The Secret to the Best Thanksgiving Turkey
- Follow this ratio for salt to turkey- 1 teaspoon of salt for every pound of turkey. So if you get a full turkey that is 17 lbs, you’re going to use 17 teaspoons of salt. There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, for reference.
- Be sure to use kosher or sea salt. Table salt (i.e. Morton’s) is saltier, so you will end up with a bird that is too salty in flavor.
- Make sure that your turkey is completely thawed before rubbing it in salt. The salt won’t stick to the bird if it is still frozen.
- Give your turkey enough time to thaw! You need around 4 days for thawing in the fridge, then a few days for brining, so plan to buy your turkey about a week in advance!
- If you’re using a full turkey with the giblets on the inside, make sure to remove them first.
- Pat the entire turkey dry using paper towels. This will help you get a crispier skin during baking.
- Rub the salt all over the turkey- underneath the skin, on top of the surface, and in any cavities. You want flavor everywhere!
- Place the salted turkey on a sheet pan with a cooling rack, so that it gets air circulation everywhere.
- Place the brined turkey in your fridge UNCOVERED, and on the lowest rack in your fridge. If this feels scary to have an uncovered piece of poultry in your fridge, you can lightly cover it with plastic wrap or foil, but you really want as much drying to occur as possible.
- Don’t put any oil on the turkey until right before you plan to cook it.
- Brine for at least 24 hours, or up to 3 days.
- Don’t wipe any of the salt off before cooking. You want all of this flavor to stay with your turkey!
- This works for any cut of poultry- a full turkey, a bone in breast, or even bone in chicken thighs or legs. Just stick to the 1 teaspoon of salt per 1 lb of meat ratio.
- Once you’ve let it brine for as long as you’d like, simply remove it from the fridge and cook in your desired method- roasting, smoking, etc.
- The key to turkey that isn’t overcooked is by using a thermometer to measure the temperature. Keep an eye on the temperature for all of the different cuts of meat. The thighs and legs will cook quicker than the breast, so I usually cover the quicker cooking cuts in foil when they’re about to temperature so that they don’t overcook while the remainder finishes cooking.
- Poultry may be finished cooking when it reaches 165°F, but that isn’t when you want to pull it out of the oven. It is going to continue to rise in temperature even after you pull it out of the oven, so you want to take it out a few degrees before 165°F to avoid over cooking. I would take a full turkey out at about 150°F, a bone in turkey breast out at about 155°F, and anything smaller out about 160°F.
- Plan on about 1 lb of turkey per person, or 1 1⁄2 lbs if you want leftovers.
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