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, like this dry-brined roast turkey, with an over-the-top delicious gravy 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 love this food and wine pairing guide) 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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Refreshing, funny, and useful!
That’s for your great advice. I love the video! Thanks for sharing. Have a lovely Thanksgiving.
The video is hilarious! Thanks for sharing and also for the advice. This will be the 38th Thanksgiving I’m hosting so I’ve had my share of turkey disasters from a turkey with tons of feathers still attached to having one finish cooking way before the guests arrived because I didn’t adjust the time for a convection oven. So my tried and true (after 37 years): Just stuff the darn bird, season with salt and pepper, butter the skin, and stick it in a the oven. I baste every once in a while (when I remember), and tent when the breasts are getting too brown. A remote meat thermometer also helps tremendously. Always comes out great!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Jenn!
😂
Mary Risley is absolutely hilarious! I was laughing out loud because it’s all true! Thanksgiving now is just my husband and I, but a couple of years ago I took a stand! I roast a chicken! With all the turkey day sides, but we both love roast chicken and don’t care for turkey…problem solved! Oh and your cranberry bread recipe has now taken the place of my late mother’s recipe for Thanksgiving breakfast! Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for all the great recipes!
This advice and video was spot-on perfect! Thank you 😊
Excellent advice and I absolutely LOVED the video … she is hilarious! Thank you for all of your amazing recipes – you help us to be better cooks every day! God Bless and Have a very Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to you! 🙂
Over the course of 20 years I’ve come to hate Thanksgiving — so much work for so little reward. A few years ago we started eating out on the day which was working out fine until the Pandemic. So last year when my 20-something daughter suggested a stay-at-home meal and she would help, I quickly turned that around to suggest SHE make the meal and I would help. She agreed! Every cook needs to experience cooking a Thanksgiving meal, right? Well of course she ran into all the same problems the rest of us do. So I’ll share the video and this blog and I’m sure she’ll feel better about the whole thing 🙂 (yes, she did agree to try again this year.) I’m grateful for OnceUponaChef!!
Kill it, cook it, eat it….well not really my motto (I wouldn’t kill anything)but I love to keep things simple. Enjoy your turkey everyone!
What perfect advice, and thanks for sharing the video…that was hilarious. I think this is so true. Why waste time you could be spending with loved ones (and a glass of Pinot noir) trying to make a perfect turkey when even a perfect turkey really isn’t that amazing lol.
What is your favorite thanksgiving side dish?
Glad you enjoyed it, Amy! My fave is definitely potatoes au gratin.
Love the video & your thoughtful, always entertaining emails interspersed with your delicious recipes. I have both of your cookbooks (yum!). Thanks, Jenn!
My friend at work told me a secret about cooking a turkey. First, I oil and season the bird the night before and I place the oiled and seasoned bird in a Reynold’s plastic bag and place it in the refrigerator overnight to marinate. Second (this is the tip) flip that bird and roast it in the Reynold’s plastic bag BREAST SIDE DOWN. The bird only roasts for 2-21/2 hours and the white meat is cooked, but juicy. No, you don’t have a crispy skin, but you do have a juicy, fully cooked bird. Also, once the turkey is in the oven, DO NOT open the oven door! Breast side down. Works every time.
I read in a magazine that an alternative to brining the turkey is to use a “baster injector” or “flavor injector”. Essentially, you inject the turkey with brine and/or melted butter at four strategic locations on the turkey. The exact instructions in the article were: “Right before cooking, when the turkey is at room temperature, inject each thigh and breast half with about 1 oz of liquid. Try to stick the bird only four times, so that the skin remains intact and the natural juices don’t run out.” I have not tried this, but plan to do it this year. I find brining too messy and more work than I want to do.
I’m known to my friends as the queen of poultry. My turkeys aren’t always perfect, but usually pretty good. I always start them breast side down for the first hour or hour and a half, depending on size. Then I flip them, with the help of sons, husband, for the rest of the time. It cooks way more evenly this way. Also, you can’t use the pop up timer. If you do, the turkey will be overdone. I’ve read that they are set to pop at 175 degrees. The turkey should come out at 165. On average, a 15 pound turkey will take no more than 3 hours, sometimes less.
Hope this helps.