Published November 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.
For our roasted turkey recipe, we solved the problem of bringing the dark meat up to temperature without overcooking the white meat by forgoing a whole turkey in favor of a breast and two leg quarters, which we roasted on a rack over baking sheets to promote air circulation. Without the insulation from the turkey’s backbone and breast meat, the thighs and drumsticks reached 175 degrees just as the breast finished cooking, resulting in a tender and juicy roast turkey recipe.
Instead of drumsticks and thighs, you may use 2 whole leg quarters, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds each. The recipe will also work with turkey breast alone; in step 2, reduce the butter to 1 1/2 tablespoons, the salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons, and the pepper to 1 teaspoon. If you are roasting kosher or self-basting turkey parts, season the turkey with only 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
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