This is a recipe and instruction pamphlet from Northwestern Turkey Growers Association in Sacramento, California. No date.

Turkey – as You Like It

YOUR
Every Day Treat
or
Festive Occasion

An American favorite, today’s succulent turkey comes to your table delicious, delectable, flavorful.

Turkey in the modern family meal is a mainstay in day to day living, and for festive occasions. With meals built around turkey you dine well and fully.

Turkey furnishes excellent nutrition, supplying high quality protein, phosphorus, iron, calcium, and several important vitamins.

And for the lush left-over meat, the recipes grow glamorous, strongly accenting the economy and wisdom of serving delicious turkey for the everyday feast.

The recipes are designed especially to guide you to pleasant results. You will be delighted with their simplicity and your easy success with them.

An Easy Way to Roast Turkey

Buying Turkey

Buy Market Dressed turkey (head and feet on, feathers removed, but not drawn).* Choose a young bird, either hen or tom, for roasting: breastbone is flexible; feet soft and pliable; thin layers of fat over back, breast and hips under a creamy, waxy skin; firm flesh.

Or, Buy Full Drawn–Ready for Roasting (ready for cooking without further preparation). They are available in three forms: (1) dressed, wrapped, branded, quick-frozen; (2) dressed, wrapped, branded but not frozen; (3) fully dressed, not wrapped or frozen.

A considerable proportion of packaged turkeys, that are branded and fully drawn, are government inspected. This is stated on the wrapper and is an added assurance to the consumer of its sanitation and careful handling.

Allow 1 pound Market Dressed or 3/4 pound Full Drawn turkey per person for a generous allowance.

*In some parts of the country this is known as New York Dressed poultry.

Preparing Turkey

If Market Dressed Turkey, request marketman to: Remove leg tendons; cut off feet, not chop; remove crop from back. By making an incision down center-back of neck skin and freeing skin from neck, latter may be cut off close to body and crop and windpipe removed from this opening, leaving skin unbroken over the breast. Cut out oil sack. Keep rear opening as small as possible.

To loosen wing tip feathers, if any are present, immerse in boiling water for a few minutes. Remove pin feathers. Singe.

If Full Drawn and quick frozen, defrost as follows before roasting: (1) Leave bird in refrigerator about 24 hours or, (2) leave at room temperature over night, or (3) for rapid defrosting place (still wrapped in its cellophane) about 4 hours in cold water, or under running cold water. Do not forget to remove the parchment wrapped giblets from the cavity. They are ready for cooking.

Giblets are simmered to tenderness in seasoned water before adding to gravy, stuffing, or for any use. Add liver to water the last 15 minutes of cooking. Neck may be cooked with giblets.

TRUSSING TURKEY

FOR PERFECT ROASTING AND EASY CARVING

An upholsterer’s needle, 6 to 8 inches long threaded with a yard of cord is equipment for trussing. A darning needle may be used in which case the needle must be inserted into the opposite side by inserting hand in cavity.

1. Insert needle as shown and bring needle out at same position on opposite side. Leave 3 to 4 inches of cord extending on near side where needle was originally inserted for a knot to be tied later.
2. Insert needle down through wing, draw string over back, then up through second wing. Cut cord.
3. Tie knot drawing cord snugly to pull drumsticks toward breast. Insert needle through drumstick ends, then bring down and around body inserting into bird (continue with step 4)
4. through bone just above tail. Remove needle leaving 6 inches of cord. Insert stuffing through rear opening. Draw cord tightly to pull drumsticks snugly to tail. This closes the opening without need of skewers or sewing unless opening is too large.

   Plump breast end with stuffing, then fold neck skin under cord over back. Fasten skin to back with skewer.

5. Trussed bird ready to roast. To remove cord after roasting, cut each cord opposite knot, and pull out by knot.

ROASTING TURKEY

1. Rub inside cavity with salt, 1/8 teaspoon or less per pound of bird.
2. Place enough stuffing in neck to fill it nicely. Fasten skin to back.
3. Stuff cavity well, but do not pack it tightly.
4. Truss, then grease skin thoroughly with softened cooking fat.* *Butter may be used.
5. Lay in pan, on a rack, preferably on one side back up. Or, place in V shaped rack breast down and keep in this position throughout the roasting.
6. Cover with fat moistened cloth, then roast at constant low temperature (See Time Table) until tender. Turn bird over to opposite side, still back up, then, breast side up when about half done if cooked on flat rack.
7. Do not sear. Do not cover. Do not add water to the pan. Sprinkle melted fat over cloth as it becomes dry.

Cut trussing string between drumsticks after about one hour of roasting. This releases the drumsticks slightly to make for better cooking of the thigh, improves the appearance of the bird on the platter, and facilitates carving.

