One time on Usenet, zxcvbob said:
Little Malice wrote:

snip

I just recall using
a shallow ceramic coated baking pan, basting the turkey with some
butter and S&P, covering it with foil, and cooking it (not sure
of the tempurature, might have been 350) until the meat thermometer
said it was done. It was waaaay too chewy to eat. Any thoughts on
what I should do differently this time? I'm thinking deeper pan,
lower temp, longer cooking time...

That should have worked, especially since it was covered with foil.
Next time, try cooking at about 275 for a long time. 350 probably
cooked it too quickly.

You're probably right, and back then I still thought hotter and
faster were better, so I could have had the oven even as high as
400! This was at least 7-8 years ago (I remember that DS was just
a toddler at the time), and while I was aware of RFC, I didn't
have as much time to spend on Usenet as I do now. A few years of
hanging with you guys has taught me the value of "low and slow".

I cook turkeys in a Nesco Bigass electric roaster until they start to
fall apart. They always turn out moist and tasty. Very long and slow
roasting, covered, is the trick. It works for just about any tough cut
of meat.

I have a turkey roaster, can't recall the brand offhand (and I'm
too lazy to go look). I used it once for Thanksgiving, for a whole
bird, but the drippings burned in the bottom and ruined my gravy.
I've done a bird or two in the regular oven since then, and a couple
of years ago we switched to deep frying them. I need to try my
roaster again, and drop in my oven thermometer so my goodies don't
get burned.

Thanks for the advice Bob (and Jeff). I plan to try just legs or
hindquarters and/or a wing or two, later this week. I'll let you
know how it turns out... :-)


--
"Little Malice" is Jani in WA
~ mom, Trollop, novice cook ~