upside down allows the juices to run into the breast and keep it moist. During the last hour of roasting, the bird is turned right side up. I remember the year that my friend Michelle and I tried this method. The person who gave us the instructions forgot to mention putting the bird on a rack, and when we went to turn the bird right side up, about half of the breast stuck to the pan. In subsequent, nonholiday kitchen tests, the turning always made for some kind of disaster (usually the skin tears around the drumsticks) and the bird ended up looking as if it had been in an accident. If you have ever tried to turn a hot, greasy 25-pound turkey right side up, especially after having downed a Bloody Mary, you know it is a job not to be taken lightly. There are easier ways to keep the breast moist.
Cheesecloth Turkey. The oiled turkey is covered with cheesecloth dipped in melted butter. I have no idea what advantage it provides—could the cheesecloth act as a wick, drawing the juices over the breast? The cheesecloth is pulled off during the last hour of roasting, but mine always seems to stick to the skin. If you can discern any improvement of flavor or moisture, you are better than I am.
Paper Bag Turkey. I haven’t been able to try this method recently, even though it was popular when I was growing up. These days, it’s hard to find paper bags that are large enough, and most supermarkets have converted to plastic bags. I wouldn’t advise roasting a turkey in today’s chemical-loaded recycled paper bags anyway.
Roasting Bag Turkey. The concept of the paper bag turkey generally has been replaced by cooking the turkey in the modern roasting bag. The bird turns out steamed, not roasted, and a pale steamed turkey isn’t my idea of a terrific Thanksgiving centerpiece. The turkey tends to fall apart when you take it out of the bag (that is, when the bag doesn’t stick to the bird). If you decide to try this method, and it is a timesaver, note that the instructions that come with the bag do not say to season the turkey. When I called the company’s consumer hotline to ask about this, the person I spoke with said the company assumes that most people who use their product will be using defrosted frozen self-basting turkeys that are already seasoned from the moistening agents. Season birds that are not self-basting. My Thanksgiving nightmare turkey would be a self-basted bird in a roasting bag. I know a lot of people cook their turkey this way, but it sure doesn’t taste like roast turkey to me!
Foil-Wrapped Turkey. Again, the bird ends up steamed, not roasted, and lacks flavor and color. But again, it saves time.
Overnight Turkey. Never try to roast a turkey overnight at low temperatures. It is a very unsafe method that creates the warm, moist atmosphere that can turn the inside of your turkey into a Petri dish. And never partially roast the turkey, refrigerate it, and try to finish the cooking later. It is equally dangerous.
I have a convection oven, but I am nervous to try convection on my holiday turkey. What to do?
Don’t be nervous! The vast majority of cooking schools, where I perfected these recipes, have convection ovens, and I use them more often than not. (However, the estimated cooking times in this book are for conventional ovens.) The circulating hot air of a convection oven gives the turkey an evenly browned surface, but with the added advantage of reducing the estimated roasting time. The common rule of conversion from conventional roasting to convection heat is to reduce the temperature by 25°F, and to cut the time by one-third. I follow the temperature adjustment when I am making smaller items like baked goods, but for a large turkey, I keep the temperature at 325°F, and leave it at that. If the turkey is done a bit ahead of time, so much the better.
What about stuffing the bird?
In recent years, this issue has become quite a hot potato, as some cooks are concerned about the stuffing encouraging
Cheesecloth Turkey. The oiled turkey is covered with cheesecloth dipped in melted butter. I have no idea what advantage it provides—could the cheesecloth act as a wick, drawing the juices over the breast? The cheesecloth is pulled off during the last hour of roasting, but mine always seems to stick to the skin. If you can discern any improvement of flavor or moisture, you are better than I am.
Paper Bag Turkey. I haven’t been able to try this method recently, even though it was popular when I was growing up. These days, it’s hard to find paper bags that are large enough, and most supermarkets have converted to plastic bags. I wouldn’t advise roasting a turkey in today’s chemical-loaded recycled paper bags anyway.
Roasting Bag Turkey. The concept of the paper bag turkey generally has been replaced by cooking the turkey in the modern roasting bag. The bird turns out steamed, not roasted, and a pale steamed turkey isn’t my idea of a terrific Thanksgiving centerpiece. The turkey tends to fall apart when you take it out of the bag (that is, when the bag doesn’t stick to the bird). If you decide to try this method, and it is a timesaver, note that the instructions that come with the bag do not say to season the turkey. When I called the company’s consumer hotline to ask about this, the person I spoke with said the company assumes that most people who use their product will be using defrosted frozen self-basting turkeys that are already seasoned from the moistening agents. Season birds that are not self-basting. My Thanksgiving nightmare turkey would be a self-basted bird in a roasting bag. I know a lot of people cook their turkey this way, but it sure doesn’t taste like roast turkey to me!
Foil-Wrapped Turkey. Again, the bird ends up steamed, not roasted, and lacks flavor and color. But again, it saves time.
Overnight Turkey. Never try to roast a turkey overnight at low temperatures. It is a very unsafe method that creates the warm, moist atmosphere that can turn the inside of your turkey into a Petri dish. And never partially roast the turkey, refrigerate it, and try to finish the cooking later. It is equally dangerous.
I have a convection oven, but I am nervous to try convection on my holiday turkey. What to do?
Don’t be nervous! The vast majority of cooking schools, where I perfected these recipes, have convection ovens, and I use them more often than not. (However, the estimated cooking times in this book are for conventional ovens.) The circulating hot air of a convection oven gives the turkey an evenly browned surface, but with the added advantage of reducing the estimated roasting time. The common rule of conversion from conventional roasting to convection heat is to reduce the temperature by 25°F, and to cut the time by one-third. I follow the temperature adjustment when I am making smaller items like baked goods, but for a large turkey, I keep the temperature at 325°F, and leave it at that. If the turkey is done a bit ahead of time, so much the better.
What about stuffing the bird?
In recent years, this issue has become quite a hot potato, as some cooks are concerned about the stuffing encouraging
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