During the holiday season, a frequently asked question is, “How long to cook a turkey?” The answer is, of course, it depends. Are you using a regular roaster and a traditional approach, or the Reynolds oven bags alternative?
In large part, this was due to the culinary skills of my Aunt Joan. It was also a result of Aunt Joan’s fabulous turkey-roasting secret weapon:
My Aunt Joan has been using a Reynolds cooking bags for years, but I always forget about them from one year to the next until I bite into one of their spectacular feasts.
In addition to the flavor intensifying and texture enhancing qualities oven bags will bring to your meals, they not only make clean up (both roaster and oven!) a breeze but also significantly speed cooking time and attention. Wondering how long to cook turkey?* This bag serves as a kind of pressure cooker and can cut your cooking time almost in half compared to traditional preparation. Plus, there’s no more leaving your guests or bailing on the Christmas afternoon walk to babysit/baste the bird, which Cook’s Illustrated actively recommends against, anyway.
INSTRUCTIONS:
You can use cornstarch or any other kind of flour such as rice flour or potato flour. Matzo meal may also be used. You should always include flour or a flour substitute because it blends the fat and juices in the oven bag to prevent the oven bag from bursting. Do not add water when cooking a turkey or chicken.
Yes, always cut six 1/2 inch slits in the top of the bag. The slits allow steam to escape so the bag does not burst.
Yes, you can cook two small turkeys or two turkey breasts at the same time if your oven is large enough for heat to circulate between the pieces of meat for the bag(s) to expand without touching the oven racks or walls. You can use one turkey size oven bag or two large size oven bags. Cook for 15 minutes longer than the cooking time of the largest piece of meat. Then, check both pieces of meat for doneness with a meat thermometer.
Oven bags are available in Large size in addition to the popular Turkey size. Use Large size (16″” x 17 1/2″”) for easy, everyday meals or for recipes serving up to 6. This size is recommended for foods up to 8 pounds such as chicken pieces, pork chips, beef strips, medium size roasts, and turkey breasts. Use Turkey size (19″ x 23 1/2″”) for roasting whole turkey, ham, leg of lamb and large meats 8 to 24 pounds.
Always shake one tablespoon of flour in an oven bag before cooking. This flour should remain in the bag during cooking to blend the fat and juices and to protect against bursting. More than one tablespoon of flour may be added to the bag for recipes with thickened sauces or gravy.
1) We own a LOT of Reynolds products, including the Hefty bags that cart the turkey bones out to the trash cans. How can so many products from one manufacturer end up in my kitchen without me consciously acknowledging that I’m a fan? I’m either a super inattentive shopper or Reynolds employs some super efficient branding gurus. I’m going with the latter.
During the holiday season, a frequently asked question is, “How long to cook a turkey?” The answer is, of course, it depends. Are you using a regular roaster and a traditional approach, or the Reynolds oven bags alternative?
Reynolds also makes oven bags for slow cookers (as in “crock pots,” not as in “chefs who take their time”), banishing forever the need to scratch away at the baked-on carbon crusted to the edges of the cooker. (Here’s a great review (she says humbly) of Cook’s recommendations for slow cookers and crock pots.)
In addition to the flavor intensifying and texture enhancing qualities oven bags will bring to your meals, they not only make clean up (both roaster and oven!) a breeze but also significantly speed cooking time and attention. Wondering how long to cook turkey?* This bag serves as a kind of pressure cooker and can cut your cooking time almost in half compared to traditional preparation. Plus, there’s no more leaving your guests or bailing on the Christmas afternoon walk to babysit/baste the bird, which Cook’s Illustrated actively recommends against, anyway.
In large part, this was due to the culinary skills of my Aunt Joan. It was also a result of Aunt Joan’s fabulous turkey-roasting secret weapon:
FAQ
How long does it take to cook a chicken in a bag?
How long does a turkey take to cook in a Reynolds oven bag?
How long does it take to cook a turkey breast per pound in a bag?
Do oven bags make meat tender?