Cooking Light with Turkey

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, most households are already planning their Thanksgiving dinners with turkey being the star of the show. It is probably a shame that more of us do not eat turkey throughout the year, except perhaps on turkey sandwiches purchased at our local deli. A roasted, skinless turkey breast contains less fat than any other meat that you could buy at your local grocery store. (It also tends to cost less per pound than most other meats, too, making turkey an economical choice as well as a healthy one.) That turkey breast only contains a mere 0.7 grams of fat and also has a good amount of B vitamins plus zinc and iron. (Note: The dark meat does have more fat and calories; however, it also contains more iron, which is good for anyone suffering from anemia.) The health benefits of turkey, however, can be negated by certain cooking methods. Here are some tips to keep your turkey light and healthy yet still tasty.

Remove fat. Before you ever start to cook your turkey, take the time to remove all of the fat that you can see. You will find a lot of fat in the cavity and the neck of the bird. Get rid of that stuff. You do not need it, plus it is just nasty.

Leave the skin on while cooking but remove before eating. The skin contains a lot of fat; however, it also helps to hold in the juices while your turkey is cooking, helping to prevent your ending up with a dry bird. Do remove this fatty skin, though, before eating.

Use very little if any fat when cooking. If you must use oil, butter, or margarine when cooking your turkey, use as little as possible. You can also opt for healthier oils, such as extra virgin olive oil, or use a low-fat margarine. [In addition, you can check out my article on Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes for another option for cooking a turkey, which is always moist and requires the use of no oils.]

Use a roasting rack. Do not just sit your turkey in the bottom of the roasting pan where it can soak up fat that will drain from the bird as it cooks. Use a roasting rack instead to hold the bird up from the bottom of the pan. Pour some water in the pan to keep the fat from burning as it drips down. Better yet, use some of your own homemade stock, which will also infuse your turkey with extra flavor and moisture. [For some tips regarding stock, see Health Benefits from Making Your Own Stock.]

Prick the skin. You can use a fork to prick holes in the skin, which will allow the fat found right under the skin to drain away during the cooking process.

Do not use fat or fatty sauces for basting. You do not need to use butter, margarine, or some sauce that contains a lot of fat and/or calories to baste your turkey. you can use your homemade stock instead. Another option is to use some type of juice, such as orange juice.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, turkey is one of the healthiest meats that you can eat and really should not be reserved for Thanksgiving dinners only. A small turkey or just a turkey breast can be turned into quite a treat for your entire family anytime during the year. Follow the tips given here, and it will be even healthier, too. By the way, these tips can also be applied to any type of poultry.

Reference:

Rogers, Jean, ed. The Healing Foods Cookbook. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1991.