Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for November 24, 2016

You have to check on it, and baste it and make sure its internal temperature is high enough and it doesn’t cook too fast.

Some people cook it for so many hours…..Looks like they measure it in bottles of wine…..

I don’t know about whole birds, but I knock out a turkey breast every year without any problems. The only thing I do that isn’t on the package instructions is marinade it overnight in hard apple cider and some spices (apple wine when I can get it). Otherwise I toss it in and ignore it. My dad goes through all that basting and adding a foil tent and gods know what else; I don’t see any value being gained.

Simplest thing in the world to roast a turkey if you know how to cook. For people live on fast food and carry out 364 days of the year it is problematic.And of course the media hype.

Arlo. You da man!

nothing else matters if you’re a wino

He’s right. Don’t know why there is so much fuss. Never basted, tented, or otherwise fiddled with the turkey and always have great results. (I do check the temperature once it nears finish time.)

I spend more time on the gravy. Turkey: remove guts (and toss in broth pot), put in roaster at 325F for 6 hours, verify temperature, carve.

My wife makes ours and I appreciate it a lot!

Ironic. Until yesterday’s discussion about tweets, I never realized how many of the posts in here are essentially tweets – including this one.

Many people make mistakes cooking a turkey. They forget to take the giblet package out, they don’t let it thaw out long enough-still frozen, they over cook it and it is dry, they let the raw turkey juice drip on other food and risk food poisoning. It is not simple at all for someone cooking a turkey for the first time.

Cooking the turkey is easy. Cleaning the turkey (getting the worst of the pinfeather out if it’s a cheap one), defrosting it sufficiently, remembering to remove to neck and giblets, getting the stuffing ready and stuffing the bird – that’s the hard part and can make or break the meal.

Yeah. You cover it in expendable cheesecloth or tea towels and baste it in its own juices, maybe adding some wine and butter and spices, and repeat every 10 – 15 minutes until it is done. If you want a crispy skin you remove the towels for the last 30 – 60 minutes, and keep basting. If you can do that well, you will be a master baster and bringer of good cheer to all. And carving? Carving is like a big chicken.

Brine and you don’t need to baste. Do remove the bag of giblets first (no, that isn’t stuffing). Remember to cook to temperature (breast and thigh). Other than that, it’s simple.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s late. I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.

But what is Arlo’s right hand doing in panel 4?

Left hand. Stage right.

To me, the tough part is not the turkey (I brine, use an open roaster, baste, etc.), but doing all the side stuff (mashed potatoes, veggies, etc.) and timing it all to come out at the same time.

Olive oil at 180 degrees, sort of boiling it but not.

No idea how long.