Baked Turkey - A traditional American dish that is served on the table for Christmas or Thanksgiving. This bird is less popular with us, for the most part due to the fact that not many people know how to cook it correctly. But in vain! It is a light, healthy, low-calorie product with a minimum cholesterol content. Recommended for use even by young children and those who adhere to a diet.
Preparation for baking - the secrets of tender and juicy meat
Dry turkey repels many, but there are secrets by which the taste and juiciness of the product are preserved.
- The bird must be fresh. Do not store it for more than two days. If frozen meat is taken, it should be thawed not in the room, but in the refrigerator or in cool water.
- It is not recommended to cook the turkey cold - before baking, remove it from the refrigerator and leave it in the room for an hour.
- To make the meat tender, you can marinate it. The marinade is selected individually - it can be water or an alcoholic drink (for example, wine or cognac with sugar), soy sauce with honey and garlic, teriyaki sauce. The turkey should be in it no more than two days. Instead of marinade, you can use a mixture of spices to taste and olive oil, with which the carcass is smeared several hours before cooking.
- To keep the dish juicy, cook at a temperature of 180 degrees, placing in a foil or sleeve and periodically pouring the resulting juice.
Having completed all the instructions, you need to calculate the time it takes to cook. 450 grams will take 18 minutes in the oven.
The calorie content of different parts of the turkey
Turkey is a healthy alternative to other types of meat, as its fat and cholesterol content is minimal. The darkest areas are considered the fattest - 125 kcal per 100 g and skin. You can bake different parts, and using the calorie table you can choose the best option for a diet dish.
Parts of poultry and their calorie content per 100 grams:
- Breast - 88 kcal.
- A quarter - 140 kcal.
- Wings - 177 kcal.
- Fillet - 116 kcal.
- Baked whole - 124 kcal.
The lowest calorie portion of the turkey is white meat, so the baked turkey breast is ideal for a diet.
Fragrant and juicy turkey filet in the oven
The favorite part of the bird of many housewives is fillet. Pre-cleaned from all bones parts that are convenient to cut, pickle and cook. Since the fillet is less high-calorie, you can cook a delicious diet dish from it.
- turkey fillet 1 kg
- kefir 0% 250 ml
- lemon juice 2 Art. l
- salt ¼ tsp
- pepper, spices taste
- First of all, it is necessary to ensure that the dish turns out juicy and tasty. This is especially true for low fat fillets. Marinade will help to get rid of dryness, in our case - suitable for baby or diet food.
- Kefir will make the bird tender and fragrant. In a large container, kefir is mixed with lemon juice and selected seasonings (this can be salt, pepper, a mixture of herbs).
- Fillet can be cut into small pieces or cuts into large pieces to better saturate, and then put in a thick marinade for several hours.
- Bake the fillet in a foil or sleeve at a temperature of 180-200 degrees for about half an hour.
As a side dish, any cereal or mashed potatoes are perfect.
Sleeve of turkey in the sleeve
A baked fragrant leg of turkey can be the main decoration of the table at the gala dinner, and it is very easy to cook it in the sleeve.
- A kilogram of turkey legs.
- 100 ml low-fat sour cream.
- 50 grams of butter.
- Citrus juice and zest (you can use orange or lemon).
- Spices to taste, go well with rosemary and thyme in a dish.
- 50 ml of olive oil.
- The prepared drumstick is rubbed with salt and pepper.
- Olive oil is mixed with citrus juice and selected spices.
- The shin is carefully rubbed with sour cream and the resulting mixture, then it is sent to the sleeve and the hour is infused.
- Just before baking, cuts are made where small pieces of butter are added.
- You can add vegetables, citrus zest, rosemary and thyme to the baking bag.
- Bake for fifteen minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees, then lower to 160 and hold for another half hour to get a crisp and crisp.
Baked turkey thigh with cheese
The dish is simple and quick cooking, it can be done in haste and deliciously feed the whole family.
- Two birds.
- Four tablespoons of any cheese that melts well.
- Three ordinary tomatoes or a few pieces of cherry.
- Spices to taste.
- Onion.
- A little flour.
- Onions and tomatoes are finely chopped, and cherry can be cut in half. If desired, you can add a couple of chopped cloves of garlic.
- Onions and garlic are fried first, and after a couple of minutes, tomatoes are added.
- The thigh is cleansed of bones (you can buy peeled), cut in half.
- From all sides it falls off in flour, after which it is fried for a couple of minutes until a crust appears.
- The hips are placed in a baking dish, spices are added. Onions and tomatoes are laid out on top, everything is sprinkled with cheese.
- Bake for about 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees, and serve with any side dish.
Delicious turkey breast in foil
You can turn to the first recipe and replace the fillet with a full breast. If you don’t feel like experimenting with kefir and lemon juice again, you can use another, no less successful recipe.
- Two kilograms of breast.
- A couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
- Spices to taste, preferably a mixture of herbs.
- The breast is carefully greased with olive oil, sprinkled with spices, including pepper and salt, soaked for an hour and a half.
- A sheet of foil is placed on a baking sheet, then the meat is covered with another layer of foil on top.
- Bake at a temperature of 200 degrees, the time depends on the weight (a couple of hours is enough for two kilograms).
This is the easiest homemade recipe that every housewife can afford.
Bonfire turkey was held in high esteem in most Indian tribes. Through the centuries, traditions have come to us. With proper preparation at home, the dish will be tasty, juicy and healthy.
In addition, the size of the bird allows only one baked carcass to feed a whole family of ten people. That is why it is ideal for special occasions. For cooking, you don’t have to wait for Christmas - many recipes will allow you to cook a diet, tasty treat at least every day!