How to Cook a Moist and Flavorful Turkey

Nothing makes a holiday dinner special like a succulent, well roasted turkey. Follow these steps to ensure your turkey is as juicy and tasty as possible.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• turkey - frozen or fresh
• butter
• onions
• celery
• apple (optional)
• salt
• black pepper
• herbs for flavor
• roasting pan
• or aluminum foil
• meat thermometer

1. Is your bird fresh or frozen? A frozen turkey can take up to 3 days to thaw if it is small (6 to 10 lbs) and up to 5 days for a larger one. Always thaw a frozen turkey in the refrigerator to avoid bacterial contamination.
   
   When the turkey is completely thawed, remove the outer plastic wrapper and drain the liquid. Remove the paper package from inside of the turkey that contains the giblets and set this aside to cook into stock for the dressing. Look in the other end of the turkey to check for a gravy packet.

2. Rinse the turkey under cold water, taking care to rinse out the inner cavity. Drain well, making sure to let all of the water drain from the inner cavity. If your turkey has a cooking thermometer already inserted, take care not to disturb it.

3. Place the turkey breast up in a shallow roasting pan and pat dry with paper towels if needed. Tuck any loose skin back into the neck cavity. Soften butter in a microwave and rub turkey all over with the butter. Real butter is best for this purpose. You can use as much butter as you desire. It will keep the skin from becoming too dark and crispy while roasting. As an added step toward juiciness, separate the skin from the breast and rub the soft butter there as well. This will increase the moistness of the breast meat. If you don’t want to use butter, margarine, cooking oil or baking spray will work as well.
   
   At this point preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

4. Now it is time to season the turkey. Mix 2 tablespoons of salt with 1 teaspoon black pepper. Sprinkle this mixture on the outside over the butter that was already applied. Then chop two medium size onions and three stalks of celery and mix with half a stick of melted butter and herbs of your choice, such as rosemary, thyme or sage (or a mixture of all three). Place this mixture in the inner cavity. You can also add a chopped apple, if desired. The purpose of this mixture is to add flavor to the roasting bird – discard it after the turkey is cooked. Some cooks like to put sprigs of fresh rosemary under the skin of the breast to add more flavor to the breast meat. You can also tie the drumsticks together with cooking string if desired to give the finished product a better appearance. The inner cavity of the turkey will not spread open during roasting.
   
   It is recommended by experts that the dressing should not be cooked inside of the turkey. If you decide to do this however, use a meat thermometer to ensure that the interior of the bird and stuffing reaches 180 degrees F. Any food borne bacteria present will be killed by this temperature.

5. Cover your turkey with a roasting pan lid or loosely wrap with foil. Make sure the foil doesn’t touch the turkey or it will adhere to the skin during baking and be difficult to remove. It will also rip the skin away from the breast. If needed, use toothpicks to hold the foil away from the breast during baking. Cooking the bird in a covered roasting pan will make the meat more moist and tender.

6. Put your turkey into the pre heated oven for roasting. During the last 50 minutes of roasting time remove the lid of the roaster or foil so the skin will turn a golden brown color.
   
   Some cooks prefer to roast their turkey breast side down. This will ensure the breast meat will be super moist. Others like to use an oven bag to roast the turkey. However, oven bags have been known to burst during the cooking process, making a huge mess in the oven, not to mention ruining the bird.
   
   Without stuffing, small turkeys can take up to 2 ½ hours to cook and larger ones up to 5 to 6 hours. With stuffing, cooking will take quite a bit longer. Use a meat thermometer to check the doneness of the turkey by inserting the thermometer into the meaty part of the thigh. Avoid touching the bone. At 180 degrees F the turkey is done. The juices should be clear when the meat is pierced with a fork or knife. Pink juices mean the turkey is still undercooked.
   
   Even though most turkeys come equipped with a pre-inserted meat thermometer it is still a good idea to use your own. Sometimes the pre-inserted ones can become damaged in shipping and handling and will not work.

7. Take turkey from the oven and allow it to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Transfer to a serving platter.

Tips & Warnings

• Seasoned salt is a tasty alternative in place of the salt and pepper mixture to sprinkle on the turkey over the butter
• raw turkey can be contaminated with salmonella - so be sure and wash your hands well after handling the bird. Use hot water and soap to wash down your counter tops and anything else that comes in contact with the raw turkey. Use the dishwasher to wash pots and utensils and paper towels that you can dispose of afterwards.