@SW-User You want the bird to be as dry as humanly possible on the outside to maximize crispy skin. Do your best job with paper towel then stick it in the fridge on a rack at least overnight.
@seaglass Roast the turkey as uncovered as possible because you want maximum air contact with the skin to make it super crispy. Recipes vary but I like starting at a 500F sear, turning it immediately down to 350, and then cooking for an hour and a half for a twelve pound bird. After that its like 15 minutes a pound but USE A THERMOMETER.
@SUPERVlXEN If you need to thaw your turkey in a hurry, immerse it under running water. A good system is to rig up a camp cooler in your bathtub and then let a little stream of water flow in and out. The circulating water will thaw it fast enough to cook it in the same day.
@DeWayfarer It looks delicious! The only thing I would change is I recommend a high heat blast at the beginning or end of cooking to crisp up the skin. Although I've moved to dry brining I've wet brined a million turkeys.
@AbsolutelyFabulous A good dry brine is the way to do things. Salt the exterior of the turkey and let it sit in the fridge uncovered overnight or even up to three days. You'll get crispier skin and intensely flavoured and very juicy meat.
People obsessively overcook turkey. It will not kill you. Aim for 150F/66C in the thigh meat, once it's at that for at least three minutes it will be pasteurized.
@mindstruggle That was alarmingly horny! Imma calm it down.
Don't stuff the turkey unless you a bird that is either horribly unsafe to eat or dry as shit. Cook the stuffing separately. It will be fine, I promise.
@Prettybratbi1tch Turkeys are not terrifying to roast. There's a lot of ways to maximize the best out of it but if you start with a thawed turkey just blot it dry, rub with oil, salt the fucker, and shove it in the oven on a rack over a container to catch the juices. You'll get a decent bird if you nail the final temperature.
@Notladylike Religiously stick to appropriate pasteurization temperatures in the turkey. That means like 150F/67C. It continues to cook after its out of the oven and a properly cooked turkey is a delicious, juicy turkey.
Also for my method, use clarified butter for the exterior of the turkey. Regular butter will burn during the initial sear stage.
@CountScrofula see I'm usually starting with deglazing and adding pre-made chicken stock. Usually the turkey my MIL buys doesn't leave me enough fat so I use butter, and since I'm a glutton I'll just use a whole stick. My biggest issue is exactly how much flour I should start with and how long to cook it in the butter and fat. I'm usually throwing in a cup and kinda pushing the flour paste around the pan for few minutes before adding the stock.
My mom always bought store bought gravy, my MIL was the one who taught me the little I do know.
@Starcrossed You want one tablespoon butter and one tablespoon flour per cup of gravy! An average carton of chicken stock will be two cups so that comes out to about there.
Also get some better than bouillon. It's higher quality than a carton of chicken stock and is an excellent flavour booster. This stuff:
@CountScrofula i use that in my chili [the beef kind] ... I may actually have some Chicken better than boullion in my fridge from a recipe this summer come to think of it...
@GlitterEater If you're in a hurry, spatchcocking a turkey will genuinely get you a more evenly roasted, higher-quality bird cooked in less time. You just have to deal with it not looking like a proper Thanksgiving turkey. But it fuckin' works damnit.
@Selah Awww. If you roast your turkey unstuffed (which you should) stick some flavourful stuff in the cavity. A half a lemon, stick of cinnamon, some herbs, whatever. It'll flavour everything and especially the gravy.
@catastrophecarnival Once the turkey is done let it sit out on a rack for a good half an hour minimum. You do not need to cover it and steam that wonderful crisp skin you made I promise it will stay hot. The turkey will get cold pretty quickly after you carve out the slices so serve immediately after carving.
@LordShadowfire Don't bother basting turkeys it really doesn't do much and just fucks with your cooking time. Once your bird is ready for the oven (if you haven't brined it), just rub oil into the skin and season liberally.
@MethDozer Dry brine is basically just throw some salt on it and let it dry out in the fridge and I've moved over to that. It gets the skin super fuckin crispy and the chemistry of putting salt on shit makes the meat jucier for some magic reason.
You can then do the seasoned butter trick which I have no qualms with cause butter is delicious.
