How to Roast a Turkey
In addition to his new, encyclopedic Cooking, James Peterson has collected tips, culinary advice (how to season a pan, sharpen a knife, freeze clear ice cubes), and basic recipes in What's a Cook to Do. He gives step-by-step carving advice and includes a no-frills roasting recipe that exists at the opposite end of the spectrum from James Beard's chatty recipe for his own favorite bird. Great for a beginner or an old hand that simply doesn't want to fuss too much with the turkey, this is a building block of the Thanksgiving world.
How To Roast A Turkey
Procedure
1. Rest the turkey on the neck and giblets in a roasting pan to keep the turkey from sticking. Let the turkey come to room temperature for 4 hours before roasting.
2. Tie the drumsticks together to keep the turkey looking neat.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
4. Fold a triple-thick triangular sheet of aluminum foil just large enough to cover the turkey breast without covering the thighs. Smear one side of the foil with butter and set it on the turkey breast butter side down.
5. Roast until the thighs are well browned, about an hour, and remove the foil. Start checking the internal temperature by inserting an instant-read thermometer between the thigh and the breast. If the temperature is above l00°F and the breast is not yet brown, raise oven temperature to 425°F.
6. Roast turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the meat between the thigh and the breast reads about 147°F. Cover the turkey loosely with aluminum foil and let rest in a warm place for at least 20 minutes before carving.
Hints
- Start the roasting process by taking the turkey out of the refrigerator for several hours before roasting to let it come to room temperature. It will roast more quickly and evenly
- Don't use a roasting rack, which can cause the turkey to stick to the rack and tear the skin. It also allows the juices to drip down on the burning hot roasting pan and burn rather than caramelize
- Cover the breast with a buttered sheet of aluminum foil for the first 40 minutes of roasting to slow the cooking so it is done at the same time as the thighs
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9 Comments:
This is almost identical to Alton Brown's method, buttered aluminum foil triangle and all, except Alton doesn't skip the brining. But is the internal temperature that James Patterson suggests correct? I have never taken poultry out of the oven before it reaches 160F.
Jeana at 2:28PM on 11/14/07
I'm assuming that they're depending on carryover to take the bird up to 160, but in reality I've never gotten more than 5-10 degrees of rise out of a medium sized turkey (w/o stuffing).
NTSCBlogdotcom at 2:51PM on 11/14/07
Yeah, 135°F is way too low. Even in a hot kitchen, I get maybe 10 degrees carry over on a piece of meat, even wrapped in foil.
toddself at 5:06PM on 11/14/07
I agree, I was almost going to print this out until it said 135. We have never brined our turkey and we think it's juicy and tasty as-is, but it's almost impossible to find a good recipe that doesn't include that as an instruction.
Also, why don't turkey recipes at least give you an ESTIMATE of how long it's going to take from start to finish, maybe with some different estimates with different weights?
rockandroller at 8:31AM on 11/15/07
UPDATE
Thanks for the comments here, folks. We've corrected the recipe and upped the temp in Step 6 to 147°F, which is what is listed in Peterson's Cooking. I don't know how 135° got in there, but we regret the error. Everything should be good now.
Adam Kuban at 1:52PM on 11/15/07
Just a reminder...don't baste, never baste. Opening the oven causes heat loss, longer cooking time and an even dryer bird.
Of course you can always do a suckling pig or goose.
www.fusiononthefly.com
Karl Wilder at 1:32PM on 11/12/08
I have to say that in my opinion basting is key! keep checking back every 15-20 mins to take the liquid from the pan that the turkey is sitting in and pour it over the bird, this reinfuses the flavors and keeps the bird moist, not to mention giving the skin that extra flavor and crisp! Timing your turkey depends on the weight which is usually on the wrapping, the calculations are pretty standard and can be found online. For even better taste, slowly slide your fingers between the skin and the flesh, separating them but not making any or too many holes, pour olive oil and spread around with your hands, then do the same which your herb mixture (suggest rosemary, oregano, salt, pepper, ...), you can slice up some garlic and put in there too. YUM!
kjellis240 at 3:48PM on 11/14/08
I have done my turkeys both with and without basting and have never had an issue either way--although I prefer the non-basting because it means less work. We also use a tin foil dome over the turkey to help seal in moisture.
lindsayvankirk at 3:49PM on 11/12/09
Uhm..clicked on "Creamy Corn Soup with Bacon and Cheddar Crostini" and I got roast turkey?
The linky needs a little fixin'.
CJ McD at 6:02PM on 11/12/09