turkey

[jayseeca]

so i'm making turkey today, this'll only be my second time. but i'm wondering, how do you roast a really juicy turkey without brining? i'm also for-going stuffing.

slow cook? what temperature? i'm new, help!

[fourunder]

I do not know if "juicy" is what you should be aiming for, but rather moist turkey and not dry. If you slow roast at a lower temperature, you can achieve the latter. I do so @ 225 degrees and I brown the skin at the end for 10 minutes on high heat with the aid of Olive Oil or butter. I cannot give you a definitive answer as to cooking time due to variables,e.g., size of turkey.....but if your bird is 14-16 lbs...expect 5-6 hours @ 225......if the bird comes with a pop-up timer...start checking at 4.5 hours. You can roast at 250. 275 or 300 as well, it's up to you and how much time you have. For each 25 degrees of cooking temperature, you can reduce your overall cooking time 30-45 minutes per 25 degrees as a guideline. the best check that I know of without using a thermometer is to check if you can pull the leg and thigh away from the turkey without resistance, or if you poke into the thigh and the juices run clear....not pinkish.

[jayseeca]

thanks! i wasn't getting any replies before so i went ahead - put butter under the skin, S&P the whole bird, and put lemons in the cavity (whew, sounds good so far).

then i decided to just pop it int he oven at 325, and plan to leave it there almost 3 hours for a 8.5lb bird. does it make a difference to brown the bird first right before cooking it, or at the end?

[fourunder]

Since you have already started your roast, the three hours at 325* will brown the turkey...albeit possibly unevenly. Most recipes call for browning in the beginning, but that is when you roast at higher temperatures and shorter time. When slow roasting with low temperatures under 250*, I find the browning at the end is fine without any chances of over-cooking any type of meat. Others will disagree, but tests by Cook's Illustrated and Alton Brown on his Food Network show have concluded the same. Others will disagree, but my experience both commercially and personally cooking low and slow with browning at the end achieve excellent results.....for well over two decades. it the only way I roast meats in the home oven for holiday dinners.

If the turkey is not browned sufficiently to your liking...simply apply butter to the skin and fisnish on high heat for ten minutes.

[coll]

Put softened butter under the skin before roasting. If it's not too late! Juicy with a crispy skin. And I like to put lemons or oranges inside instead of stuffing, that helps with flavor and juiciness.
Or be like me, and run out of propane halfway through, and finish off in a steam table. People were oohing and aahing at how tender it was. I was not happy.

[woodburner]

Good thought on the butter under the skin and the rest. I like to start hot, maybe 425 for 30 min, then come down to about 350. If I can get a decent browning on the breast early, I will then place a triangle of heavy foil over the breast only for the remainder of the cook... it will reduce the heat getting to the breast, while allowing the leg and thigh to finish right. So you can get to 150 on the breast and 170 on the dark meat, and let them each rest and rise another 5-10 degrees. Thigh is fully cooked but breast stays juicy.