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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Turkey Tips

Aired November 27, 2003 - 06:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Maybe you're planning your Thanksgiving meal, and maybe you've been planning it for weeks. Or, maybe you woke up today and said, oh, my gosh, it's Thanksgiving. Either way, we have an expert here to help you prepare and serve your turkey.
Executive chef Gary Donlick is from Pano's and Paul's restaurant, a real institution here in Atlanta.

And, chef Gary, thanks so much for coming in on Thanksgiving morning.

GARY DONLICK, EXECUTIVE CHEF, PANO'S AND PAUL'S: Thank you. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

COSTELLO: Well, is your turkey in the oven?

DONLICK: No, not yet. We're going to do it after this shot. Actually, my wife's grandfather is going to be roasting the turkey today.

COSTELLO: They're not making you cook? You're a chef!

DONLICK: No, they actually gave me the day off today, which is nice.

COSTELLO: That is nice. That's very nice.

DONLICK: You know, Thanksgiving is about family, too, and not just food.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, I forgot. Give us, first, some quick tips on how to prepare that turkey the best way, before we get to our questions.

DONLICK: Well, I think the first question you've got to ask is whether or not to stuff it. You know, most people like to stuff it. But, me personally, I like to just cook the dressing on the side.

COSTELLO: Why?

DONLICK: It just comes out a little nicer, and, you know, you always get that question of: Is this stuffing done? You know, and you really don't want to take any chances with your health. You know, if you don't cook it at the proper temperature, there is a chance that, you know, you can get a little sick from it.

COSTELLO: Yes, that would be bad on Thanksgiving.

DONLICK: So, I think it's better to cook it on the side, and then you can take your pan drippings and actually baste the dressing with the pan drippings and give it that nice turkey flavor.

COSTELLO: So, what does that mean? You just put the liquid in...

DONLICK: Well, yes, as the turkey cooks, there will be pan juices that will come out of it, and you just get a nice spoon and you lift those off and baste it right over the top of your dressing.

COSTELLO: You know, the other thing that I did not realize -- and Chad actually came down here this morning to tell me because I'm cooking a turkey only for the second time in my life. Chad, are you listening?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I am. Go ahead.

COSTELLO: Do you have that tip to let the turkey sit?

MYERS: Oh, you have to let it rest a little bit, so that all of the juices don't come out when you cut it?

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MYERS: Yes, yes.

COSTELLO: Tell us about that (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

DONLICK: Well, I think when the turkey is done, the most important part is to let it rest. And I like to let it rest about 45 minutes, and that means just take it out of the oven, put it in a warm spot and just let it cool down slightly. And the meat is going to relax and all of the juices are going to redistribute, and that will make your breast meat a lot juicier.

COSTELLO: OK. What are giblets?

DONLICK: Giblets are in that little package you get and you don't really know what to do with.

COSTELLO: Yes, but what are they?

DONLICK: It's...

MYERS: It makes gravy.

DONLICK: It's actually part of the digestive system. It's a little organ inside there. It's really tasty. You know, you've got to give a chance. I mean, it's traditional giblet gravy.

COSTELLO: Oh!

DONLICK: You know, you roast them, and if you do it with the pan juices it's outstanding.

COSTELLO: So, it's not an actual body part of the turkey. It's just something that happens within the turkey.

DONLICK: It just shows up. It shows up. You've got to know what to do with it.

MYERS: Am I frightened that you're actually cooking today, Carol? I'm calling the fire department right now.

COSTELLO: I really think you should. OK, let's talk about basting the turkey, because I have to learn that before I get home.

DONLICK: Basting is very important. You know, you get those ball basters, which is basically a little syringe. You get the pan juices, and you baste it like every 15-20 minutes.

COSTELLO: Every 15 minutes you have to open the oven and baste the turkey?

DONLICK: Well, if you want it to come out perfect. If you want that magazine-shot turkey, you've got to put some work into it.

COSTELLO: I've got to watch the football game while the turkey is roasting. Are you kidding?

OK, when you're carving...

MYERS: All right, Carol, I've got it. Every time the Packers score, you have to baste the turkey.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's a good idea. I like that.

OK, so when you carve the turkey, what's the best way to do that? Because I'm really frightened at this.

DONLICK: Well, I like to -- when I carve the turkey I like to take the breasts off the carcass, and that means you basically just follow the bones and take the breasts off and you slice it. It's long. You slice it against the grain, and it will come off nice and tender that way. Now, if you don't want to do that, you just carve towards the bone.

COSTELLO: Oh, OK.

