Everything You Need to Know to Make the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

When it comes to buying a turkey at the supermarket, the options seem endless and the labels confusing. Our team has sampled dozens of turkeys over the years and talked with experts to identify which birds deserve the spotlight on your Thanksgiving table. Here’s what we’ve learned:

Fresh Isn’t Always Best:

Unless you’re buying a turkey fresh from a local farm, a frozen turkey is the better bet. Why? When turkeys are commercially frozen, the process is quick, which prevents large ice ­crystals from forming and damaging the meat. Turkeys labeled “fresh” may be chilled to as low as 26 degrees, meaning that even though the entire turkey will not freeze, tiny ice crystals can still form in the meat. If these crystals melt (which can happen if the temperature fluctuates during transport, even driving home from the grocery store), they can merge with neighboring crystals, refreeze when the turkey is returned to the freezer, and puncture the meat, allowing juices to escape during cooking and the meat to cook up dry and tough.

Bigger Isn’t Better:

The bigger the bird, the harder it is to get the white and dark meat to cook evenly. Plus, some ovens can’t accommodate large turkeys. We recommend buying a bird that weighs between 12 and 14 pounds. If you’re feeding a crowd, consider supplementing the whole bird with turkey parts, like whole breasts.

Check the Ingredient List:

Many supermarket turkeys are injected with salty liquid that’s meant to enhance flavor and moisture: It seasons the meat and changes its protein structure so it holds more water. When phosphates are included, they allow the meat to hold even more water. This type of processing may sound promising—after all, we brine turkey and chicken in the test kitchen to improve flavor and moistness. But we’ve found that injected birds (these are often labeled “self-basting”) can contain funky-tasting spices and seasonings and their retained liquid (up to 9.5 percent) gives them a curiously “gummy” and “mushy” texture. Furthermore, if you purchase a treated bird you’re actually paying for all that retained water weight, as most turkeys are sold by the pound. The bottom line? For the best holiday bird, check the ingredient list, avoid those containing anything other than “turkey,” and follow our instructions for brining or salting.

We’re big proponents of pretreating your turkey by either salting or brining it before roasting. Both techniques season and enhance juiciness in lean meat like turkey. Which method you use depends on how much time and space you have, and how much you prioritize really crisp skin. (Note: If using a self-basting turkey (such as a frozen Butterball) or a kosher turkey, do not salt or brine your bird.) Here’s how the two methods compare:

Ready to get started? Click here for detailed directions on how to brine and how to salt a turkey.

For Extra-Crisp Skin, Air-Dry Your Bird

Air drying your turkey removes moisture from the exterior, producing very crisp skin.

• If you’re brining your turkey:
• After brining, rinse turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey breast-side up on a flat wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, 8 to 24 hours. Proceed with your recipe.
• If you’re salting your turkey:
• After applying salt, place turkey, breast-side up, on a flat wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 to 48 hours. (The salt penetrates the turkey at the same time the skin dries.) Proceed with your recipe.

It’s time to roast that bird. Our Easier Roast Turkey and Gravy recipe uses a unique setup to produce white and dark meat that finish cooking concurrently, along with extra-crisp skin.

A New Twist on Roasting Turkey: The Setup

• Preheat a baking stone, with roasting pan placed on top, for at least 30 minutes in a hot oven.
• Drizzle preheated roasting pan with oil.
• Place turkey, breast side up, into preheated roasting pan (it will sizzle).
• Cover breast with aluminum foil to protect from overcooking.
• Return roasting pan to oven on top of preheated baking stone.
• Roast at a higher temperature for first 45 minutes.
• Remove foil. Lower the oven temperature and roast until turkey is done (see next section).

Why It Works: The baking stone transfers heat directly to the bottom of the roasting pan, which is in contact with the turkey’s thighs and drumsticks. That extra boost of heat causes the dark meat, which cooks to a higher temperature (175 degrees), to finish cooking concurrently with the more delicate white meat. That means no more overcooked turkey, and no need to awkwardly flip the bird in the roasting pan to evenly cook the breasts and thighs.

Our Favorite Turkey Roasting Equipment

A few tools help guarantee a perfectly cooked bird, every time.

• Roasting Pan: Our winner is made from tri-ply stainless steel; features comfortable, easy-to-grip handles; and boasts a price that won’t break the bank.
• Baking Stone: Roasting your turkey in a pan set atop a baking stone gives the dark meat an extra boost of heat, so it’s done at the same time as the white. Our favorite is tough and durable.
• Oven Thermometer: Home ovens are notoriously inaccurate. Our winner guarantees precise, reliable results.

Don’t depend on that little pop-up thermometer that comes pre-inserted into the turkey; they’re unreliable and can lead to underdone or overcooked birds. The most accurate way to gauge the doneness of a turkey is to take its temperature with an instant-read thermometer.

How to Take Your Turkey's Temperature

Breast: Insert the thermometer from the neck end, holding it parallel to the bird. (Avoid hitting the bone, which can give an inaccurate reading.) It should register 160 deg

Thigh: Insert the thermometer at an angle into the area between the drumstick and breast away from the bone. It should register 175 degrees.

Click here for more details on temping your turkey, why it’s so important to rest your bird before carving, and whether pink turkey is safe to eat.

Rather than carving the Thanksgiving bird tableside, we recommend tackling this messy job in the kitchen. After your turkey’s rested for about 45 minutes (uncovered, to keep the skin crisp), gather your chef’s knife and your carving board and follow our step-by-step instructions for how to carve a turkey like a pro.

There you have it—everything you need to know to make a picture-perfect Thanksgiving turkey, whether you're serving a small group or a whole crowd.