Roasting the Big One - Cooks Illustrated

Published November 1, 2002.

If you have but one oven and a long guest list for Thanksgiving, only a gargantuan turkey will do. Here's what we learned about successfully roasting "the big one."

The Problem

Working with a 20-plus pound bird has its drawbacks. How were we going to find a container large enough for brining, a technique that our test kitchen finds essential to great turkey? We were also concerned about turning the bird in the oven, another important step to turkey perfection. This pumped-up Tom was going to be hot, heavy, and dangerous to move halfway through roasting.

The Goal

We wanted the Norman Rockwell picture of perfection: a crisp, mahogany skin wrapped around tender, moist meat. And it had to be easy to prepare in a real home kitchen.

The Solution

Choose a Butterball or kosher turkey. Both have been, in essence, brined--the Butterball injected with a saltwater solution and the kosher bird packed in salt during koshering. Roast the bird at 425 degrees for 1 hour, then lower the heat to 325 degrees, turn the turkey and continue to cook about 2 hours longer. The turkey is better if turned halfway through cooking, but those not up to the task can skip this step. Don't buy store bought gravy; follow our tried-and-true recipe for giblet pan gravy, which can be made while the turkey cooks.

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America’s Test Kitchen is a 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated magazines and is the workday destination for more than three dozen test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to America’s Test Kitchen (www.americastestkitchen.com) on public television.