How do you roast your turkey?

[Anonymous]

Can you suggest a recipe I can follow for roasting my Thanksgiving turkey? I am getting a pre brined bird from Whole Foods, and would like an easy reliable recipe. My turkey has always come out dry in the past. I am going to stuff the cavity with citrus and herbs, and rub with some butter and of course salt & pepper. I am more looking for what temp do you cook it at, how long, do you baste, do you cover with foil, etc. Thanks!!!

[Anonymous]

I pre-heat the oven to 500 and put the bird in for 30 minutes. Then I drop the temperature to 350 and continue to cook it until a meat thermometer reads 160 (a 14-16 lb turkey takes about another two hours). I then pull it, cover it with foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes.

I use foil during cooking only if the turkey is visibly over-browning before its reached the correct internal temperature.

By far the biggest cause of dry turkey is letting the internal temperature get too high. Even an unbrined turkey should be plenty juicy if you don't overcook it. Three things to know about turkey temperature:

1. The only way to reliably track temperature is with a thermometer. Do not use a recipe that is based solely on time in the oven. This never works.

2. The old food safety standard of cooking turkeys to 180 has been officially debunked. The safe internal temperature of a turkey is 165, not 180.

3. Turkeys continue to cook even after you take them out of the oven. Pull the turkey when it is still at least 5 degrees away from reaching 165 (the breast will actually be fine even earlier than that, but the dark meat might need the time).

4. Do not skip the resting stage. Cutting meat that hasn't rested yet will cause too much juice to run out, drying it out.

[Anonymous]

I cook breast down so the juices from fatty parts dribble Down and keep the breast moist. I cover the wings with foil and bind the legs together. I also rub the skin with butter and kosher salt to make it crispy.

[Anonymous]

My mother always made the best turkey and I use her method and it works well.

I take the bird and cover it with 2-3 layers of cheesecloth. Then I make a basting broth of 1 stick butter and about 8-14 oz of chicken stock (I'll use canned if I haven't made any recently). Soak the cheesecloth in this. Bake and every 30 minutes, baste the cheesecloth again with the basting broth. When you run out of your premade supply, then just take it from the bottom of the roasting pan. You have to have the bird on a wire rack and not that slotted baking pan that comes with many ovens because you can't get the juices from the bottom of the pan with the slotted pan. The cheesecloth keeps the outside from getting too dried and also helps keep moisture in after it makes a "crust" over the skin of the turkey. If you like really crispy skin, you can take the cheesecloth off about 30 minutes before the end, but it's a pain to get it off, so I usually just leave it on until done. I've never had a problem with dried turkey with this method.

[Anonymous]

Definitely get a real meat thermometer and never rely on those little pop up ones that come in some turkeys.

[Anonymous]

I clean it, slather it in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and spices, and stuff with stuffing. Covering it with foil for part of cooking helps it retain moisture without overcooking on the outside. I also will spoon some of the juices over it while cooking.

[Anonymous]

Might try skipping the stuffing too.

[Anonymous]

dark meat needs to be 180, those little plastic things are triggered by the metal inside it leting at 185, if your turkey gets to 185 in the breast you might as well toss it.

what do you always see on a professional chef? it isn't a timer.......

[Anonymous]

1. Brine for 24 hours using Alton Brown's recipe
2. Get a meat thermo, don't trust the plastic thingy that comes with the turkey.

[Anonymous]

Okay I will tell you the secret. Buy a rack of pork ribs and lay it across the top of your bird. Roast using any basic instruction except don't open the over to baste. That's what the ribs are for. Remove the ribs when done and you have an appetizer while the bird finishes. This Jewish mama approves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:dark meat needs to be 180, those little plastic things are triggered by the metal inside it leting at 185, if your turkey gets to 185 in the breast you might as well toss it.

what do you always see on a professional chef? it isn't a timer.......

I thought poultry had to be cooked to 165 degrees? It used to be 185 but they lowered it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mother always made the best turkey and I use her method and it works well.

I take the bird and cover it with 2-3 layers of cheesecloth. Then I make a basting broth of 1 stick butter and about 8-14 oz of chicken stock (I'll use canned if I haven't made any recently). Soak the cheesecloth in this. Bake and every 30 minutes, baste the cheesecloth again with the basting broth. When you run out of your premade supply, then just take it from the bottom of the roasting pan. You have to have the bird on a wire rack and not that slotted baking pan that comes with many ovens because you can't get the juices from the bottom of the pan with the slotted pan. The cheesecloth keeps the outside from getting too dried and also helps keep moisture in after it makes a "crust" over the skin of the turkey. If you like really crispy skin, you can take the cheesecloth off about 30 minutes before the end, but it's a pain to get it off, so I usually just leave it on until done. I've never had a problem with dried turkey with this method.

This sounds like a good method. But how do you get the cheesecloth off without pulling all the skin off?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cook breast down so the juices from fatty parts dribble Down and keep the breast moist. I cover the wings with foil and bind the legs together. I also rub the skin with butter and kosher salt to make it crispy.

I do a very similar thing and it works out beautifully every time!

[Anonymous]

the finished temp is key, for sure.
i'm tempted to try a dry brine this year.