# Mayonnaise-covered turkey **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631 "2012-11-20T18:42:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/21 "2012-11-20T22:06:05Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Popsicles. Ew. Most southern cooks also use mayo to coat baking pans. First mayo then flour. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/22 "2012-11-20T22:18:37Z")
“Most” of them? I seriously doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/23 "2012-11-20T22:34:26Z")
What sort of drippings does one get with a mayo coating on the bird? The one thing I don’t want to do is to fuck up my gravy makings. Hey, **lieu** : My mother used to make halibut like that all the time. People raved about it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/24 "2012-11-20T22:44:45Z")
There’s a classic, and tasty, recipe for “[Parmesan Crusted Chicken](http://www.hellmanns.com/recipes/detail/8366/1)” from Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. (They have another label in the south, I believe, but we Yankees use Hellmann’s or homemade.) It’s just mayo (low-fat Hellmann’s works fine, but I don’t use any other brand’s low-fat version) mixed with some grated or shredded Parmesan cheese that you smear fairly thickly on the top of the boneless skinless chicken breasts and then sprinkle with some seasoned dry bread crumbs before baking. I’ve always been dubious of “seals in moisture” claims, but I will admit it’s the most tender juicy boneless skinless chicken breast recipe I’ve ever found. I could see it working quite well with a turkey, but I haven’t tried it. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/25 "2012-11-20T22:49:50Z")
**Skammer** : I don’t know how it works. It just does. My guess is that there’s enough places for the goodness to seep in and the cloth distributes it evenly (in my version, anyway). And there’s certainly the chance that it’s more effectively trapping the moisture that’s already inside by crisping up the skin sooner due to the oils. But to be sure, I will slide a little seasoned mayo up in the flaps of skin if occurs to me. Either way, it’s juicy as can be. **Chefguy** : The drippings are pretty much the same as with any other method. Of course, I usually throw the giblets and neck in the pan as well, so there’s plenty of non-mayo juiciness going on too. If anything, it’s a little more savory than normal. Once I pull the liquid, I just whisk in some flour - no need to make a roux as the fats are already in the liquid. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/26 "2012-11-20T23:12:16Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, vinegar and/or lemon juice, too. Sometimes some kind of mustard, but usually not in the mass-market ones. But I guess there’s not enough vinegar and other seasonings to make it taste “off” in a cake. I’ve had those mayo cakes, and I wouldn’t have known had I not been told. I can taste the mayo in the cakes I have had made with mayonnaise. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/27 "2012-11-21T00:29:10Z")
> [@adhemar](#): > > I can taste the mayo in the cakes I have had made with mayonnaise. I would suggest that you make your own mayo using the recipe I posted earlier in this thread. Leave out the mustard if you wish, and all you’ll have is the flavor of eggs, oil, lemon juice and a tiny amount of salt. Or leave the mustard in…just get rid of the stabilizers and preservatives that are in jarred mayo. I just made some mayo using this recipe and it turned out perfectly. Realistically, mayo is more about “mouth feel” and egg flavor than anything else. And it does so many wonderful things as a cooking tool. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/28 "2012-11-21T01:06:36Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Ew. > > Most southern cooks also use mayo to coat baking pans. First mayo then flour. I sincerely believe somebody has been putting you on. -Zsofia, so southern she can see the hospital she was born through the windows of her workplace. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/29 "2012-11-21T01:30:29Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Mayo is just an emulsion of eggs and oil. I routinely make salmon coated with mayp and lemon pepper, and it works well. > > [Found this recipe.](http://shewearsmanyhats.com/2011/11/mayonnaise-roasted-turkey/) Good looking bird. > > Not willing to waste a turkey on it, but it might we worth experimenting with a chicken. When I did it with mayo and Parmesan (with fish as well) it formed a crust\* - it didn’t just melt away as suggested above. I guess the extra juices running out of a turkey might take it away. \*It was quite good actually. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/30 "2012-11-21T01:31:48Z")
That’s because you mixed cheese in with it. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/31 "2012-11-21T01:42:09Z")
Yeah, but it was MOSTLY mayo and I noticed almost no running off. I guess it could still change the whole reaction. I wonder what would happen if you didn’t use such a dry cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/32 "2012-11-21T01:44:30Z")
You might be right. I’ll try it with plain mayo next time I roast a chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/33 "2012-11-21T06:36:54Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I had a similar reaction to a commercial for Duke’s Mayonnaise. They recommended using it in your cake mix to make it moist. At first I was appalled - mayonnaise in cake mix? Then I realized it is just eggs and oil. I take it you’ve never had a [sauerkraut chocolate cake](http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/German-Chocolate-Sauerkraut-Cake) then? Sounds gross but it’s just sort of tangy compared to regular chocolate. I saw a recipe for a whole skinless baked chicken that used lite mayo to adhere a crust of ground Frito’s corn chips, parmesan cheese and spices. Supposedly, the mayo takes the place of the skin and keeps it moist. I don’t know what else it was meant to accomplish. It sounds just as fatty and greasy as a bird with skin but I don’t know crap about these things. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/34 "2012-11-21T16:12:36Z")
OK, I’ll re-state. ALL the cooks in my Mother’s South Georgia home town used mayo to coat their baking pans instead of oil or shortening. Mayo, then flour, for all baking. We did a lot of baking down there, and I’ve never seen anyone use anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Av8trix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/90db22/32.png) [@Av8trix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Av8trix)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/35 "2012-11-21T17:06:08Z")
I sometimes use mayo with shake n bake… after the chicken is cut up, put it in a bowl with half a tbs or so of mayo, just enough to moisten it. Then do the shake n bake thing. Makes the crumbs stick better, and the breasts don’t dry near as much. Never thought of using that on a turkey but I see how it could work. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/36 "2012-11-21T20:09:06Z")
> [@Sodalite](#): > > I take it you’ve never had a [sauerkraut chocolate cake](http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/German-Chocolate-Sauerkraut-Cake) then? Sounds gross but it’s just sort of tangy compared to regular chocolate. Sauerkraut in cake? I’m gagging. It also has coconut. Gag. I’d rather eat lint. Seriously, I can’t stand nuts in cake or brownies or whatever. (I’ve found a way to tolerate them to a degree in sweet potatoes, but honestly I don’t want them there.) I _like_ pecans and walnuts, but not _in_ things. But coconut tastes like ass. The idea of putting sauerkraut in cake makes me want to shoot someone. And I don’t even own a gun. And who the hell wants tangy cake? ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/37 "2012-11-21T20:23:51Z")
Mmmm… sweet and sour. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/38 "2012-11-21T20:53:48Z")
_I_ want tangy cake. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/39 "2012-11-24T16:09:15Z")
Anyone use this technique for their Thanksgiving bird? ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631/40 "2012-11-24T16:16:02Z")
I did, and it wasn’t great. Luckily we’re having our big family meal somewhere else on Sunday so I was just making leftovers in advance. I did half of a turkey breast and it took forever to cook, plus the taste was nothing special. I’ve done birds with just oil, salt, and pepper that were more flavorful. Live and learn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayonnaise-covered-turkey/641631.md?page=3)