Homestead Series How To Roast A Chicken Or Turkey

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Every year around this time, I see questions popping up on forums all over the internet. How do I cook a chicken or turkey? There are many things we didn’t learn at our mothers knee. But there is no need to be afraid to cook tasty meals for your family.

Another problem I see often is “Help, I forgot to that the turkey!”.

Really, unless you’re wanting to stuff the bird, there is no need to thaw. Except for one Thanksgiving year, I have always cooked my chickens/turkeys from frozen. This saves a lot of space in the fridge, since you don’t have a big bird taking up space all week.

How To Cook a Chicken or Turkey

Remove chicken from it’s bag and rinse well. Place in a roasting pan.

Add a little water to the roasting pan. I use a cup or so.

Sprinkle desired seasonings over the bird. I like garlic powder, pepper, rosemary, marjoram

Place your bird in the oven at 350F. I usually cover my roaster as I find the breast meat is more tender that way. But if the lid doesn’t fit it’s not a big deal. Add a cover of tin foil in the last hour of cooking. This will help keep the ends of the legs from burning.

Check on your bird every few hours and baste with cooking juices.

For a dark brown skin, brush with olive oil.

Cook the bird for 20 minutes per pound. If you have a thermometer the temperature in the thigh should be 180F. If you do not have a thermometer, your bird should be nicely browned the legs should be loose and movable away from the body. Cut between the leg and the body and the juices should be clear.