Keeping your thanksgiving turkey moist?!
Answers: I read some where that if you put the urkey breast side down it will help keep it moist anyone done thsi and did it work, or do you konw any tricks to keeping it moist.
soak it in a brine overnight - a mixture of brown sugar, salt and water - before roasting it the next day. I've found this to be the best way to get a great, moist turkey.
1 up salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar to one gallon of water
heat water to dissolve salt and sugar.
Roasting the turkey upside down only really works if you're cooking an 8 pound turkey and can handle flipping it back over (while it's steaming hot, mind you) the last 30 minutes, so that the top browns. For any larger turkey, this just isn't a very rational thing to do - they are hot, heavy, and awkward, and you risk it ending up on your kitchen floor! lol! My best advice is buy a probe thermometer, don't stuff it with stuffing (it lengthens the cooking time and raises the risk of dry bird) and don't bother basting. Basting makes you continually open the oven door, thus lowering the oven temp, thus making (once again) the bird having to cook even longer. For nice flavor, make an herb butter and place it all around between the skin and the meat - this will add a wonderful flavor and keep the breast meat moist. I like brining mine the evening before - been doing this for years. Last year I tried this recipe...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/...
and it came out wonderful and moist - the flavor of the brine is one of the best I have tried. Plus, the aromatics add a wonderful flavor, too.
I hope that helps!
Have a great holiday!
One year, I put a little water in the bottom of my roasting pan (about 1/2 inch deep), seasoned the turkey as usual, and covered it with foil. The water kinda gave the turkey a "steam bath", keeping it very moist and tender. I took the foil off the last 45 minutes so it could brown.
2 years ago I tried those Oven roasting bags...OMG! My Turkey was so tender and moist! I will use one every year now...give it a try...Oh, it also cuts the cooking time down!
key to moist turkey is doing a brine over night. And also not over cooking. use an instant read thermometer like the one below that you can leave in the bird and check the temperature. which it gets to 161 F take it out and let it rest. It will have carry over cooking to bring it to 165 which is proper temp for poultry.
I buy a larger bird, however, I bake it in a baking bag and it turns out wonderful and moist every time. I love it!
Good luck!