# Poll: How do YOU cook a turkey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286 "2008-11-18T15:22:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/21 "2008-11-18T18:01:11Z")
> [@schnuckiputzi](#): > > I’ve had amazing success doing the brined turkey from Alton Brown’s website. It sounds horrible, but turns out crispy outside and juicy inside, with wonderful flavor. [Ditto](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html). The first year I made it my MIL was shocked…you’re doing _what_ to it? I had no leftovers that year. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/22 "2008-11-18T18:12:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’m not going anywhere, and nobody’s coming up. I’ll probably just read the Dope and watch movies and have a Trader Joe’s Turkey Pot Pie this year. (Unless I get ambitious, then I’ll roll out some pasta dough and make cheese raviolis.) Come to Redondo Beach! We’d LOVE to have you join us!!! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/23 "2008-11-18T18:16:54Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Come to Redondo Beach! We’d LOVE to have you join us!!! Thanks, **Shayna**! I’d love to, but I have an appointment for the 60k service on the Prius the following Friday morning. When are you guys coming up here? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/24 "2008-11-18T18:21:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Thanks, **Shayna**! I’d love to, but I have an appointment for the 60k service on the Prius the following Friday morning. OH NO! That can’t be changed! :eek: :sniff sniff: Now we know where _we_ rank. ☹ 😉 > [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > When are you guys coming up here? When are we going to be invited? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/25 "2008-11-18T18:36:52Z")
I butterfly the turkey, and take out all the bones except the drumsticks and wings. Brown it on both sides, then arrange it on top of the stuffing and roast. Cooks in about a hour and a half. I usually debone it and make the stock the day before. Stuffing is super simple -[ul][_]six cups of fresh breadcrumbs[_]one or two teaspoons of sage [_]one or two eggs[_]2-3 chopped ribs of celery[_]two or three chopped onions[_]the bits of meat off the bonesa pound of loose pork sausage[/ul]Brown the onions, sausage, meat and celery together in a couple tablespoons of butter until they are soft. Add the breadcrumbs and beaten eggs, sage, and salt and pepper to taste. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/26 "2008-11-18T18:45:59Z")
I’ve always used the oven bag method,with stuffing…I refuse to change that part. But I’d like to try the flipping method, or the butterflied method…I’ve done that for chicken, and it was nothing short of the best chicken I’ve ever made… ---
**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 18, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/27 "2008-11-18T18:48:48Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > For the same reason, don’t stuff the turkey. Thus sayeth the Lord (Alton), Amen. I think he’s way off the mark with this. A stuffed bird does not mean a dry end product. I’ve been roasting turkeys for 40 years, and the main culprit in dry turkey is not using a thermometer. Likewise, brining is overrated, IMO, and ruins the drippings. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/28 "2008-11-18T19:09:50Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > When are we going to be invited? 😃 I have to invite you? What are you, a vampire? 😛 😃 Of course you can come up anytime. Just give me a heads-up so I can make it look like I’m not a complete slob! My inflata-bed isn’t as nice as yours, but I’m told it’s comfortable. Back to turkeys: My mom knew I roasted turkeys in a bag, and she liked them. So one year she decided to try it herself. Only somehow she got the bird in the bag upside-down. (Mom was a very good cook. It’s just that this one time she had a brainfart.) Of course the breast wasn’t at all browned. But I’ve never had turkey breast so juicy! ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/29 "2008-11-18T19:12:40Z")
My whole family has gotten into the habit of brining it. It works out well. Do we have a Thanksgiving/Holiday recipe thread this year? I absolutely love those but I can’t seem to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/30 "2008-11-18T19:16:59Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I think he’s way off the mark with this. A stuffed bird does not mean a dry end product. I’ve been roasting turkeys for 40 years, and the main culprit in dry turkey is not using a thermometer. Likewise, brining is overrated, IMO, and ruins the drippings. Ruins the drippings? I’ve got to have gravy made from the drippings. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/31 "2008-11-18T19:19:58Z")
