By Alex McCuaig

Cooking turkey

Turkey tips for Thanksgiving dinner

Oct 11, 2019 | 5:12 PM

Medicine Hat, AB – Cooking a Thanksgiving turkey can be an onerous but rewarding task. But pull it off right and you can be the hero of the family.

And it starts with picking the right bird.

Ben Dutchak has been working at the 13^th Avenue Co-op for 25 years and says fresh turkey has a great taste to it. And by fresh, he means it. Especially when it comes to the Hutterite turkeys.

“They’re good and they just came in on Thursday and they were probably walking around the yard on Monday,” said Dutchak. “And by this Monday, they’ll be in your pot roaster ready for Thanksgiving.”

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But how you cook that turkey can be as varied as the person who cooks them.

Stephanie Saucier, head chef at Paradise Valley, says it’s about letting the turkey shine.

And it starts from the bottom up, said Saucier.

“I put a bed of vegetables underneath and not only does that add flavour but it allows the air to rotate around the turkey so you are ensuring a more even cooking process,” she said.

She added that basting a turkey isn’t necessarily the best way to keep it moist, recommending an alternative.

“Two things you can do is pack butter under the breast – on top of the breast but under the skin. Also, what you can do is brush the turkey with butter or oil and that will help seal the skin so the moisture is not escaping from the turkey,” said Saucier

She also suggested putting parchment paper over the turkey prior to covering it with tin foil, removing both to get a golden hue for the last 20 minutes of cooking. And once the turkey hits 165 degrees, let it rest for 10 minutes and its ready to serve.

And if cooking Thanksgiving dinner isn’t in the cards, Paradise Valley will be dishing out turkey and ham on Sunday and Monday.