You cook a turkey, what, once a year? Maybe your go-to turkey-cooking method's been handed down from your grandmother; maybe you try a different recipe every year looking for a better way. I'm not saying you or your grandma are wrong, but if you're turkey is in the oven for more than two hours, you're wasting your life. Here's the best turkey recipe I've ever found, courtesy of the exhaustive test cooks and food scientists at Cook's Illustrated. Bake time: Two hours. (And don't worry: My standards are high, and this turkey is fantastic.)
Photo courtesy Cook's Illustrated/Joe Keller.
More specifically, the recipe comes from the pages of Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe, and it's been my go-to for the past four years. If you're unfamiliar with them, Cook's Illustrated is a magazine published by the band of food scientists from America's Test Kitchen. The magazine is ad-free, and their premise is simple: They extensively test different ways to make a dish, then publish what they've learned along with what they deem the best way to make that food.
Case in point: This incredible two-hour turkey. The skin is crisp, the bird is juicy, and the flavor is phenomenal. (I wasn't even sure I liked turkey all that much before this bird.) I can't imagine a simpler turkey recipe, and the cook time is minimal—important when your kitchen (and oven) is in high demand for a thousand other things the morning of Thanksgiving.
Lest I mislead you, total prep time is longer than two hours—for example, the recipe includes a 6-12 hour brining (which, as we've pointed out before, will result in a moister, more delicious turkey), but you can easily start that the day before. The rest of the prep involves chopping a couple of onions, carrots, and celery—that is, a few minutes worth of pretty simple stuff.
The people at Cook's Illustrated were kind enough to let us republish my favorite turkey recipe, which you can see, in its entirety, below. While you're in the Thanksgiving mood, take a look at their Turkey, Gravy, and Stuffing 101 page for a few core turkey techniques. Without further ado, the recipe:
Cooking the holiday turkey can strike fear into the most seasoned cook, so we set out to determine what makes a difference (and what doesn't) once you bring home the bird. First, we found that a standard brine solution works with almost any size bird, but timing is key—at least six hours is required to get the full benefits of brining. We chose to skip stuffing the turkey, since cooking the stuffing to a safe internal temperature almost always resulted in an overcooked bird. A V-rack proved essential, not only to hold the turkey in place but also to elevate the meat above the roasting pan, which promoted more even browning and cooking. Turning the bird once during roasting protected the delicate breast meat from overcooking, and brushing the turkey with butter at the outset contributed to browning. Finally, letting the turkey rest after roasting allowed for the redistribution and reabsorption of the juices in the meat.
Roast Brined Turkey
Serves 10 to 12
If using a self-basting turkey or kosher turkey, do not brine in step 1, and season with salt after brushing with melted butter in step 5. Resist the temptation to tent the roasted turkey with foil while it rests on the carving board. Covering the bird will make the skin soggy.
1 cup salt
1 (12- to 14-pound) turkey, trimmed, neck, giblets, and tailpiece removed and reserved for gravy
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 onions, chopped coarse
2 carrots, peeled and chopped coarse
2 celery ribs, chopped coarse
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup water, plus extra as needed
1 recipe Giblet Pan Gravy
Dissolve salt in 2 gallons cold water in large container. Submerge turkey in brine, cover, and refrigerate or store in very cool spot (40 degrees or less) for 6 to 12 hours.
Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry, inside and out, with paper towels. Place turkey on prepared wire rack. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line V-rack with heavy-duty aluminum foil and poke several holes in foil. Set V-rack in roasting pan and spray foil with vegetable oil spray.
Toss thyme and half of vegetables with 1 tablespoon melted butter in bowl and place inside turkey. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wings behind back. Scatter remaining vegetables in pan.
Pour water over vegetable mixture in pan. Brush turkey breast with 1 tablespoon melted butter, then place turkey breast side down on V-rack. Brush with remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
Roast turkey for 45 minutes. Remove pan from oven; baste turkey with juices from pan. Using 2 large wads of paper towels, turn turkey wing side up. If liquid in pan has totally evaporated, add another 1/2 cup water. Return turkey to oven and roast for 15 minutes. Remove turkey from oven again, baste, and rotate so that other wing side is up; roast for another 15 minutes. Remove turkey from oven again, baste, and turn it breast side up; roast until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 30 to 45 minutes.
Remove turkey from oven. Gently tip turkey so that any accumulated juices in cavity run into pan. Transfer turkey to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Carve turkey and serve with gravy.
I swear by this recipe, and if you're looking for a better way to cook your bird, I highly recommend it. There's obviously more than one way to roast a turkey, but if there's a better way (both in terms of time spent and juicy, delicious results), I haven't found it.
Still, if you've got a favorite and feel like sharing, the comments are wide open.
You can contact Adam Pash, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.