My Best Turkey Advice
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Photo by Sarah Plfug
I have been hosting Thanksgiving dinner for 20 years, and I have tried literally everything when it comes to cooking turkey. I’ve brined it, deep-fried it, marinated it, injected it, buttered it, dry-rubbed it, butterflied it, smoked it, and stuffed it. I’ve tried Kosher turkeys, organic turkeys, free-range turkeys, and self-basting turkeys.
A few years ago, I even bought an oil-less outdoor propane turkey fryer called “The Big Easy,” which freed up my oven and actually made a wonderfully crisp-skinned and juicy turkey. (If you want to spend $160 on a large piece of equipment that will likely sit in storage collecting cobwebs 364 days a year, I highly recommend it!)
From all this fussing with turkeys, I’ve come to realize that my turkey will never be perfect.
Let’s face it: turkeys, on their own, just aren’t very good. That’s what gravy and cranberry sauce are for.
As Mary Risley from Tante Marie’s Cooking School humorously points out in the video below (which you should definitely watch, especially if you have any turkey-cooking anxiety), “I have never had an outstanding turkey.”
(Heads up: This video contains some foul language.)
Short of purchasing a special turkey cooker (this is the one I have), it is near impossible to cook a turkey perfectly: the white meat always cooks before the dark meat is done, and the skin on the bottom is never crisp (unless you flip the hot, sputtering bird mid-way through cooking…ummm, no thank you).
So is it really worth it to go to great lengths — brining in big coolers for days in the garage, risking life and limb deep-frying in the driveway, pre-icing the breast of the turkey so it cooks more slowly (I swear, there’s a very respectable cooking magazine that wants you to do this) — to make that be-all-and-end-all turkey?
It’s up to you, but I’m not interested in babysitting my turkey for three days to get only marginally better results at the end.
My advice to you on Thanksgiving is to keep it simple. Make an easy roast turkey recipe (I’m a fan of dry-brined turkey), with an over-the-top delicious gravy, a rich stuffing, and some cranberry sauce to go with it. (Or, if you really don’t want to stress, go ahead and buy your turkey already roasted!) Serve lots of wine (you’ll find this food and wine pairing guide handy for the holidays) and focus your time and creativity on the side dishes and desserts because that’s what everyone really looks forward to anyway.
Wishing you a happy and stress-free Thanksgiving! ❤️
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Hi Jenn,
I have been truly enjoying so many of your recipes, in fact I’m eating a blueberry muffin with my coffee right now! And your soup recipes – yum! I’m soooo happy you posted this turkey talk information. I seriously stress way too much about the turkey every year, for exactly the reasons you’ve listed. I consider myself a pretty darn good cook, but I have been defeated by a stupid, dead bird in my own kitchen several years now. Well no more!!
Thank you!
Hi Grace, You’ll get smoke with butter. Sorry!
Hi Jenn,
Thanks for the reminder to keep it simple. That video was HI-larious. Seriously. You bring light to the fact that we all take the darn turkey too seriously. It really is the sides that make the dinner. Thanks for your real world wisdom. Im barbequing my bird so my kitchen won’t be 500 degrees by suppertime. Lol . Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and thanks for all of the wonderful recipes.
Thank you…had a few belly laughs reading this. Happy Thanksgiving!🦃
You are hilarious! Thanks for the sensible, humorous advice. Have a great Thanksgiving@
I don’t feel the need to serve and present a whole turkey. I’d rather have good tasting, tender meat. I’ve been cooking turkey parts for several years. Do the legs and thighs separately from the breast. That solves the problem of dry white meat. I also have brined and smoked the breast with very good luck. I like my dark meat at almost 185 and the breast at no more than 165. Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone!!
This is the best Thanksgiving advice on the internet! We started going to the beach for the week of Thanksgiving and have a very minimal T-Day dinner. We have been cooking our turkey like this for years and makes the holiday much more enjoyable when one part of it is easy, quick and works consistently.
I quit buying turkeys….I roast chickens instead! My family LOVES this and specifically asks I do that each year instead. A lot easier to handle and just tastes better!!
Us too! we happily gave up turkey a few tdays ago. This year we are doing a chicken and pork tenderloin
Simple – Common sense – Fantastic!
Thanks Jenn, it is supposed to be fun 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed your turkey segment! Thank you!