WOW--best turkey ever

I'm trying a new technique for roasting two turkeys for Thanksgiving. Cook's Illustrated published a recipe this month for a slow-roasted (275F) turkey. The difference is the turkey is cut up into the breast, drumsticks, and thighs first. This allows you to roast each piece to its optimal temperature without over roasting the other parts. Will try the first one Monday as a test and report the results here.

 

OK, so I did a turkey today using this new technique and it's the best turkey I've ever done. I cut the turkey up into leg quarters and the breast and roasted per Cook's Illustrated's recipe and it turned out fantastic. They don't require brining first, but I did it anyway since I've been doing it for years and have confidence in brining. The leg quarters were done first so I pulled them out. The drumsticks and thighs were uniformly moist and flavorful. The breast needed another 45 minutes and it was the juiciest turkey breast I've ever had. Usually drumsticks and breasts get dried out while the thighs finish cooking, but with this technique that problem is avoided. This is how we'll be doing all turkeys in the future--including Thursday.

If you're interested in the details I posted a link in the turkey thread for a free trial subscription to Cook's Illustrated online edition.

 

Do you think you could stage your start times so everything finishes at the same time?

 

I looked at that copy of Cook's Illustrated. Sounded interesting and like a great idea. I just let my subscription expire but I might start it back up.

 

So the dark meat was done first?

 

I have cooked my turkey in an oven bag for the last 15 years or so. Simple and no brining needed. It is as moist as any turkey you can cook. I don't know why people mess with brining.

 

It's in vogue. I've always cooked mine in a roasting pan and basted on a regular basis and NEVER had one turn out too dry. And in my opinion, brining a turkey steals too much of the natural flavors...don't get me wrong, I've had brined turkey that was great, but I think it's a lot of wasted time and trouble.

 

Brining for this technique is optional. By roasting each part separately you can avoid over cooking and drying out the breast and drumsticks.

 

I see what you did there and it looks/sounds delicious.

 

I cook Turkey breast down to keep breast moist

 

This recipe starts with the breast facing down for the first hour, then you flip it to finish. It does help to keep the moisture equalized.