One of the best parts of preparing a turkey for dinner is serving it to friends and family on a platter.Picking out and decorating the right serving platter can give your turkey a fun or sophisticated look, whether you've heated up a pre-cooked turkey from the store or spent hours in the kitchen preparing your own.You can serve up your masterpiece with fresh herbs, fruit, or a colorful platter.
Step 1: To weigh your turkey, use a kitchen scale.
The platter should be strong enough to hold your turkey, but light enough for you to carry.Measure the weight of your turkey, along with the length and width, so you can pick out a large platter.If your turkey is large, you might want to avoid platter that are made of thin plastic.Extra weight will be added to your turkey by stuffing.Try and find a platter that is strong enough to hold your display.
Step 2: The platter should be heat resistant to hold the turkey.
If you're looking at plastic platter, be aware that it may not be able to handle the heat from the turkey.Not all plastic platters are heat resistant.There should be a well in the platter to hold the warm juices.You can buy a platter at your local grocery store.Simple colors and designs will be available year-round, even during the fall and winter holiday seasons.It's important to choose a platter with sturdy handles so you can easily carry the turkey to the table.
Step 3: A platter with a design will complement your food.
The design on the platter should help balance it.You don't want a platter with a bold design if you plan to add a lot of fruits and vegetables around the turkey.If the display is busy, you may not be able to see the beautiful platter.If you use colorful garnishes, find a platter with a simple design.A simple white or neutral color can be used.If the place setting you are using is neutrally colored, this is a great option.A plain turkey and a bold design complement each other.If you want to minimally decorate the platter, opt for a sturdy platter that has a festive inlet or color design.This will add to your presentation without you having to add more to it.
Step 4: The centerpiece of a large platter display is the turkey.
The crisp, golden texture of turkey skin will draw attention to the centerpiece of the platter, which is the turkey.This is a great way to show how hard it is to cook turkey.You should be able to lift and carry the turkey and platter to the table.If you need assistance, ask a friend.
Step 5: It's easier to serve a heavy turkey in chunks.
Remove the breast and thigh meat from your turkey if it's too large to be safely transported.Once the meat is presented to the table, you can assemble the breast halves with the thighs to look like a smaller turkey.If you are using a medium or small platter, this is a great serving option.
Step 6: Put the turkey on a platter.
If you have a small dining table, you can serve a portion of turkey instead of the whole thing.A turkey that is too heavy to carry to the table can be presented this way.Each slice of the turkey is large enough to retain its juices.The breast meat slices should be resting on top of each other.At the end of the platter, place additional legs or dark meat.Don't put the meat in a pile in the center of the platter.The meat will continue to cook at the bottom of the pile and be dried out.
Step 7: Fresh herbs are used to create a leafy base underneath the turkey.
Adding leaves and herbs to your platter will add color and flavor, as well as keeping your turkey from slipping off the platter.The turkey meat and herb flavors complement each other.Traditional turkey seasonings have a lot of herbs in them, and will accent the turkey meat nicely.If you don't want the flavor from the herbs to taint your turkey, you can use lettuce or kale leaves.If you want a neutral base for your turkey to rest on, you can use the lettuce or kale leaves.If you want to keep the turkey from slipping, you can line the platter with a clean terry-towel.If you want to use minimal greens on your platter, this method is good.
Step 8: To fill in the gaps around the platter, use whole and sliced fruits.
The turkey doesn't fill the empty spaces around your platter.You can fill these empty spaces with a variety of fruits that are left whole and sliced.The fruit will add contrasting colors to the dish along with filling out the platter.To fill the larger pockets, opt for sweet apples, lemons, and oranges.Add grapes or fresh cranberries to fill the pockets.These vibrant colors set on a bed of leafy greens is a refreshing color design for meals served early on in the day.Leave some of the stem and leaves on the fruit if you have access to an apple, orange, or lemon tree.You can place the leaves and fruit around the platter if you wash them thoroughly.The leaves are green and contrast nicely with your turkey.
Step 9: Chop or lightly steamed vegetables are great for a display.
Incorporating the tones of vegetables into your platter is a less sweet way to display them.The vegetables can either be chopped or cut into smaller pieces and steamed for a softer texture.Squash, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, and garlic are some of the excellent vegetable options.Cook vegetables and fruits with the turkey to add warmth to the design.The fruits and vegetables will become tender as they areMarinated in the turkey juices and provide an extra sweet flavor to the meat as well.You can slice carrots, onions, mushrooms, and apples into large chunks and place them in a pan to bake the turkey in.The turkey seasoning has flavors that match these.It's a good idea to add some thyme as well.To make sure people don't choke on the stems, leave the thyme large enough to be picked off.
Step 10: To add texture, sprinkle nuts around the turkey.
This will add a crunch to your platter.Make sure that no one you serve has a nut allergy.Almonds, chestnut, walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts are good nuts to accent the turkey flavors.Adding some shelled pistachios will add a zing of color and flavor.The green color will make a difference against the turkey.