Published November 1, 2004.
Since we introduced the brined turkey in 1993, we have tested dozens of techniques for producing the perfect Thanksgiving bird. Here's what really works.
Big birds and small birds, kosher birds and self-basting birds. With all of these choices--and more--on the market, how can the home cook make the right choice and then cook it properly?
We wanted to present one straightforward recipe that would be flexible enough to accommodate all of the choices open to the cook when roasting a turkey.
Our recipe allows for a brined or an unbrined turkey (we found you should never brine a kosher or self-basting bird, as they'll become too salty), and for a turkey brined in four hours or overnight (the shorter the soak, the saltier the brine). It also provides timing and temperature guidelines for small (12- to 15-pound), medium (15- to 18-pound), and large (18- to 22-pound) birds (large birds get a hotter oven to start out then a cooler oven to let them cook through without burning the skin).
list of recipes
