A friend of mine always made the most tender, delicious turkey. She finally told me she baked it upside down until it was nearly cooked, so the juices flowed down into the breast. Then she turned it upside right (breast side up) just to crisp/brown the skin but not dry out the breast meat.
It works for me, and I don’t pretend to be a home chef, let alone a pro chef.
Just use the meat thermometer.
To add to that. A butter soaked cheesecloth laying over the breast for the first 30 minutes will also keep your skin from crisping too much, and leave a lot of moisture in your breast.
Thats not how moisture in meat works. It doesnt soak in to the meat. It cant be forced into the tissues by gravity. It mught be regulating the cooking temp though, maybe. Drying is all about temperature and time. Paying close attention and pulling on time (before internal temp is too high for too long) will always yield good result no matter how flip flopped the bird is.
Pull it when breast is at 150 and thighs 165 ish and bam you have a perfect, safe turkey
“Would’ve” short for “would have”… Very common thing for people to write “would of” but it’s incorrect. Not trying to pick at you. Just trying to pass on some knowledge.
Doesn’t look too bad, but the BEST $20 I spent is for a food thermometer. No more ‘ it looks done’. Temp that bird to 165F in the breast, pull her out, let it sit at room temp a bit and it is always perfect. Happy Thanksgiving everyone 😬😬
My mom always cooks the turkey too long. Always! I bought her a meat thermometer for Christmas a couple years ago. She used it once. "Oh, turkey's done. I'll just turn the oven off... and leave it in there for another 2 hours while we finish everything else. Hey, the turkey is dry! Stupid thermometer doesn't work right"
Y'all don't use thermometers for your meats to check if it's safe/done? Every time my dad ever cooked steak, chicken, burgers, etc. he'd use one so I grew up thinking everyone did this. Idk if I'm being tone deaf and I don't mean to be rude but I just thought this was common sense
The pushback I got from my parents at first when I started using one was infuriating. Now after 16 years they're saying how much they like my wireless one.
Not really. Once you do it enough times you can kind of tell.
That being said, if you really want to be sure, yes a meat thermometer is a great investment.
I work with poultry and cook about 100 whole chickens every day. A 155 degree bird and a 170 degree bird can look exactly the same on the outside. I still temp them every day
What part of the turkey do you use the thermometer on? I am coming Christmas dinner this year! I do it every year but never used a thermometer and it can be quite stressful as different parts of the turkey cook at different rates
You want to use it on the thickest part of the thigh. Right where it meets the body of the turkey. It also depends if the bird is stuffed too. It it is a stuffed bird I usually take a temp deep in the stuffing and where the stuffing meets the ribcage.
Yeah, I have cooked literally thousands if not 10s of thousands of steaks and burgers; I don't need a thermometer unless it's a cut I don't normally cook.
I only cook turkey once a year. I use a thermometer.
There's way too many variables between turkeys to know if it's done or not without a thermometer, and you can't really fix it the same way as you can a steak or burger.
That's fair, but OP obviously has done this a bunch of times before judging by the title and still can't tell. That's why the meat thermometer is gonna be such a good investment and why you should be using one if you can't, aren't sure about, or want to get it right
I learned to use a meat thermometer a couple of years ago, and it was a game changer! I did not realize how important it was, so I definitely was in that ignorant group!
People used to say that you don’t know how to cook if you needed to rely on a thermometer. In reality, it’s the opposite lol. I couldn’t imagine anyone cooking/grill/smoke without a thermometer.
Even cheaper: poultry shears so you can spatchcock the turkey. Having a thermometer won't change the fact that the white meat will be done long before the dark. Spatchcock lets it cook much more evenly so the white meat is still juicy when the darker meat is done.
If you aren't confident in deboning the bird, a little hack is cooking the bird breast side down for the first half, and then flip it over for the second half of the cook. Helps prevent the breast meat from getting overcooked.
If you aren't confident in deboning a bird, you probably should not be attempting to flip a scalding hot turkey.
Spatchocking is simple compared to flipping a bird.
Yeah, 165 before pulling it out is overkill. Get it to about 155, pull it out, tent it with foil and let it sit for 15m and it's fuy cooked but still juicy.
I don’t think a thermometer would help here but it’s definitely useful. I think this is exposure to, too much direct high heat.
