Was Your Turkey Dry?

Some of my own personal observations:

- a turkey is a HUGE bird

- people only cook turkey once a year

- most guidelines for cooking turkey overcook the turkey

- most people are terrified of undercooking poultry

Trying something once a year isn't usually great for learning. It's a long feedback cycle and cooking for a special occasion disincentivises risk taking/experimentation. Same goes for risk of inflicting food poisoning for a large group. Cooking something so large is sufficiently different from roasting a chicken (for example) that people lack confidence/get it wrong.

This leads to the quaint cultural tradition of millions of people overcooking their turkey on thanksgiving in the US and on Christmas in the UK.

That said I always thought the US generally ate turkey more so their turkey game was better.

Fwiw my turkey has never been dry but I come from a family of cooks.

There is no reason for dry turkey. It is all about cooking temperature, especially with the white meat.

You really want to make sure the white meat never gets above 145 F ish. The easiest way to do this is with sous vide but you can it other ways if you follow the process correctly. With sous vide it is basically impossible to mess up.

My Process:

  1) Carve raw turkey in to major pieces like you would a chicken.
  2) Place white breast meat in one plastic bag.  Dark in a second bag
  3) Add some salt/pepper or other spices to bag, along with some butter or fat/oil.  
  4) Remove air from bags as best you can
  5) Sous vide at 145 F for 3 hours
  6) Remove white meat bag from water, Raise temp to 165 for 2 more hours
  7) At this point meat it done and can be refrigerated for a day or two. 
  8) Remove meat from bag, put in large dish under broiler until skin is crisp.

I've been following this process for years and it just works.

After one of my two turkeys was taken by a predator, we rehomed her sister because she was lonely and becoming aggressive with th hens. Because of that, we didn't have our traditional "turkey day" but they sent photos and she's doing quite well. She didn't get the same spread as last year but at least she has a companion. As there was a little rain over the last couple days, I'm sure she's at least a little damp.

All the brining advice is good, but in my opinion there's an even easier way to avoid dry turkey- spatchcocking. Get some good poultry shears and remove the spine of the bird, then press down on the sternum and splay the bird out. Everything gets more evenly exposed to heat, it takes way less time to cook, I've never made a bird (turkey or chicken) this way that wasn't delicious. Most frozen turkeys are already thoroughly brined so imo (and the opinions of many recipe writers) it's not strictly necessary.

Nope. Dry brined my turkey 2 days in advance, which let the salt break down the stringy fibers in the breast, and let the turkey retain more water. Then put it in a wire stand and smoked it vertically (same orientation as beer can chicken but with a wire stand.)

The thighs took the brunt of the abuse from the heat source, and the vertical temp gradient in the smoker (and the orientation of the breast) ensured that the white meat cooked slowly and gently. The canal allowed its own updraft of hot air also, which cooked the turkey inside and out and let me pull it without having to wait for the “cavern of cold” to heat up. There was also no evaporative cooling in the vertical position like there is in the horizontal (usually a pool of liquid forms in the canal which causes me to have to really abuse the turkey with heat to cook it through. Not so in the vertical position.)

Pulled it with the breast at ~155 and thighs at ~167. Best turkey I’ve ever done.

Personally, when doing Friendsgiving or similar events I've solved the problem by cooking a duck instead. It's equally uncommon as turkey for nearly everyone that comes over. Before I had started doing it even I had never actually had a whole roasted duck. The grocery stores closest by me have started carrying less common poultry but it's usually incredibly marked up, but if I go down town to China Town the duck is still cheaper than turkey.

For proper family Thanksgiving, my family kind of suffered through dry turkey for years. Not really realizing there was room for improvement. My extended family is huge so we always had atleast two turkeys, usually one done by grandma and one by the host. Some years back my dad found this new turkey cooking kit he wanted to try when we hosted. It came with a needle, marinade and a new contraption for cooking the turkey. The turkey was universally loved by the family and everyone felt bad for disliking my grandma's traditional one so much in comparison.

The new device my dad had found was a turkey deep fryer. This was years before every single fire department around the country universally panned them and all the videos of people burning their houses down came out. But it is easily the best turkey I've ever had and if I'm ever cooking turkey for Thanksgiving will be the method I use. Family Thanksgiving have been on the smaller sides in recent year, but I plan to do as much research and buy the safest one if I ever get put in charge of making the turkey.

If you're going to oven roast your turkey, BRINE IT FIRST.

The single best turkey i've ever had came out of a Big Green Egg hybrid smoker thing, which is kind of ungodly expensive so I don't own one, but does an excellent job at cooking thick cuts and whole birds and the like.

