 2.5 hours
12-16         2.5 - 3.0 hours
16-20         3.0 - 3.5 hours
20-22         3.5 - 4.0 hours

To Prepare:

• Mix stuffing the night before and refrigerate
• Wash turkey/hen in cold water
• Wipe with paper towels
• Rub skin with margarine, salt and pepper - place empty margarine wrappers on wing tips
• Use HEAVY DUTY foil (2 large sheets put together by french seam in middle). Totally enclose turkey and fold foil (french seam again) so steam cannot escape. Note: I modified this instruction so there was no doubt there should not be any 'venting' of steam going on.
• Follow cooking times in chart.

On a rating scale of 1-5, I give this recipe a "10"!!