Delightful ways to dress a bird at Christmas
Monday, March 10th, 2008
How a bird could actually brighten your Christmas table is a mystery but it has not just added flavor and taste but also a large amount of curiosity. The family just waits to see how the turkey would be dressed and what recipe mom would be using this time. Each time it is special and wonderful and you really feel excited to see your bird adorn the table. You may try several new recipes this Christmas for dressing your bird and it necessarily need not be only a turkey there is a surprise idea waiting for you.
Turkey dressing is surely one of the best parts of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Generally, it consists of breadcrumbs, spices and several other ingredients stuffed or forced into the empty space of a turkey before it is kept in the oven to cook. There is a disadvantage to the practice of cooking the dressing inside the Christmas turkey. By handling the ingredients you are increasing the chance of bacteria being introduced into the dressing so if you let the stuffing stay in the bird at room temperature you are probably increasing the chances of food poisoning which is the last thing you want on your Christmas table. Letting the stuffing sit in the bird while it’s at room temperature also increases the chances of introducing food poisoning to your holiday table. You need to follow a few guidelines to make sure you dress your bird hygienically and cook it well too. Seasoning and flavors are available in different recipes.
Some tips to cook your turkey would be firstly thaw the turkey in cold water or the refrigerator and wrap it watertight before you thaw. Keep changing the water every half an hour. If the turkey is already stuffed do not thaw it cook it frozen it. Prepare stuffing’s in advance but make sure not to mix dry and wet ingredients till the turkey is stuffed. Always make sure not to stuff the turkey with hot stuffings. Let the dressing cool to room temperature before you stuff the turkey. Once you have decided to cook only then stuff the turkey don’t leave it there inside the bird for any long period of time.
Make sure to cook the turkey at nothing less than 325 degrees till the temperature of the stuffing is 140 degrees. If you would like to measure the temperature measure it directly.
Remove the stuffing from the turkey to a separate serving bowl after the turkey is cooked.
You may try a turducken this Christmas which is a deboned turkey stuffed with a deboned duck stuffed with a small deboned chicken. The seasonings and stuffings are similar to dressing a turkey and this will be a delicous treat to all your guests. You may do it at home itself or you may order it if the stuffing is too tedious.
Dressing a turkey is an art to be mastered. You will perfect it over the years. Keep the seasoning tasty and take necessary precautions and your hosts will have a wonderful meal.
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