No. I use a recipe from an old Good Housekeeping Cookbook.

  + Put the bird in a roasting pan
  + Put foil over the roasting pan.
  + Cook at 450F
  + For the last 30 minutes, remove the foil

The standard instructions produce dry turkey because they are solely focused on food safety to reduce liability. Think about it this way, if you are using the "recipe" on the packaging, then you don't have experience cooking a turkey another way.

No, we skipped turkey and did a Wild-mushroom Shepard's Pie.

I understand this comment is not necessarily helpful to OP, but I would just suggest that given the stress and energy of cooking turkey that people consider creating new traditions.

Yes, although I didn't cook it (somebody else deep fried it). When I cook poultry I always get comments about how moist, yet fully cooked the meat is (both breast and thigh).

My tricks: spatchcock, aluminum foil on the breast, temp probe, and pulling it before it reaches target temp. Most people are overcooking their turkey (typically the breast) so that the thighs are fully done. Spatchcock fixes the surface area to volume ratio, the foil addresses the differential cooking of breast and thigh, and the temp probe ensures you're not under or overcooking.

I've never brined a turkey, but my guess is that's the last step to perfection.

I found this recipe a few years ago and it’s my go to. The brine is the key. Also not cooking a turkey to 180. Everybody I feed it to is shocked by how moist the turkey is. Also the gravy in this recipe is the best hands down I’ve ever had. I actually make turkey a few times year because of this recipe.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/brined-herb...

Canadian here, so I had my turkey fix earlier this fall. And it was not dry. What is "dry" anyway? For meat: Mostly the lack of water and fat. Water and fat provide flavor and improve texture...so without them, turkey is basically poultry leather. We want hot, juicy, tasty turkey, right? I tried "wet brining" which for me, sucks. That's it. And Yeah...it was a juicy turkey...but watery mush juicy. If soft, pillowy, flavorless turkey is your goal, go for it. For me? Nope. (read up on what Kenji Lopez-Alt has to say...he is spot on!) Dry brine is much better. Anyhow, my method is simple: Slow, longer cook... 300F.. in a Big Green Egg. I usually go until it is 140F or so inside and hold it there for 20 min or so. This does take a few hours, but it works every time. Always delish. Most dry birds are overcooked. People start the oven at 450, toss the bird in, and leave it until the inside is 180. If I am doing it inside? Spatchcock or otherwise break the bird down for more even cooking... and then in a slowish oven.

All these people in this thread, talking about cooking like it's alchemy.

Brining doesn't add moisture. Dry brining actually removes moisture. Wet brining merely deposits salt and flavors in the surface of the meat via osmosis.

Salt also helps the protein structure break down, which makes the meat more tender, but for a bird as large as a turkey, it's really not penetrating that far, especially for the short time periods people are brining their turkeys.

In short, brining is only for flavor.

Moisture in the bird is a function of not losing what moisture is there already. There are two things you have to do: don't overcook the bird, and let the bird rest after cooking.

That's it. It's not hard. Get a digital probe thermometer. They are cheap, probably less than the cost of the turkey itself, and easy to use. You set it up to alarm when the internal temperature hits 165F and you immediately remove the bird and let it set for half an hour. You have to actively go out of your way to screw it up.

Everything else is dressing.

Nope.

For preparation, put it on a chicken roasting pan, and "painted" it with melted butter. Sprinkled on some salt, pepper, fresh sage that grows in our yard, rosemary, and some garlic powder. I stuffed lemons and onion pieces in the middle.

I used an always-in thermometer in the thigh. Baked it at 325°F with the foil on until the thigh hit 135°F — about 3 hours for our 13-pound bird — then removed foil, drizzled a bit of an olive oil/garlic powder/salt mix over the top, and then let it continue to bake until the thigh hit 165°F. At that point the breast was 175°F.

Took it out and let it set for about 45 minutes before carving. I think that's the important part. Juices thicken and settle in the meat instead of running everywhere.

I think the two key things was constant temperature monitor (over-cooking means dry) and letting it set (early-cutting loses juices).

Not dry at all. I sous-vided the beast at 145 for a couple hours and then threw on a hot grill to brown the outside. Super moist but not particularly crispy skin.

Daughter said the white meat was the best she had ever had. (She might be biased though.)

Nope - just like about every other protein the key is to not overcook it.

I personally thing spatchcocking the turkey is the way to go. The cavity is your enemy for an evenly cooked bird. With that big cavity you have trapped cold air on the inside and hot air on the inside making it hard to get the inside and outside cooked at the same time. Stuffing the cavity only makes that worse.

By spatchcock you eliminate the air pocket - it cooks more evenly and in about half the time.