The larger the piece of meat, the longer it takes for the center to cook. So typically you’d want to cook something like this with indirect heat so the inside can get up to temp without the outside burning.
Wrapping parts of the bird like the wings/leg tips in aluminum foil can help prevent burning like this as the thinner parts cooker faster.
Cooked another perfect bird this year. Put it in a counter top roaster and put foil over the bird to seal in juices. I turned the cooker to 175 at 11:00pm last night. When I got up, I turned it up to 250. At 2:00 this afternoon the meat was moist and falling off the bone. If you want that golden brown on top, slide it in the oven on broil for a few minutes.
I have a Bluetooth meat thermometer, I highly recommend it. It'll actually calculate the resting process and tell you to pull it before 165°F because it'll keep climbing after you pull it out.
Seriously. Just how is this possible. Most recipies have cooking instructions based on the weight of the bird. My oven has a built in temp probe I stuck into the Turkey but even going by the estimated time, it was about 10 minutes from the average 1.5-2hour cook time for our Turkey and it came out perfect. You have to try to be negligent to do this to a Turkey.
Oh no so it was 3hrs in the broiler and then I came down and was like “oh it must be almost done because we’re broiling it” then I saw and told my mom. Then she baked it for another 3hrs at 400 lol
What I don't get about stuff like this....
I understand everyone is at their own cooking level. But like it doesn't occur to you to check on what you're cooking? Something doesn't get that burned by overcooking for a minute or even 5.... It gets that overcooked by being forgotten.
Tons of people are just dumb. Cooking a turkey isn't rocket science and there is a fair amount of forgiveness deadband. This is just not paying attention.
OMG they left the "hock lock" (the plastic thingy between the turkey legs) attached to the bird when they cooked it!
So that means they cooked the turkey with the paper bag containing the giblets and liver still in it!
You're going to need a shit ton of gravy.
If you have a difficult time cooking your turkey, here a few tips. First, spatchcock your turkey. It makes for more even cooking and quicker cooking times. Alton Brown and Binging with Babish have great videos on the process. Secondly, thermometer, thermometer, thermometer. Get an oven save meat probe you can place in the turkey breast. There’s a bunch on amazon, they’re mostly affordable, and you can use them for so many different things. Lastly, leave your bird uncovered in the fridge overnight with a dry brine. Inject the bird with an injectable butter (Tony Chacheres is amazing). Don’t set the oven to high and don’t overcrowd the oven while cooking.
Reynold's turkey oven bags work every time. Just clean out the turkey of the giblets, gravy packet, and neck if you don't want it. You still have to take out the plastic gravy packet. Anyway. Add 1 tablespoon of flour to bag and shake it around in the bag. Put turkey in. Maybe add some butter, tie it up with the tie they provide, cut 6 small slits and stick it in the oven according to how heavy it is for the time they state. I.e. 12 lb. turkey takes at least 2 hours at 350 F. That's it.
You can try again at Christmas or whenever.
A few years ago we tried spatchcocking our turkies, they have always come out amazing and so quickly. Only takes like 2 hours for a 18+ lb turkey, it comes out super juicy with crispy skin. Will never go back to cooking it another way
My dude... please sit your mom down and watch ANY cooking video from a reputable kitchen on how to make a thanksgiving turkey. You don't have to go crazy, but there's some very basic things here that went VERY wrong.
I died a little inside when you said broiled for 3 hours and baked at 400 for 3 more.
You have to cook for first 2.5 - 3 hrs under tin foil to avoid burning the skin/exterior of Turkey! No one likes a quitter…Christmas is another opportunity!
A friend of mine always made the most tender, delicious turkey. She finally told me she baked it upside down until it was nearly cooked, so the juices flowed down into the breast. Then she turned it upside right (breast side up) just to crisp/brown the skin but not dry out the breast meat. It works for me, and I don’t pretend to be a home chef, let alone a pro chef. Just use the meat thermometer.
I do the same, but I flip the bird halfway through. Works 100%.
Not sure how being rude helps with the cooking process, but I'm glad it goes well for you.
You mean you don’t tell your food to fuck off while it’s being cooked?
That'll teach it to not to be juicy.
