If the mere thought of baking a turkey scares you half to death, take a breath and fear not. With a fresh turkey, you do not have to bother with thawing or have nightmares about pulling a half-frozen bird from your refrigerator on baking day. The most difficult part is dealing with hunger pangs that develop as the smell of baking turkey begins to fill your home. Once you close the oven door, there is no difference between a fresh turkey and a frozen one. The baking times and temperatures, and the tenderness and flavor of the meat are all the same.
Step 1
Prepare the vegetable seasonings you will add to yoru turkey's body cavity. Peel and slice the onion into quarters. Slice the ends off the celery stalk, and cut it in half. Peel the garlic cloves, and cut them in half.
Step 2
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 3
Remove the turkey from your refrigerator, and set it in your kitchen sink. With clean hands, inspect the body and neck cavities, and remove the neck and giblet bag.
Step 4
Wash the turkey under cold running water, starting with the body cavity, then the neck cavity and finally the outside surface. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels, and set it on a clean kitchen counter or cutting board.
Step 5
Pour the black pepper in your hand, and rub it all over the inside body cavity. Add the onion, celery and garlic seasonings and the fresh parsley to the body cavity.
Step 6
Set the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan with its breast side up, and insert an oven-proof meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast.
Step 7
Baste the entire surface of the turkey with oil, and cover it loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Step 8
Bake the turkey about 20 minutes for each pound of meat. Remove the aluminum foil sheet when the meat thermometer reaches about 160 degrees Fahrenheit so it can brown. Remove the turkey from your oven when the meat thermometer reads 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tips and Warnings
- Bake a fresh turkey within one to two days of purchase. If you store it in your refrigerator before baking, set the turkey as far back as possible on the bottom shelf, because this is usually the coldest section. Fresh turkeys usually cost more, but only because they require special handling prior to purchase. For you, the extra cost may be worth not having to bother with thawing a turkey for days in your refrigerator. After you remove the turkey from your oven, use a large spoon to remove the vegetable seasonings from the body cavity. Discard the cooked vegetables.
- Wash your hands with warm water and soap for a full 20 seconds before and after touching the turkey. Wash cooking utensils before reusing them, and disinfect surfaces with an antibacterial spray or bleach-water solution. The U.S. Department of Agriculture warns against buying a prestuffed fresh turkey. In addition, it recommends cooking stuffing separately, rather than inside the body cavity of your turkey.
Things You'll Need
- 1 white or yellow onion
- 1 to 2 celery stalks
- 2 garlic cloves
- Paper towels
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- Roasting pan with rack
- Meat thermometer
- Basting brush
- 2 to 3 tbsp. canola oil
- Aluminum foil
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