WHEN IS THE TURKEY DONE?

Shortly before turkey is to be done, grasp drumstick end, move leg up and down. If leg joints break or move readily turkey is cooked. Roast Meat Thermometer test: When thermometer placed in center of inside thigh muscle registers 190° F. turkey is cooked. Follow package directions for using thermometer.

CARE OF COOKED MEAT

To store left-over turkey remove from bones. Cover and refrigerate. Turkey bones make a base for delicious soup, Break, cover, and store in refrigerator till ready to use.

TIMING TURKEY

Turkey, like all meat, requires refrigeration to preserve its quality. A thoroughly chilled bird requires slightly longer roasting time than unchilled. Therefore, if your turkey is chilled follow table below.

Turkey unprotected by refrigeration should to preserve it be prepared and roasted shortly upon delivery from market. Allow approximately five minutes per pound less than time given in roasting table below.

These periods are approximate, since individual differences will increase or decrease the time in this table.

An unstuffed bird requires slightly less roasting time.

*The weight of stuffing compensates for weight loss in drawing a Market Dressed bird. If a Full Drawn bird is purchased increase roasting time slightly to compensate for added stuffing weight.

CARVING TURKEY

A keen edged knife is necessary to good carving. The directions describe the easy method of carving the side away from carver. Carve all meat from one side before turning platter to carve other side. Approximately 14 pieces of dark meat, 16 slices of breast meat, and wing may be expected from one side of a 15 lb. turkey.

1. Place bird with legs to right of carver. Remove leg (drumstick and thigh): hold drumstick end with left hand, cut through skin drawing knife in right hand from left to right. Press leg away from turkey to platter with flat side of knife, then cut through remaining skin, transfer leg to side platter. Aim to remove oyster, choice dark meat, in spoon shaped bone at the back with leg.
2. Hold leg at almost right angles to the plate: remove triangular piece of meat cutting down to joint. Serve as one, or cut to make 2 pieces. Separate thigh and drumstick at joint.
3. Slice leg meat toward plate circling the leg so that slices (5 to 6) are uniform. Straddle thigh bone with fork, then cut lengthwise strips (7) parallel to bone.
4. Remove wing: insert knife at a point on breast about 1 1/2 inches from wing. Cut through breast at a 45 degree angle down through joint to platter.
5. To slice breast meat: insert fork to straddle keel bone or into rib section at side opposite to side being carved. Cut first slice just above removed wing, running knife parallel to breast meat. Cut slices (15 to 18) about 3/8 inch thick and place overlapping along side of platter until enough slices are prepared.

Remove dressing from an opening made by enlarging cavity at the right. For each serving serve dressing, dark and white meat.

EAT TURKEY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR!

SAVE SOME TURKEY FOR THESE DISHES

Turkey Tettrazini

2 cups (about) cooked turkey meat cut into shreds
1/2 lb. spaghetti
1/4 lb. mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
* * *
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sherry
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Break spaghetti into small pieces, then cook in large quantity of boiling salted water until tender, 15 to 20 minutes (check directions on package for cooking). Slice mushrooms and cook in the butter until soft and lightly browned. To prepare cream sauce, melt butter, add flour, blend thoroughly. Add cold broth all at once, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened. Add cream. Season well, add sherry. Divide sauce. Add shredded turkey meat to half, the well drained cooked spaghetti and cooked mushrooms to other half. Put spaghetti half in preheated casserole. Make a “hole” in the center of the spaghetti, then pour into it the turkey mixture. Top with cheese. Bake in moderate oven to thoroughly heat the contents and brown the top. Yield: 4 to 5 servings.

Turkey Budget Pie

1 1/2 cups cooked chopped turkey
1 1/2 cups cooked diced potatoes
1/2 cup cooked diced carrots, or celery
2 tablespoons finely minced onion
1 1/2 cups medium cream sauce, or canned cream soup
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese
Pastry

Combine turkey, potatoes, carrots, and onion. Add cheese and cream sauce. Season to taste. Place in shallow baking dish. Roll out pastry, cut pastry slightly larger than baking dish, cover dish with it, pressing firmly just below edge of dish. Cut pastry turkey from scraps of dough, arrange atop pastry. Cut slits in pastry. Bake in moderately hot oven, 400° F., until pastry is nicely browned, and filling begins to bubble. Serve hot from baking dish. Yield: 4 to 5 servings.

From
Northwestern Turkey Growers Association
P.O. Box 487
SACRAMENTO 3, CALIF.

Prepared by
THE POULTRY AND EGG NATIONAL BOARD
308 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois
National Turkey Federation Cooperating