Since cooking the Turkey is the hardest part with the stuffing, I decided to cook the turkey first so as we speak he is cooking.I also made my sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes and I also cooked my brussels sprouts, it so makes me feel good to know I got a jump start on my cooking. I also decorated and set my dining room table so everything in the dining room is set. Whew what a load of my shoulders, so anyone else. It sure beats getting up at 5a.m.to put the turkey in... Peace .. Catherine

No turkey cooking but I have made 6 pies, a pumpkin dump cake, made my sweet potatoes, and I have my bread toasting for my stuffing. I'm always the first one up on Thanksgiving so I'll get a jump start on the rest before anyone here even rolls out of bed.

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Amy mommy to Ash,Zach&Alexis


MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

Asking question since I am having alot of people I decided this year to instead use really heavy duty thanksgiving theme paper goods and cups and plastic forks and knives and spoons.I know my family will not mind, however this has been a tough year and the easier the better for me. Does anyone else feel this is ok, kindly share... Peace.. Catherine Horray is here;s Thanksgiving Day as arrived again a blessed Thanksgiving to all.. Peace.. Catherine

I think it's fine. We always use paper goods and plastic forks. It makes for a much easier clean up after cooking all day long.
Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving

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Amy mommy to Ash,Zach&Alexis


MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

Me too Catherine! Whew, it's nice to have the bulk of it done. I am so excited!!

I think it's great that you are saving time where you can, like using the disposable stuff. I'm sure yall will have a wonderful meal!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

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*** Find A Need , Fill A Need ***

Happy Thanksgiving! I actually made everything yesterday, except for the turkey. DH brined our Tom all night. In a little bit, I will throw him (the turkey, not DH) in the oven, the kids will help me set the table, and we will head out to see a movie. When we get home, we can munch on appetizers while I reheat everything in the microwave. I have done this for the past several years. It's so nice not to spend the day in the kitchen, and it's great to be a step ahead of the dishwasher.

Just how big is your turkey and how long do you roast it? Roasting the turkey the night before or putting it on at 5 a.m. seems a bit extreme.

I cooked a 30 lb turkey with stuffing that went into the oven at 10 p.m. and cooked till 6 a.m. this morning. I slept in the den and got up 3 times to brush the drippings on top. Took the turkey out of the oven at 8.a.m. and let it cool for 2 more hours. Took the stuffing out and then placed the cooked turkey in one of heating draws. I have a huge kitchen with 2 wall ovens and 2 large heating draws, I also have a 6 burner cook-top. It definitely made things easier this year. With this turkey both my parents and my brother and his family went home with enough food for 2 days. I have a habit of over cooking, especially since my parents are sick and mom cannot cook. So I do alot of cooking here for them and bring it over. Btw sincerely hope all had a blessed Thanksgiving, now onto Christmas... Peace... Catherine

Wow - that is an incredibly long time to cook a turkey....10 hours. Was it good? The Butterball site recommends 6 hours for a stuffed 30 lb turkey at 325.

I was also under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that the stuffing needed to put in the bird immediately before cooking and removed right away when cooking was done....i.e. not set for 2 hours.

cj

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

No c/j thanks however my turkey was extremely so tender, it was falling off the bones as my dh was cutting it. As far as removing the stuffing I never had a problem.. Peace.. Catherine

draws? What the heck is a heating draws?

I think a "draw" is a drawer in some regional dialects.

FWIW, Catherine - here's an example article on the dangers of stuffing-in-the-bird - CBC News In Depth: Food Safety

The relevant bits:

Stuffing your turkey
Stuffing can be a veritable breeding ground for bacteria. It is moist and slow to heat up and cool down.
Cooking stuffing outside the bird - in its own oven dish or on the stove - is the safest (and least appetizing) way to prepare it.
If you stuff your bird, stuff it loosely just before it goes into the oven and remove the stuffing as soon as it comes out.
Stuffing should reach a minimum internal temperature of 74 C (165 F).


cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

So draw = drawer? Never heard of a drawer called a draw before.Yikes!

thanks

Yes a heating drawer not draw, actually cjs you read the post wrong my 30 lb turkey with stuffing cooked for 8 hours not 10 which with stuffing is the exact time it was suppossed to cook. As far as leaving the stuffing in I have my mom did my mother in law did never once had a single problem. But thanks for the information... peace.. Catherine

I'm really not trying to get into the middle of something here, but Catherine, your previous post said:

To me that means you cooked it until 6 am (which is 8 hours) but then I guess you left it in the oven until 8 am when you took it out and let it cool for 2 more hours? I'm guessing you probably turned the oven off at 6 and just left it in there, but it was still cooking (although the temperature would be slowly going down). So I would think the same thing cj thought ... it was closer to 10 hours of cooking time.

None of which really matters as long as everyone liked it. I just also thought it seemd like a long time in addition to holding it in a warming drawer for however many more hours before you ate (you said your family eats late). Doesn't the warming drawer dry it out?

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Linda

Thanks, Linda, you read it the same way that I did, but I was going to let it slide. I had never heard of cooking a turkey overnight.....and obviously I've drunk the koolaid on the dangers of stuffing (but I still put it in the bird to make it yummy!)

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Me too. There's just no comparison between stuffing cooked in the bird and the stuffing cooked in a casserole dish, is there? I might not take all the stuffing out immediately after the bird comes out of the oven. But I take out as much as I can (or as much as will fit in my serving bowl) and then really clean out the rest as soon as we're done eating. I would never let it sit in the bird for 4 hours before removing it.

On the other hand when I was young, we rode bikes and roller skated with no helmets. We had "unsafe" cribs and toys. I even remember running after the trucks spraying for mosquitoes to be in the "fog". I wonder how we ever survived?????

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Linda

Yes ladies I shut the oven off at 6 a.m. and then took the turkey out of the oven at 8 a.m. Does anyone else not cook the turkey with the stuffing inside of the turkey. I know some people make extra stuffing on the side or perhaps a different type of stuffing, however I have always put the stuffing inside the turkey, thats the way I have always known to cook the turkey with the stuffing inside.. On the answer to the warming drawer I keep it at 150 degrees so its not cooking anymore just keeping things warm. We have a huge catering/ deli here and they cooked over 256 turkeys that were all cooked by wednesday nite and kept warm the same way for the people to pick up early on thursday morning..Ok hope this answers all the questions..Turkey day is over , we are now in the Christmas Season 08 omg... I cannot believe it... Peace .. Catherine