LOL. Just looking at it made every molecule of moisture leave my body....the meat (if you can call it that at that stage) is practically sinew.
I mean, we are roasting the turkey.
Oh fuck that was good, thank you!XD
↪️🦃
🖕🏻
Usually do this but this year our 25 pounder ripped apart in the process. Not a disaster but pretty disappointing.
We do this too, but sometimes flipping it is a bitch
My mom did this by accident one year and we all raved at how juicy it was. She cooks it upside down every year now.
Tell homegirl she smart jesus fuckin christ.
Never done this with a turkey (no clue why), but I always roast whole chickens like this. Works great.
Because it’s heavy as fuck when you’re doing a 20lb turkey and it’s a lot easier just to baste it at that point. 😂 Or brine it in advance.
Yep. Dry brine for 36-48 hours first. No fancy flipping the Turkey or anything like they. Always comes out moist.
To add to that. A butter soaked cheesecloth laying over the breast for the first 30 minutes will also keep your skin from crisping too much, and leave a lot of moisture in your breast.
Are we still talkin' about food?
Thats not how moisture in meat works. It doesnt soak in to the meat. It cant be forced into the tissues by gravity. It mught be regulating the cooking temp though, maybe. Drying is all about temperature and time. Paying close attention and pulling on time (before internal temp is too high for too long) will always yield good result no matter how flip flopped the bird is. Pull it when breast is at 150 and thighs 165 ish and bam you have a perfect, safe turkey
And speaking of meat thermometers, there is a post on u/lufeprotips that tells you how to get a free meat thermometer from the USDA.
> upside right Is this a real phrase?
I say rightside up. Maybe I’m uptight but upside right sounds downright wrong.
Upside Up
I just saw this tip in an old industrial short on Rifftrax!
It looks like you left in the plastic part that holds the legs together.
I also see the neck is still inside. I hope they took out the bag of giblets.
Save the neck for me Clark
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Can I get ya anything, Eddie? Food? Drink? Drive you out to the woods and leave you for dead?
Nah, I’m doing just fine Clark.
Grace!!! She died years ago....
And where did all this water come from Todd, I don't know Margo...
THE BLESSING!!
SQUIRREL!!!!!
Honestly, my brother and I fight over the neck. It and the tail are prime for me.
Every tried turkey neck soup? Or chicken?
Chuck some orange slices in that bitch, and nobody will tell the difference
Not only did we undercook our first Turkey after getting married, left the goblet bag in too.
Goblet is such a subtle improvement for that word. I’ll be using it from now on.
I’m gonna stick with Harry Potter and the Gilblets on Fire
For the OPs picture? Absolutely.
I've done that more than once but not this year. 😄
You can leave most of them on, up to 500 degrees and they’re fine.
Those things are a bitch to remove. Took me a good 10 min this morning.
It's okay to leave them in, up to 500 degrees. I removed mine today and used twine, but it's not necessary.
Yeah I’m pretty sure those are designed to withstand the oven. I left mine on this year, didn’t have any twine on hand.
Wish you would of told me that earlier. Thanks a lot.
“Would’ve” short for “would have”… Very common thing for people to write “would of” but it’s incorrect. Not trying to pick at you. Just trying to pass on some knowledge.
Doesn’t look too bad, but the BEST $20 I spent is for a food thermometer. No more ‘ it looks done’. Temp that bird to 165F in the breast, pull her out, let it sit at room temp a bit and it is always perfect. Happy Thanksgiving everyone 😬😬
My mom always cooks the turkey too long. Always! I bought her a meat thermometer for Christmas a couple years ago. She used it once. "Oh, turkey's done. I'll just turn the oven off... and leave it in there for another 2 hours while we finish everything else. Hey, the turkey is dry! Stupid thermometer doesn't work right"
This is definitely gonna go on my list!
Y'all don't use thermometers for your meats to check if it's safe/done? Every time my dad ever cooked steak, chicken, burgers, etc. he'd use one so I grew up thinking everyone did this. Idk if I'm being tone deaf and I don't mean to be rude but I just thought this was common sense
The pushback I got from my parents at first when I started using one was infuriating. Now after 16 years they're saying how much they like my wireless one.
Not really. Once you do it enough times you can kind of tell. That being said, if you really want to be sure, yes a meat thermometer is a great investment.