DONLICK: And you don't want to have long, stringy pieces of meat, because that will be very chewy and it will be -- you know, it won't have good texture. So, if you cut against them, it's very palatable. It's very good.

COSTELLO: OK, I have some e-mails from our kind viewers, who are actually watching this Thanksgiving Day morning.

This is from Mark from Florida -- Miramar, Florida -- in South Brower County to be exact. A question for turkey guy.

DONLICK: Turkey guy.

COSTELLO: "How would you apply Jamaican jerk seasoning to the turkey to give it that jerk taste?"

DONLICK: Well, I think you can season the turkey in any way you want, and before you put it in the oven obviously is the best time. You know, you can make a little butter mixture with the jerk seasoning into it, and baste that along when you're roasting it.

COSTELLO: Should you marinate it the night before or a couple of hours before you put it into the oven?

DONLICK: I would definitely. If you're doing a jerk seasoning, probably the longer you marinate it the better the flavor is going to come out.

COSTELLO: That was a deep cooking question, wasn't it?

DONLICK: That was.

COSTELLO: This is from Judy. Judy writes: "I just unwrapped my turkey, and it's got an inch-long tear on the breast. I know I can't make it look perfect again, but is there anything I can do to prevent it from drying out while it's cooking?"

DONLICK: Well, this is in the inside insiders -- this is a professional. Now, to make the juiciest breast meat really the way to do it is to cook it breast-side down.

COSTELLO: Oh.

DONLICK: And all of the juices will fall down in the breast, and it will be so moist. But when you present it, it's not going to look like the -- you know, the magazine cover picture. You know, it's going to look a little different. So, it's...

COSTELLO: So, this tear won't even matter if she cooks it upside down?

DONLICK: It won't even matter. Cook it upside down.

COSTELLO: You know, I accidentally did that the first time I cooked a turkey, and people made fun of me, but I knew what I was doing. So, when you...

DONLICK: It tasted great, didn't it?

COSTELLO: It tasted wonderful, actually.

OK, this is from Barbara from Ontario. She writes: "I heard about treating the turkey to what I think they call 'braising.' What some people are doing are actually soaking their bird overnight in different types of stuff." I guess you'd call it a marinade. Is that a good thing to do?

DONLICK: That's really a good thing to do, and it's not really braising. It's called brining. Brining is like where you make basically a salt and sugar solution, and you soak the turkey, you know, up to 12 hours overnight and you dry it off and it has a lot of flavor to it.

COSTELLO: Oh.

MYERS: Hey, Carol?

DONLICK: It tenderizes the meat...

COSTELLO: Yes, Chad, take it away. I'm going to look for more e-mails.

MYERS: You know what? He can't hear me, so you're going to have to relay this.

COSTELLO: OK.

MYERS: I'm interested in people with now the convection ovens. Does that little popper thing still work with a convectional oven? You know, they stick the popper in, and when it pops up it's done. Does that still hold true with a convectional oven?

COSTELLO: Right. In a convection oven, they have that little popper in the turkey that pops up when it's supposedly done. Does that work in a convection oven as well?

DONLICK: Sure. Sure.

COSTELLO: OK, come up with another question, Chad.

MYERS: Here you go. You know what? I stuff my chickens when I roast them with onions in the cavity. Can I do that instead of stuffing? Will that give it any more flavor from the inside out?

COSTELLO: Can you cook the turkey with onions instead of stuffing inside the turkey? Will that give it a nice flavor?

DONLICK: That would be great. I mean...

COSTELLO: Really?

DONLICK: Yes, little carrots, a little celery, a little onions, put some (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in there.

COSTELLO: Oh, that sounds great.

MYERS: There you go, Carol.

COSTELLO: That just sounds great. Wait, I found a good question. I don't know why this person in Scandinavia would be cooking turkey. Maybe it's an American living in -- this is a good question. This is from David. He asks: "How long after Thanksgiving can you safely eat what's left over from your Thanksgiving Day dinner?" DONLICK: I mean, I think you're taking a chance if you go more than two days. I mean, by then, you're probably sick of turkey. Let's face it. You know, how many meals can you actually eat in a row with turkey in it?

COSTELLO: I don't know. I don't know at all. Chef Gary, thanks for coming in. We certainly appreciate it.

DONLICK: Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

COSTELLO: When will you be back at Pano and Paul's?

DONLICK: I'll be back tomorrow evening.

COSTELLO: OK, we'll be there expecting a free dinner.

DONLICK: OK.

COSTELLO: Thanks.

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