I eat turkey as semi-regular meal.

- Buy parts, just the dark meat.

- Sous vide - salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, rosemary, 155C for 24hr. (breast would be 145 for fewer hours)

- Make a roux, add bag juices and a bit of acid (dijon and sherry vinegar) -> gravy (1:1 butter:flour, 1:10 roux : bag juices)

- Broil the thighs on high -> crispy on the outside, perfectly cooked on the inside.

You can leave the last step for another day and put the bag (sans juices) straight in the fridge. Then perfect turkey becomes an easy weeknight meal.

Smoked turkey. Never dry. Always perfect. Deep fry, if cannot smoke. Lot's of labor and trepidation. Bake if I do not have other choices.

My turkey was moist and flavorful!

(It all depends on how the turkey is prepared and cooked. Don't do something silly like cook it quickly at 500 degrees. My dad's aunt used to do that and the turkey was very dry as a result.)

To make a moist turkey, buy a brined or kosher turkey at the grocery store. (The turkey is shipped in salt water.) 2-3 days before you cook it, rub it with salt and spices and let it sit in the refrigerator. Before you cook it, rub it with butter and spices. Stuff with onions and oranges. If you use an oven, cover the roasting pan to hold in the moisture. Cook it at 325 for a few hours.

I've also made a small turkey in a croc pot. It was extremely moist and didn't need gravy at all.

The recipe that I followed this year was: https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Dry-Brined-Roast-Turkey-with-G.... In addition to that: I bought a brined turkey, I stuffed with 2 chopped onions and 3 clementines, and I tightly covered the roasting pan with foil.

Since turkey is only eaten once a year we deep fry it to a delicious golden brown.

My family skipped the turkey and had steak instead.

My wife and I get a greenberg smoked turkey delivered.. I know it's probably not as fun as cooking one, but we tend to go nuts on the sides, so having an awesome smoked turkey just shipped to us works. Plus they have the best website url ever, https://gobblegobble.com

The turkey that would have been mine is still alive.

When I stopped eating meat in 1990, people saw it as a burden on them. Over the years, more joined the bandwagon, not that I did anything that people haven't been doing for centuries. Now if anyone seems to need to explain, it seems the omnivores, though all families are unique.

I used an oven bag for the first time ever yesterday. It did wonders for making the turkey moist. I also stuffed it with orange slices in addition to the usual aromatics, so that may have helped some too. The skin however was not crispy. Next year I might finish it off by searing the skin somehow.

Adam Ragusea: STOP TRYING TO MAKE TURKEY TASTE GOOD - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rb2iQALiXU

tl;dw - dry turkey is to be expected and it doesn't need to be fixed, that's why you have gravy et al.

Haven't seen any advice similar to what I did. Recently came into a convection oven so used that on a 14lb bird, unstuffed. Basically zero prep, coated with olive oil and chopped herbs. Un-trussed and baked uncovered at 325 convection. Put BBQ remote temperature probes into breast and thigh. Saw that the thigh wasn't getting warmer as desired so we flipped the bird from breast-up to thighs/legs up at around 130f. Pulled it at 165f in the breast, 172f in the thigh (many would say too hot) and let it sit for ~20min. It was still nice and moist to the point it was kind of difficult to slice the white meat.

BBQ thermometers can take nearly all the guesswork out as you can get continuous temperature measurements. Use them no matter your target temp or technique.

No it wasn't dry:

- I used 3-4 sticks of butter inside the cavity, under the skin, on the skin

- I stuffed the cavity was apples, onions, anything with moisture

- I basted every 30-45 minutes

- I tented the turkey after the skin was crisp enough

- I cooked low and slow at 350 F over a long period of time

- I avoided overcooking, using a meat thermometer took it out ASAP around 160-165

This year I...

- brined in a mix of salt, sugar and herbs for around 36 hours

- injected a butter mix under the skin (this one was my partner's idea so I'm not sure how if affected the outcome, but I suppose it couldn't hurt)

- fried the turkey in peanut oil

It came out really, really well. Process improvement for next year is to remember it took a bit longer than expected for the oil to heat up so it threw off timing with all the side dishes, so get the oil heated before you need it. I'd also be curious if buying an organic bird changes the taste.

The turkey was always dry during my Thanksgivings growing up, so when I hosted my own Thanksgiving dinner, I was determined to get it right. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Deep fried at 350F for just over an hour. Bird was ~17lbs. Pulled with the thickest part of the breast at 155F (other parts were hotter).

Did pseudo "dry brine" by salting it lightly 48h before it's molten bath. Came out juicy and, more importantly for the skin lovers, crackly.

