OK, I know Thanksgiving is past, so you might think this article is way after the fact. But other holiday meals are still on the horizon, after all. So let’s talk turkey.

I don’t think most folks do it very well. Which is why we have gravy.

I grew up with turkey being cooked low and slow, until the breast was so dry I wanted to cry (the house always smelled really good, though).

So when I had my own home and family to cook for, I tried a number of approaches: I’ve brined it. A few times I’ve put butter underneath the skin. I’ve tried the method of high heat to begin with and then reducing to low for the remainder of the cooking time. I’ve placed the entire turkey atop thickly sliced onions and then stuffed it with oranges (which didn’t meet with rave reviews).

Well this year I tried out my Instant Pot. After all, I thought, the Instant Pot turns out an incredible Peruvian Chicken, so why not a turkey? I found some great how-to tips on a fun site, www.baconismagic.ca, and I followed this magician’s advice to the letter.

If you, too, have had turkey issues, you might like to know how the Bacon Is Magic cook does it:

First, she said to put 1/2 onion, carrot, 1 celery stalk and 1 bay leaf in the bottom of an 8 quart Instant Pot with 1/2 cup of water; set the turkey on the trivet. Use the Instant Pot chicken method of 6 minutes per pound with a 10 minute NPR (natural pressure release). So an 8lb turkey takes 48 minutes cooking + 10 Minutes NPR.

Ayngelina, Bacon Is Magic’s author and chef, says “The turkey falls off the bone; you just push the skin away (it’s white and unappetizing) and carve the meat onto a platter for everyone to eat. It is so moist and flavorful. No need for gravy – although it’s good to have it anyway.”

OK, “falls off the bone” is good. But what about those folks at the table who really like, and look forward to crispy turkey skin? (I’m one of ‘em). Ayngelina didn’t ignore them. She cooked another turkey for the very purpose of meeting this crispy-skin-requirement.

For crispy skin, then, you preheat your oven to broil while your turkey is on NPR. When the turkey is finished cooking and the NPR time is met, you carefully remove the turkey, keeping it on the trivet, to a sheet pan. Then baste the skin in the drippings and broil the turkey for 5 minutes. Voila and behold! Crispy skin and moist breast. NOW we’re talkin’ turkey!

And another tip from Ayngelina: She always uses a digital cooking thermometer when cooking meat. Hers is less than $10 and it’s the only way to know if your meat is at a safe temperature (plus you don’t risk overcooking the meat).

Finally, there’s the stuffing (aka dressing) conundrum. I used to think it HAD to be inside the turkey…that’s where all the flavor is, right?

Ayngelina says “Wrong.” I agree. A good dressing recipe can be cooked in a casserole dish and turn out wonderfully well. The trick is to pour turkey drippings over it all before baking. I promise, NO ONE will know the difference. It’s the turkey drippings that everyone loves anyway, so just be sure you add this with a liberal hand. (And be sure to slather it over the turkey while it’s resting, also.)

Like Ayngelina says, “The problem with turkey is that it dries out fast and stuffing prolongs the cooking time. Remove the stuffing and cook a better bird.”

For those of you wanting to try her technique, here’s the recipe. I’d love to hear from you on this topic. Turkey’s such a good food that it’s worth our while to really master its cooking. In closing, hat’s off to the Instant Pot, and Happy Late Thanksgiving and Merry Upcoming Christmas!

INSTANT POT TURKEY

1 (8 lb) turkey, fresh or defrosted

1 medium onion, quartered

1 stalk celery, quartered

1 medium carrot, quartered

2 cloves garlic, cut in half

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 cup water

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Pat turkey dry with paper towel and season with kosher salt and black pepper.

2. Put half of onion and one clove of garlic in cavity of turkey

3. Put remaining ingredients in bottom of Instant Pot, place trivet with turkey on top.

4. Cook on manual for 48 minutes (6 minutes per pound of turkey). NPR for 10 minutes.

5. Carefully remove from Instant Pot. For crispy skin place turkey on baking sheet and baste skin with oil or drippings from Instant Pot. Broil until golden, about five minutes.

RECIPE NOTES:

For larger or smaller turkey simply use the 6 minutes per pound rule.

If you’re using Kitchen Bouquet® to make gravy, take a pastry brush and paint the turkey with a teaspoon or two before you put it under the boiler and it will give it the darkness of having roasted turkey all day.

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