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Now that you're married -- and have the Waterford and Calphalon to prove it -- you might feel obligated to host the extended family for Thanksgiving dinner. But if the only turkey you've ever prepared came in an Oscar Mayer package, don't worry -- you can still make the big bird. Chef David Kamen, an associate professor at The Culinary Institute of America, walks you through the process.

4 to 6 Weeks in Advance

• Figure out how many people are coming to your dinner and when you want to serve the meal.

• Decide if you want a frozen or fresh turkey. Frozen turkeys tend to be cheaper, but you'll need room in your freezer. For a fresh one, you'll need to pick it up at the butcher closer to Thanksgiving.

• When you've figured out your guest list, use the calculator at butterball.com to figure out how big of a turkey to get -- and how long it'll take to defrost (if frozen) and cook.

• Preorder or buy your turkey. If your bird is frozen, stick it in the freezer right when you get it home.

[Nest Note] The plan below is for a 17-pound turkey served at 4 p.m. on Thursday. This will feed 10, with plenty of leftovers.

Monday (3 Days Before)

• If you've frozen your turkey, put it in the refrigerator today to slowly defrost it.

• Buy groceries for the rest of your meal. Here are some gadgets and ingredients you'll need:

                 A sturdy roasting pan
                 A digital probe oven thermometer with a gadget that goes outside the oven
                 White kitchen twine (you'll need eight inches to tie the turkey legs)
                 Your stuffing ingredients
                 Olive or vegetable oil
                 Salt and pepper
                 Flour
                 2 quarts of chicken broth for gravy (unless you're using homemade turkey broth)
                 Veggies to roast with turkey (see "Tuesday")
                 A fine-mesh strainer

Tuesday

• Cut up a half-cup of vegetables per pound of turkey.

• Put veggies in a plastic container and refrigerate. You'll be putting them under the turkey while it roasts.

Wednesday

• Pick up your turkey if you preordered a fresh one.

• Take off any packaging and pull out the giblet bag (reach into the cavity, pull out the neck, and you'll find the bag). If you want giblets in your gravy, mix everything except the liver with the cut vegetables.

• Rinse the turkey with cold running water and dry it with paper towels.

• Pour about 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil on your hands and massage it onto the outside of the turkey.

• Sprinkle salt liberally on the outside and in the cavity.

• Put the vegetable and giblet mixture in the roasting pan and then put the turkey on top. Cover the bird with clear plastic wrap to keep it from drying out and put it in the refrigerator until Thursday morning.

• Make your stuffing but do NOT put it in the turkey until you're ready to cook.

Thursday
9 a.m.:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

• Stuff the turkey: Place the bird, feet up, in the sink, and hold a leg with one hand while using the other to pack in the stuffing.

• Secure the legs: Put the turkey back in the roasting pan on top of the vegetables. Then take an 8-inch piece of kitchen twine and tie it around the bird's ankles and underneath where the tail would be, so the legs no longer stick up -- and so they'll cook evenly.

• Stick an oven thermometer into the bird's inner thigh, between the thigh and the cavity. Make sure it doesn't go into the bone.

10 a.m.:

• Put the roasting pan in the oven and hang the thermometer's temperature gauge outside the oven door. Cook the turkey for 20 minutes.

10:20 a.m.:

• Turn the oven temperature down to 300 degrees and cook at that temperature for four-plus hours.

[Nest Note] The exact timing is tricky, since you'll likely open the oven to pop in other dishes. But this is why you invested in the thermometer; it'll tell you exactly when the meat is ready.

• Focus on preparing for the rest of your meal: Make the side dishes, set the table, and get anything else ready you might need.

2 to 2:30 p.m.:

• Check the bird: After four to four and a half hours, check the thermometer. Once it reads 165 degrees, you can pull the bird out of the oven.

[Nest Note] Don't worry if the button popper that came with your turkey hasn't popped. It's placed in a different area and is set for a different temperature. If you wait for it, you risk a dry turkey.

About 3 p.m.:

• Transfer the turkey from the roasting pan to a cookie sheet.

• Move the stuffing into a pan or casserole dish and stick the thermometer in that. Cook the stuffing 300 degrees until it's 165 degrees (about 15 more minutes) to kill harmful bacteria.

• Cover the turkey loosely with aluminum foil (so the skin doesn't get soggy) and let it sit for 30 minutes before you begin carving. This will keep the juices from running out.

• Make the gravy.

[Nest Note] Start soaking your pans now -- it'll make them easier to clean later.

About 3:30 p.m.:
Carve your turkey (this should take 20 minutes).

• Take off the drumsticks by bending them backward or cutting through the joint.

• Cut off the thighs by slicing through the flap of skin between the thigh and breast. Then carve the dark meat into slices parallel to the bone.

• Remove the breasts from the carcass in two pieces. Cut down along the sides of the center (keel or breast) bone. Remove the piece on one side of the breastbone and then do the same on the other side. Cut those pieces across the grain.

• Take the wings off the same way you removed the drumsticks.

About 4 p.m.:
You're ready to eat! Serve everything, and take a moment to enjoy the fruits of your hard work!

by Mike Adamick
6/26/08

See more: Dinner, entertaining, Holiday