Now cooking…Chef Mike aka (microwave).
Many of us are gearing up to cook a massive turkey this week, you know, for Thanksgiving. Most people will utilize their kitchen oven to complete the task, however, not everyone has an oven.
There are a few great ways to cook up a large turkey, an oven of course being the most popular one – and deep frying a turkey comes in a close second. But did you know that you can microwave a turkey? This is actually an approved cooking method by the USDA.
The first step to cooking a turkey in the microwave is to check your microwave’s user manual. Be sure to stay within your microwave’s weight limits and recommendations. The best microwaves can handle a whole, small turkey (8-10 pounds). Others may require the turkey to be broken down a bit first. The last thing you want to do is put too much strain on your microwave, especially if you’re relying on it to cook Thanksgiving dinner.
Place a small, thawed, and seasoned turkey into a microwaveable oven bag. Place the whole bag onto a microwave-safe plate. Place the plate into the microwave, ensuring the turkey isn’t touching the sides or top of the microwave. Cook the turkey on 50% power for 7-9 minutes for every pound of turkey. Be sure to rotate the dish every 15 minutes (unless your microwave spins on its own).
Since you are cooking in the microwave, you can’t keep a metal thermometer in the turkey, so make sure to check the temp of the turkey often. Use an instant-read thermometer and poke it into several places of the turkey. The temperature at the deepest and thickets parts of the turkey should reach 165F.
The team at Mashable actually tried this method of cooking a whole turkey and were quite pleased to report that it turned out moist and flavorful. With any luck, the rest of us are able to enjoy the same sort of success.
So if you are daring…might be worth a try, cooking your Thanksgiving turkey in the microwave.