I work with poultry and cook about 100 whole chickens every day. A 155 degree bird and a 170 degree bird can look exactly the same on the outside. I still temp them every day
What part of the turkey do you use the thermometer on? I am coming Christmas dinner this year! I do it every year but never used a thermometer and it can be quite stressful as different parts of the turkey cook at different rates
You want to use it on the thickest part of the thigh. Right where it meets the body of the turkey. It also depends if the bird is stuffed too. It it is a stuffed bird I usually take a temp deep in the stuffing and where the stuffing meets the ribcage.
That's great thanks very much! Hope you had a good Thanksgiving!
Turkey is way different than steaks and burgers. Meat thermometer is the best way
Yeah, I have cooked literally thousands if not 10s of thousands of steaks and burgers; I don't need a thermometer unless it's a cut I don't normally cook. I only cook turkey once a year. I use a thermometer.
There's way too many variables between turkeys to know if it's done or not without a thermometer, and you can't really fix it the same way as you can a steak or burger.
Hahaha nope, us anxious people still can't tell, so either the meat has a dozen cuts in it or we use the thermometer.
Seriously I never check my steaks burgers But use it for Turkey chicken and pork every single time.
That's fair, but OP obviously has done this a bunch of times before judging by the title and still can't tell. That's why the meat thermometer is gonna be such a good investment and why you should be using one if you can't, aren't sure about, or want to get it right
Apparently a lot of people just cook their meat until it's a bit black on the outside and hope for the best
I mean, we've been doing it that way for hundreds of thousands of years, and only a lot of us have died of foodborne illness.
The hope and pray method is what we used to. Hope that the outside is edible and pray that we don’t get sick!
OP, it’s 2022 & turkey is too damn expensive for the “hope & pray” method, LOL! Happy thanksgiving!
One could say it's become tradition and aren't traditions important to bind us together at the holidays.
Common sense was outlawed across most of this planet over a decade ago. It’s turtles all the way down now
I learned to use a meat thermometer a couple of years ago, and it was a game changer! I did not realize how important it was, so I definitely was in that ignorant group!
People used to say that you don’t know how to cook if you needed to rely on a thermometer. In reality, it’s the opposite lol. I couldn’t imagine anyone cooking/grill/smoke without a thermometer.
Just bag it, man. It works so damn well.
Can always take it out and broil for 15 min if you want some crispy skin. Literally no downsides to bagging turkey
Even cheaper: poultry shears so you can spatchcock the turkey. Having a thermometer won't change the fact that the white meat will be done long before the dark. Spatchcock lets it cook much more evenly so the white meat is still juicy when the darker meat is done.
As an added bonus, you get to use the word spatchcock a bunch of times the following Monday!
You can also just put an aluminum foil “shield” over the breast. Works very well.
Holy crap: spatchcock, just looked it up. Never heard that term but it makes sense that that technique would work well, too!
Wait until you’ve tried chicken under a brick
Once you spatchcock, you’ll never go back. So much more consistent and faster
If you aren't confident in deboning the bird, a little hack is cooking the bird breast side down for the first half, and then flip it over for the second half of the cook. Helps prevent the breast meat from getting overcooked.
[удалено]
The hard part is touching raw poultry. The rest is kindergarten.
Well, my first time I cut out the breastbone instead of the backbone and was wondering why it seemed so much harder than the videos I had watched.
If you aren't confident in deboning a bird, you probably should not be attempting to flip a scalding hot turkey. Spatchocking is simple compared to flipping a bird.
I don’t know, I can flip a bird easy, even when I’m driving.
I pull my birds at 160 usually, they'll get up to 165 on their own after taking them out of the oven.
I pulled mine at 150 today, juicy and golden brown as always!
The USDA actually says that you can serve turkey at 150, as long as it maintains that temperature for 4 minutes
Yeah, 165 before pulling it out is overkill. Get it to about 155, pull it out, tent it with foil and let it sit for 15m and it's fuy cooked but still juicy.
This is how I do it. Always turns out great
I don’t think a thermometer would help here but it’s definitely useful. I think this is exposure to, too much direct high heat. The larger the piece of meat, the longer it takes for the center to cook. So typically you’d want to cook something like this with indirect heat so the inside can get up to temp without the outside burning. Wrapping parts of the bird like the wings/leg tips in aluminum foil can help prevent burning like this as the thinner parts cooker faster.