Best turkey ever this year, new trick was buttering between the skin and breast.

16lb bird, brined. Followed the "in the fridge for 1 day per 4 pounds" rule of thumb. Loosened (carefully, without puncturing) the skin between the breast and smeared in-between with 2 sticks of herb butter. Stuffed it with 2 quartered lemons, 2 quartered onions, and a tied-up bundle of savory herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary) Put a couple pats of butter on the top as well, and started it off with 30 minutes at 400. Then reduced the heat to 325 for the remaining 3-3.5 hours. Tucked the wings under the bird on the roasting rack, tied the legs. Baste on the hour, when it's the right color, cover with foil.

Nope. Spatchcock it and then it will cook evenly.

The primary reason for dry turkey is overcooking it. The main reason people over cook it is not having an accurate temperature probe and not knowing the right temperature to pull it. I thought I had a good thermometer early on until I discovered ThermoWorks. Their thermometers are what you will find in a majority of commercial kitchens. There are other details like brining the turkey, cooking temperature, etc. check this article from ThermoWorks as a start: https://www.thermoworks.com/cooking-turkey/

Nope it was moist and delicious! Separated the skin from the meat and rubbed with salt and sugar. 450 for an hour then 325 until the internal temp was at 157+. Breast was foiled to prevent overcooking.

No, not dry.

I've settled into a citrus-brined turkey, roasted in a ceramic grill with hardwood lump and a piece of orange wood. This year it took 4.5 hours at between 220-300 F (after stuffing with more citrus, encasing in citrus butter, basting twice with citrus butter).

Besides an 18 hour brine soak (followed by water and then bourbon rinse), the key is to closely monitor temperature. Took it out when inner thigh was 173F. After taking off the grill, the breast meat reached 161F.

Guests said it is the best turkey they've ever had.

I went with multiple small birds. I found < 14lbs easier to manage and the meat isn't as tough.

Some observations over the years:

1. Keep the humidity high in the oven. Add liquid to the roasting pan. I also added a tray of water to the BBQ when I used a rotisserie this year

2. Don't stuff the bird, or if you do, only use aromatics like orange/onion/bay leaf, and do it loosely

3. Add a fat to the skin

4. Brine your bird for 24 hours, dry it completely

5. Don't go directly from fridge to oven. Add some time outside of the fridge to come up in temperature

I gave up on Turkeys a long time ago after realizing no one really liked it. The Whole Foods organic chicken yesterday was so perfect I'm still thinking about it.

I had my 'turkey' in October, but will still answer.

Local retailers were profiteering hard on Turkey, so I got a large chicken for like 1/3 of the price per pound.

And no, not dry.

It is common though because most people aren't roasting turkeys that often, are afraid of poisoning their guests so they err on the side of caution. Also some people are just bad cooks but people are nice on Thanksgiving and will never actually tell them.

Gene Burns, the late radio talk show host in San Francisco, was a serious foodie, and would have Chef Marc as a guest every Thanksgiving eve. His technique involves high heat: 450°-475°F, the technique that restaurants actually use:

http://www.chefmarc.com/high-heat-turkey/

The turkey I cook is not dry at all thanks to https://www.seriouseats.com/buying-prepping-cooking-carving-...

Unfortunately I was not the turkey chef this year. Which meant decent dark meat but bone dry white meat.

Get a heritage turkey. They are free range, harvested at an older age, and they are hung for several day like pheasants after being killed as opposed to factory-style turkeys from the supermarkets. They way they are preserved it what contributes to salmonella.

Because they are hung to age after being harvested, heritage turkeys only need about 90 minutes in the oven.

No, and I didnt brine either. I cooked three turkeys sous-vide (which is a terrible name) at 147F - 150F for a few hours and they came out perfectly tender and juicy. even after multiple reheats. The downside is that the fat and skin doesnt render, so you either have to give up on that or do another process to get it - a broiler does the job though.

My turkey is never dry. I debone it, make stock with the bones, roll the legs together and glue them with transglutaminase, roll the breasts in the skin and glue them too. I cook the breasts and legs in two sous-vide baths. Finish them by roasting them in a pan. They're juicy and delicious and the homemade stock makes a better gravy!

I soud-vided the bird. I served the dark meat as a roulade, and it was not dry. The white meat, I am sous viding now (it is a different temp) so that I can have leftover thanksgiving sandwiches.

If you break down the bird before you cook it, you also get the carcass for stock ahead of time. That makes the stuffing and the gravy much easier logistically.

My Personal methods ranks

#1 -- Deep Fry. Absolute best turkey ever. Very Dangerous but danger imparts flavor ;)

#2 -- Spatchcock -- Creates a good golden bird, in 1/2 the time.

