RSS
Home
A Mom's Top Secret Tips for a Perfect Turkey
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
My family tells me my turkey is the “best,” and honestly, if the unbiased opinion is that the perfect turkey is flavorful, moist and not a bit dry, then it must be true!If you don’t already have your own turkey secret, I am willing to share mine! Here it goes…
- Buy fresh and not frozen whenever possible
- Soak in a large pot or bucket of brine for at least 12 hours prior to cooking (the longer the better)
- Follow preheating/heating directions on turkey
- Mix olive oil, rosemary, Italian seasoning, basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl – make a lot – and use this like massage oil. Show your turkey some “love” and massage it well, using generous quantities of this mixture. My family always laughs at me during this part, and I like to be dramatic about it.
- Use sprigs of fresh rosemary and spear it between the top layer of skin and the meat all over the turkey
- Add a generous amount of undiluted chicken broth (canned is fine) to the bottom of the roasting pan, enough to cover the bottom – about ½ inch. Add fresh celery, carrots and onion to the cavity of the turkey (this is only for flavor).
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil in a “tent” and keep the foil on until the last hour of roasting, then uncover for 30 minutes of roasting and recover for the last 30 minutes
- Every 30 minutes for the entire duration of roasting, use the baster to recoat the turkey over and over again with the drippings and continuously add new mixture of our marinade. If the roasting pan starts to get full, use the baster to remove some of the drippings, but don’t throw it out. I don’t use this for gravy, but I like to add it to the water when I boil the potatoes (boil these in a mix of water, chicken broth and turkey “water” for extra tasty taters).
- If followed correctly, I guarantee literally melt-in-your-mouth turkey. We haven’t had dry turkey in years. The special secrets here are: keeping the turkey “sealed” in olive oil-based marinade and keep the turkey in an aluminum foil “sauna” until the very end.
Stay tuned for my potato secret next!
Photo courtesy of Amanda Elkins Photography!
More About:
recipes
Related Articles:
Comments
.jpg)
The Water Project, a faith-based non-profit organization whose mission includes connecting donors and implementers to make clean water a reality for …
.gif)
Warmer Washington weather may boost your energy for a little spring cleaning, and that's a good thing if you are finding that you have an affinity for …