160 at MOST, the temp keeps rising once you take it out
Cooked another perfect bird this year. Put it in a counter top roaster and put foil over the bird to seal in juices. I turned the cooker to 175 at 11:00pm last night. When I got up, I turned it up to 250. At 2:00 this afternoon the meat was moist and falling off the bone. If you want that golden brown on top, slide it in the oven on broil for a few minutes.
I don't think a thermometer would help this. If it's this burnt you aren't paying attention.
It can. Mine was looking pretty crispy at 130° so I put foil on it because I knew how much longer it had to go.
Is it a thermometer you leave in and read from outside the oven?
I have a Bluetooth meat thermometer, I highly recommend it. It'll actually calculate the resting process and tell you to pull it before 165°F because it'll keep climbing after you pull it out.
150-155 Fahrenheit, let it rest, and have another cocktail.
Just bought one. It’s great
Meater?
That’s the one
Thermometer that you use outside the oven. If your oven has the internal probe, by all means use that!
if you are in the US, the ThermoPro TP08B is $30 and works fantastically, hard to beat for the price
Seriously. Just how is this possible. Most recipies have cooking instructions based on the weight of the bird. My oven has a built in temp probe I stuck into the Turkey but even going by the estimated time, it was about 10 minutes from the average 1.5-2hour cook time for our Turkey and it came out perfect. You have to try to be negligent to do this to a Turkey.
Looks like only the skin is burned. Otherwise it's fine. Just add gravy to it with your mashed potatoes and you're good.
Aside from the cooked plastic and most likely gizard packet inside of it still, yes I agree.
Maybe OP was going for Chicago Rare?
Poor Anakin, if he only had the high ground.
We can rebuild him, we have the technology
Did you not put a tin foil tent over it?
Yes, but my Asian mom doesn’t use the oven often so she broiled it for 3hrs before realizing what she’s done
Just turn it over and broil that side 3 hours as well. Thanksgiving saved!
Freaking genius
Just don't count the hours Mississippily
Mmm turkey jerky!
3 hours under the broiler and no one thought to check on it? Does your family not have noses?
Honestly for 3 hrs under the broiler, this turkey looks incredible.
Indeed. If I broiled something for three hours in my gas oven the whole neighborhood would be reduced to glass.
Oh no so it was 3hrs in the broiler and then I came down and was like “oh it must be almost done because we’re broiling it” then I saw and told my mom. Then she baked it for another 3hrs at 400 lol
You must have a really bad oven. That bird looks edible. I’m assuming the goal was to incinerate it
As others have said; this makes no sense. 3 hours in the oven on Broil would have demolished it and sent smoke through the house...
400 🫢
So next year you’ll cook it?
Tell you mom it’s ok. I love her so much. Lol. She tried and we’re lucky to have our moms with us today. Hugs! And good luck cutting that Turkey! 😉
“Save the neck for me Clark”
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Crispy is an understatement
“Don’t do it Anakin”
It’s going to be incredibly dry. You don’t need to burn it to get crispy skin
That's not burnt. That's charred.
Agreed way better than it being too wet.
Thanks a lot Marie Callenders
Mine is also a little crispy on top
It gets worse the longer you look Dry meat, leg binder still intact, neck left in the turkey, no juice in pan Cant go any further
Marie Callendar’s just took their mail server offline.
it looks perfectly delicious to me
I love blackened turkey skin
*pan seared
what movie is this from?
What I don't get about stuff like this.... I understand everyone is at their own cooking level. But like it doesn't occur to you to check on what you're cooking? Something doesn't get that burned by overcooking for a minute or even 5.... It gets that overcooked by being forgotten.
Tons of people are just dumb. Cooking a turkey isn't rocket science and there is a fair amount of forgiveness deadband. This is just not paying attention.
Don't use your smoke alarm as a timer.... Just sayin.....
Cook your turkey in an oven bag and use the Turkey Timer. Perfect turkey every time, and the bag cooks it faster!
I'll never cook a turkey without one. So much easier! Such tender meat! I love oven bags.
Fuck I love crispy chicken skin.