New Method saw a couple of years ago but is pretty effective

#3 -- Debone -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peeRWHI7FpY

No.

I followed this recipe: https://oven.anovaculinary.com/recipe/XfuP37eSjxZvmNh23jBJ

The act of adding steam to the cooking process and only using a 11 lb bird (with some flavor injection and dry brining) prevents drying.

For the last decade I spatchcock dry brine overnight, baste the skin with EVOO and fresh sage and rosemary, grill with offset heat, charcoal only, but not smoked). I take it to 150 on the breast. That might be against recommendation by 15 degrees but I haven’t killed anyone yet.

It’s juicy and perfect.

The turkey was as good as turkey gets. I disassemble the bird into back plus quarters, then lay them all flat on a half-sheet. Pull the skin off, season the bird, then lay the skin back on and salt it. High temperature to start, then back off; keep a thermometer probe in the thickest part of the breast.

No, I steam mine. For 22 lb, 2:10 at 400 °F on a rack above water in a foil-sealed tray. Cooks fast, difficult to dry out if you overcook it. I remove the skin first, cover in an herb-olive oil paste. If you want crispy skin, I suppose you could cook it separately (cracklings).

Yes, my turkey was dry. I used a thermometer and most of my turkey will end up in the trash. I doubt I’ll ever try again. My son agreed that next year we can just casino it (we live in a casino town). Or get turkey sandwiches somewhere casual.

NO! In fact, I did two this year, about five days apart, and they were both fantastic.

I deep fried them.

Incredibly juicy. When I was carving it, there was this little stream of juice that burst out like a tiny firehose. I felt like I was in an SNL parody.

My wife cooked it in a plastic bag. Also, I think it had never been frozen.

I follow Kenji's recipe in the Food Lab. Never a dry turkey (or chicken).

Mine was not dry. We brined it for 24 hours then cooked at 325 on the smoker. Came out moist and perfect. This is how I've done it for the last 3 years. Easiest way I've found to cook a turkey.

Brining poultry is an easy practice to increase flavor and decrease drying risk. Soak the bird overnight in a gallon of water with half a cup of sugar, half a cup of salt, and some herbs/spices.

Mine came out kind of overdone, yeah; I was trusting the little plastic popup thermometer doohickey that came with the bird. Guessing those are designed more with safety in mind than flavor.

Ours was moist and yummy. I followed the directions on the wrapper.

Got a pair of fresh turkeys from a nearby farm, brined in advance, put them in the smoker. Delicious juicy turkey, not at all like the typical dry turkey I had while growing up.

What do Americans eat on Xmas day?

In the UK obviously thanksgiving, but Turkey at Xmas is normal (and loads of the time it's dry and tasteless) - most other options are better.

Gotta say, while I'm not surprised, and it's probably st least partially response bias, it looks like HN has really got its turkey roasting game figured out.

I can expertly roast a turkey to perfection and people are still left wondering why I didn't make a brisket. Screw turkey. There is never left over brisket.

I just followed this advice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foA0MGUbYH0

Nope. Instead of roast turkey, my (Indian-American) family makes a turkey meatball curry. Cultural fusion at its most delicious, and guaranteed never dry.

I sous vide my turkey as I am a man of science :-)

Spatchcock and charcoal grill. Have never had a dry turkey this way. Much better than oven roasted and much harder to dry out.

I have heard that soaking the Turkey in brine for 24 hours beforehand can reduce the notorious dryness of the bird.

Ours seemed perfectly moist and everyone enjoyed it, but I do not eat turkey so I can’t give first hand knowledge.

American living in Iceland here.

Turkeys are frozen and terrible. So I made pork belly instead, and it was glorious.

Lots of butter under the skin, cover the whole thing with bacon for the first 90% of cooking time.

HN cooking column.

Reminder: you can happily comment and weigh in, but you don't have to upvote it

Genuine question, why do people on the internet expect everyone to be american?

Nope. Wifey made it in the pressure cooker.

Turkey done quickly and tasty.

I had Tofurky so yes but still not as dry as bird turkey

No. I deboned my turkey and smoked it. It was great.

My turkey was swordfish, so it was pretty good.

My turkey was not dry! Brined it overnight.

Yep. Wife insists on using a bag. It sux

No. My Turkey was mostly Pork.

thats what the gravy, cranberry, and stuffing are for

no because I made prime rib

Yes

Animal agriculture causes great environmental damage, extreme cruelty towards animals, and is all together unnecessary. Therefore, there was no turkey on my plate this Thanksgiving and avoided the problem you are having.