Thanksgiving is the ultimate time of year for turkey. Delicious turkeys form the centerpieces of Thanksgiving dinners for many, with the turkey baster being a key to achieving the ultimate succulence.
A turkey baster doesn’t look like anything fancy but it’s a necessary part of cooking a turkey. A turkey baster works to keep a roasting turkey moist. Without a baster, you lose moisture at an unfortunate pace.
Why Use A Turkey Baster
Cooking a turkey, you lose a lot of the juice. It’s a long cook as well so you are more likely to dry out the meat. Every hour, liquid is coming out of the meat and ends up gathering at the bottom of your pan. A turkey baster sucks up these juices, pours them over the meat, and keeps your turkey looking and cooking at its best.
Whether this is the first time you’re cooking a turkey or this is your first turkey baster, here is how to use a turkey baster.
How to Use A Turkey Baster
- Clean your turkey baster. Rinse it. You don’t necessarily need to soap it. A rinse and practising the suck-and-release function a couple of times is enough to get your baster ready.
- Before inserting your baster into liquid, squeeze the bulb. This releases all the air from the baster.
- Always enter your Thanksgiving turkey baster into liquid at an angle. This allows air to escape while fluid is being suctioned in, reducing the likelihood of air caught in the baster.
- When removing the baster from the liquid as the bulb becomes fully rounded, tilt it and ensure the bulb is lower than the tip. The liquid and the baster itself could be very hot so some may want to wear protective gloves.
- Hover the tip of the turkey baster over the area of meat you intend to baste. Tilt vertically and gently squeeze the bulb to allow the juices to release slowly. You don’t want to do it quickly. Let it out at a consistent pace.
Other Ways to Use A Turkey Baster
Although we are talking about Thanksgiving, there are many ways to use a turkey baster.
- Degrease meat. Suck and remove grease at a rate that’s far faster and more convenient than doing the same with a ladle. No drops or spills either. You end up with leaner and healthier meat.
- Fill cupcake or muffin tins. Divide up the batter, suck it up in a turkey baster, and ensure the same amount of mixture is drawn up and filled in each time. The result is more uniform baked goods.
This Thanksgiving, make your best turkey with a turkey baster and other Thanksgiving kitchen essentials from Living.ca.
Photo by Gabriel Garcia Marengo on Unsplash
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