I, too, have had luck with brining using Alton Brown’s recipe, but this year I’m going with a dry brine, using [America’s Test Kitchen](http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=3689&iSeason=8) (registration required) recipe as a template. When I first brined (and stuffed the cavity with citrus aromatics), it was new to the family. Now that everyone is using my (purloined) methods, I have to change things up. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/32 "2008-11-18T19:25:54Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > For the same reason, don’t stuff the turkey. Thus sayeth the Lord (Alton), Amen. I guess you missed where he went back and stuffed a turkey (or it might have been a chicken). He acknowledged that despite his earlier statement, people were going to do it, and that they should do it “correctly”. He also went back on his initial “no oil in the pasta water” statement. ---
**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 18, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/33 "2008-11-18T19:41:33Z")
> [@Fritz](#): > > Ruins the drippings? I’ve got to have gravy made from the drippings. As mentioned earlier, the amount of salt that ends up in the drippings can make it unusable. I’ll just stick to my method: no bags, no brine, no deep frying (a huge mess for little benefit), no inverted birds, no shoe polish or other weird stuff. I get raves on my stuffing and gravy, and the bird is always moist. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/34 "2008-11-18T19:59:08Z")
I haven’t had any problems with using brined turkey drippings for gravy. It really isn’t all that salty. You just don’t add any more salt to the gravy or to the giblet stock you make it with. I use a pretty simple honey brine, without a lot of aromatics. I think it’s aromatics that throw off the flavor of the drippings. I tried Alton’s brine once and wasn’t impressed. His roasting method (starting out hot then dropping the temp) works pretty well, though ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/35 "2008-11-18T19:59:59Z")
I have two methods that I use mainly because I also have a rib roast in the oven that I use to make my gravy. I leave one turkey whole and cut a second one up into its components. Throw both of them into a soy sauce / bourbon marinade and let soak for a couple of days. The whole turkey gets deep fried while the pieces get BBQed over a red oak fire. I cook so much because as the only college kid who could cook I’d have all of the other refugees who couldn’t or didn’t want to go home over for a kegger. Now I do the same thing for people with jobs who don’t want to cook or want to avoid their families but I do it on Friday so people who have a traditional Thanksgiving can make it as well. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/36 "2008-11-18T20:02:05Z")
Here’s another vote for Alton’s version of the bird. Best Turkey Ever. edit: and Diogenes is right. If you’re not gonna use his brine and aromatics, at least use his roasting method. I always though Norman Rockwell’s golden turkey was a complete fiction until we tired that method. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/37 "2008-11-18T20:06:02Z")
I did a citrus brine last year and did the “cook upside down” trick already mentioned. I also stuff the cavity with havlved apples and oranges. It turned out amazing, tender and juicy! This year, my mother is doing the bird so back to dry bird. _sigh_ I love her but the woman just cannot cook. MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/38 "2008-11-18T20:07:28Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Likewise, brining is overrated, IMO, and ruins the drippings. That’s strange, because the guests loved the gravy produced from our brined turkey last year. I’ll have to double-check the method I used for brining; mine might have been a lower-salt version than many people use. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/39 "2008-11-18T20:15:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Stuffing is cooked separately, in a pan in the oven. Then it’s not stuffing, it’s dressing… Stuffed and roasted here. Tented with foil until the end for browning. We’re not doing a full bird for Thanksgiving this year, but we are for Christmas. I will try the upside down roasting method. No brining though - the gravy, man, the gravy! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286/40 "2008-11-18T20:23:59Z")
I don’t know yet. Past years I’ve done only the bone-in breast and have used the beer can method with aromatics in the pan. This year, I have a whole turkey and I don’t know if the beer can method is going to work. I’m making sausage and onion dressing on the side. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-cook-a-turkey/473286.md?page=3)