How to Cook Your First Turkey: Simple Recipe for Beginners

Now I am going to be totally honest and admit I am not the world's greatest cook. I am not awful either just somewhat terrified to try new recipes with ingredients that I have not ever used or bought at the store. That overwhelming fear that my family will gag and spit the food out across the table plagues me so this is the reason I tend to stick with simple recipes with very few ingredients. But as my 32nd birthday approaches, I realized that I have never in my life cooked a turkey. I have always relied on my grandmother, mother, and mother-in-law to prepare all our big, oh-so-delicious Thanksgiving feasts every year. Now I know there will be a day when I can no longer rely on these wonderful women to be there, so that is why I decided to try and cook my first turkey.

When I went to the meat section of the grocery store, those big turkeys in the middle of the aisle freezers were kind of intimidating and frankly their size scared me to death. They were huge and there was no way my small family of four would be able to eat that much meat. Thankfully, I decided to walk down the frozen food aisle and found a perfect 3 pound frozen Butterball turkey roast that I thought I could master. After all, cooking a turkey is a big ordeal and since this was my very first time, I thought the smaller the turkey, the better my odds would be of successfully cooking an edible dinner for my family.

After making the purchase, a few days later I finally was brave enough to pull this bird out of our freezer and preheated the oven to 350 degrees. I sat there and stared at it thinking now what do I do? At this precise moment as if she sensed my anxiety, my wonderful mother calls to chat so I reluctantly let her know that I was preparing my first turkey. Of course she laughs and then ever so sweetly tells me which ingredients I will need to prepare my dinner.

The Ingredient List:

• 3 lb Butterball Turkey
• Cooking Spray
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper

Now this was an ingredient list that I could handle - simple and straight to the point with no crazy spices that I have never heard of or don't have in my pantry. I got out my 2 inch deep roasting pan and lined it with foil. Then I sprayed the turkey with cooking spray, covered it with butter, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Voila! It was ready to put in the oven and the timer was set for 3 hours.

As I was preparing the other side dishes including stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and gravy, I could start to smell the delicious scent of Thanksgiving in my house. I was starting to feel hopeful that this mission was going to be a success. My husband even walked in and said it smelled good and asked what was for dinner. When I told him, his eyes got big but told me he couldn't wait for it to be ready.

When the timer went off, I was really excited to see the final product. Let me tell you when I pulled the turkey out I was ecstatic to see that it actually looked delicious! I let it cool for a little while but then anxiously pulled out a knife to cut into the prepared bird hoping my eyes did not deceive me. A flood of relief rushed through my body when I realized that it was indeed cooked all the way through.

The final hurdle I had to pass was the reaction of my family. As I set the table and called everyone in, I was terrified of what they would say. After a few minutes of letting them eat, the compliments started rolling in and I suddenly realized that I had done it! I survived cooking my first turkey! When the time comes, the torch will be passed down to me and I will be able to keep the tradition of our family Thanksgiving feast alive for my children and grandchildren. Will it taste as good as those wonderful women who slave all day in the kitchen cooking for us every year? Probably not, but I will continue to practice my cooking skills, strive to keep trying out new recipes, and hopefully learn a few of their secrets to hosting and creating a great Thanksgiving feast.