Three Easy Tips for Perfecting Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Byamazingfoodstv


How to be a Thanksgiving hero?
1. Don’t baste your bird.
2. Salt under the skin.
3. Use wings to make gravy.

#thanksgiving

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20 Comments

  5. ‪I’m roasting my first turkey ever this year. Can I apply the roasting techniques outlined in your nov/dec09 issue of Cooks Illustrated in an electric air roasting oven (aka Nesco)? Most notably, do I still flip the turkey and do I still crank the heat up at the end after removing the stuffing?‬ Or should I just go with the turkey roasting instructions that came with the roaster?

  6. Thanks for the tips! It won't help me though because I'm allergic to poultry since I was 6 years old. So when Thanksgiving and all these holidays roll around I come up with something else to eat. If I go to other peoples houses that have the full turkey dinner then I usually get mashed potatoes maybe some vegetables and maybe some desserts. So I usually try to stay home for the holidays. Lol!

  15. I love ATK, I rely heavily on them for recipe testing and tasting. But I have to disagree with the whole: don’t baste your bird statement. Here is why; my family has been making the same turkey recipe for over 50 years. It’s for a “black turkey” should you want to look it up. It starts with a basting fluid made on the stove top, and brought to a simmer. In other words; it’s hot. After using it all up, from the stove top, we then use whats in the bottom of the roasting pan and keep basting. It’s every 15 minutes. Basting this hot liquid over the bird, in my opinion; can help cook the bird more thoroughly. Hot liquid transfers heat energy better then hot air. Fact. Additionally, there is a huge debate on the net about using stuffing. The idea that the stuffing in the center of the bird doesn’t get adequately cooked when the outside of the bird is done. Here is where basting can help as well. I am continually basting that fluid over the stuffing sticking out the back of the bird. I think that hot liquid, migrates into the stuffing ensuring it is adequately cooked as well. 50+ year, nobody has ever gotten food poisoning from my meal. I’d love to have an actual test kitchen challenge done, accurately measuring the temp of the inside of the bird meat, and inside of the stuffing, both by basting and NOT basting and see the results. Chew on it ATK. Love you guys!!!!!

  16. What's the best way to cook a whole turkey? Big turkeys are so big that it's harder to cook them evenly than, say, chicken. Especially considering the different ideal cooking times for white and dark meat. A whole roasted bird looks nice, but I'd rather serve it parted if it means juicier, tastier meat. Besides, we cut into it immediately anyway. Spatchcocking like a chicken probably also ruins the whole bird aesthetic. If I was making the turkey this year I'm thinking I would part it and then sous vide the parts. Then put a sear on to color the skin, perhaps using the broiler or a heat gun/Searzall. Or even a hot pan. Then I'd simply serve a platter with different parts on it: legs, thighs, breasts. No dry turkey meat. No tacky breast meat.

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