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I had responded to her question and ask for help as to if she wanted it for to or a whole turkey . She never got back with me . Once I know I will be better to answere the question as I am sure others will also . I wasn't sure if she was having a family gathering or just her and maybe a friend .

Whole turkey, half turkey, or just the breast? I posted my favorite recipe for turkey breast a while back--Roasted Turkey with Carrots and Shallots view link from Tyler Florence on the Food Network.

I often bake a half a turkey for myself--this time of the year we can find fresh turkey halves in several local markets. Once in a while, I have talked a meat department into sawing a frozen turkey in half for me and I put the other half in the freezer for later. You need to give it several days in the refrigerator to thaw.

I just salt and pepper it, massage with olive oil and bake on a rack in a pan at 350 degrees until an instant-read thermometer shows 165 degrees in the innermost part of the thigh. Don't rely on the pop-up that comes with the bird--they often let it get too done. Take it out, tent with foil, and let it stand for 20 min. before carving. I don't use 325 degrees for a half since it's so much smaller. You could also rub with butter instead of the oil if you like the flavor better.

The drippings in the pan can be made into gravy with the addition of turkey or chicken broth (College Inn is good). I mostly de-fat the drippings, add the broth, and dissolve flour in water or some more broth to whisk into the simmering liquid in the pan. Shaking in a jar works well for this. The rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon for each 1/2 cup of liquid. Don't add it all until you see how thick the gravy becomes. You can always add more if it's too thin. Simmer about 15 min. to cook out the starchy flavor of the flour and you're good to go.

You can do the same with a whole bird, too. I never stuff mine--it bakes up faster without the stuffing and then you don't have to worry about getting all the stuffing out for safety. Just shove a whole peeled onion, some sage leaves, celery, and whatever suites you into the cavity to flavor the bird. Make the stuffing separately and put it into the oven about 30 min. before eating to heat and crisp.

There are some great places on the internet to get cooking directions. Butterball has a site with all kinds of tips and information at view link 1-800-BUTTERBALL is a hotline where you can talk to a real live person if you need help right away.

Also, AllRecipes has a page all about how to cook a turkey: view link Lots of information on this one.

Hope this helps.

Could I use this for a 7 lb roasting Hen?

I've always gone with the old fashioned way of roasting a turkey. But in last few years I've been trying different methods. I particularly liked this one.

Ingredients:
1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets
removed
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 apples, cored and halved 1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey's cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.
It was moist and surprisingly the skin was crispy.

Last year my son game me a turkey fryer. I thought it would be greasy but it's not. It was delicious and cooks in 40 minutes. It has to be fried in peanut oil so if you're allergic to peanuts, it won't work. I'm doing my small turkey using a fryer this year.

I met my extremely health conscious sister for lunch the other day. I made the mistake of ordering a turkey, salami and cheese club sandwich and she almost passed out. I know that salami is not an American Medical Association favorite, but I thought that turkey was OK. I was informed that it was loaded with salt and fillers and was not even real turkey but processed parts shaped and cut to look like turkey. She recommended getting a turkey breast, roasting it and then slicing it as needed and to freeze the rest. I always take what she says with a grain of salt, (oops). Is she right on this one?
Marty

Marty, I think the ingredients in the meats depends on the restaurant. I looked up a popular sandwich chain and this is what's in the turkey meat. I'm going to post the link, but I'm not promoting it. Other chain restaurants may also have the info available. view link
"TURKEY BREAST Turkey breast, turkey broth, contains 2% or less of: carrageenan, dextrose, modified food starch (derived from corn), salt, seasoned salt (salt, sodium diacetate, flavoring), sodium lactate, sodium phosphate. * Browned in soybean oil. May contain: seasonings (modified corn starch, dextrose, salt, carrageenan, sodium diacetate, flavorings), potassium lactate."
Your sister's way is the best since you can control what goes into it, but if you're away from home, even just running errands, it's not always possible to eat completely healthy.
My thought is that if you eat that only occasionally, it's a nice treat.
P.S. I love salami, but only have it once or twice a year.

annboo,

I did some searching about roasting a 7 lb. chicken since I've never roasted one that large myself. CBS has a recipe from Williams Sonoma for a chicken this size that sounds delicious. I could copy and paste it here but it's pretty long so here's the link instead: view link

They start the chicken at 450F for 30 min., add broth and vegetables to the pan, and then turn down the oven to 325F for another 1 to 1/2 hours.

annboo,

Here's some more on roasting that 7 lb. chicken from Chowhound:

"Every bird I've ever cooked, I use a combination of Alton Brown and Sara Moulton's recs and the birds always come out perfect:

first 1/2 hour at 500 degrees - take out, apply a triangle of tinfoil over the breast, reduce oven to 350, cook for 12-15 minutes per lb (include that first half an hour) - breast should be at 161 - good idea to check 20 minutes or so before you think it should be coming out.

I did this recently with just salt and pepper on the bird and it was wonderful."

and . . .

"I ended up starting w/ high temp (450) for 30 min, lowering to 350 for 1 hr 15 min w/ the foil tent over the breast, and finishing at 450 for the last 30 min to get the skin super-crunchy. . . The breast turned out nice and moist."

So the consensus seems to be to start on a high temp and finish on a lower one to get brown skin but moist breast meat. Definitely use the thermometer to check for done--it's the only way to be sure.

NYB and all.... I pretty much do my bird same as y'all... however, my secret to a delicious hearty darker gravy is the sweet vermouth and butter, I baste the turkey with while roasting!

Another idea... my mother-in-law always placed rashes of bacon on top the turkey breast for moistness.

JimmyD,

You just took me back. My Mom always roasted small chickens with bacon on top--we used to fight over the crisp bacon. I still do it once in a while.

Come to think of it, bacon grease was always present. You haven't lived until you've popped corn in bacon grease. Sooo gooood! I think I can hear my arteries hardening just thinking about it. LOL!