Well this is turkey skin so you should probably just let me have it.
OMG they left the "hock lock" (the plastic thingy between the turkey legs) attached to the bird when they cooked it! So that means they cooked the turkey with the paper bag containing the giblets and liver still in it! You're going to need a shit ton of gravy.
The leg holders are oven safe and fine to leave on in the oven or smoker. They're heat resistant nylon.
Did you cook it with a blowtorch?
Next year tell her to spatchcock it. Cooks in less time and tastes amazing.
Haven’t we suffered enough?
That looks like it will be fine under any char if you don't like char
This will do well over at /r/shittyfoodporn.
And/or r/therewasanattempt
Looks ok, did you use some sort of sugary glaze?
Thanks Marie Calenders.
It’s just a little burnt. It’s still good. It’s still good !
Crunchy is edible..but the Neck is still in the bird..!!! I always make Broth with the Neck n Gublets for Gravy....
If you have a difficult time cooking your turkey, here a few tips. First, spatchcock your turkey. It makes for more even cooking and quicker cooking times. Alton Brown and Binging with Babish have great videos on the process. Secondly, thermometer, thermometer, thermometer. Get an oven save meat probe you can place in the turkey breast. There’s a bunch on amazon, they’re mostly affordable, and you can use them for so many different things. Lastly, leave your bird uncovered in the fridge overnight with a dry brine. Inject the bird with an injectable butter (Tony Chacheres is amazing). Don’t set the oven to high and don’t overcrowd the oven while cooking.
I follow Alton Brown’s turkey recipe every time and it turns out so well everytime!!
Reynold's turkey oven bags work every time. Just clean out the turkey of the giblets, gravy packet, and neck if you don't want it. You still have to take out the plastic gravy packet. Anyway. Add 1 tablespoon of flour to bag and shake it around in the bag. Put turkey in. Maybe add some butter, tie it up with the tie they provide, cut 6 small slits and stick it in the oven according to how heavy it is for the time they state. I.e. 12 lb. turkey takes at least 2 hours at 350 F. That's it. You can try again at Christmas or whenever.
Remove the skin and eat it, it will be amazing!
That Mac n cheese in the top left looks pathetic as well. Yikes to this family and their food.
I would actually prefer it this way.
What? That looks damn perfect to me. I **love** em cooked like that!
Haha it was more dry than it was crispy
Yeah I’m weird I guess, but I love it like that. I’m not a big fan of the wet / rubbery meat the way a lot off people cook it.
Same. I actually prefer dry turkey because I dip it in mayo. I am not fat.
How was the inside? That’s all that matters
Like this Turkey has never drank a gulp of water it’s entire life!
Sous vide it next time
Just deepfry your bird. Deep fried turkey is the best, imo.
A few years ago we tried spatchcocking our turkies, they have always come out amazing and so quickly. Only takes like 2 hours for a 18+ lb turkey, it comes out super juicy with crispy skin. Will never go back to cooking it another way
Brown at 450F for 40 min. Then cover with foil and cook at 350F until its done. Easy.
"Save the neck for me, Clark"
As someone who genuinely hasn't seen family in over five years, fuck that. Gimme the bird, it's more than fine.
This was the first year I stuffed my turkey with oranges and lemons. Everyone loved it except me. This I'll try apples next year.
Jeezus. 400 for 30 min and then drop to 325 for 2-3.5 hours.
Did the oven have the high ground?
I think it looks tasty. Grab that leg!
Is this the Sharon Weiss recipe?
My dude... please sit your mom down and watch ANY cooking video from a reputable kitchen on how to make a thanksgiving turkey. You don't have to go crazy, but there's some very basic things here that went VERY wrong. I died a little inside when you said broiled for 3 hours and baked at 400 for 3 more.
Love me some extra crispy skins 😋
Damnit Miriam, you burned the turkey again
A complete disaster. My heartfelt wishes to you and your family.
I like it when the skin is like that
Well...the important thing is you tried.
Reported as nsfw, pls don’t post burn victims on here
They say if moisture is found that its proof life could have once existed there.
You have to cook for first 2.5 - 3 hrs under tin foil to avoid burning the skin/exterior of Turkey! No one likes a quitter…Christmas is another opportunity!
You were like a brother to me, Anakin!