Turkey is an interesting meat in the U.S. because first, it’s an iconic holiday meal, yet second, a shocking number of people hate the stuff. To those who don’t like turkey, I say the same thing that I say to those who don’t like broccoli or brussel sprouts: I’m sorry you’ve never had it the right way.

This is meant to be your one-stop-shop for learning about and preparing the best turkey you’ve ever had. What makes a good turkey? Easy:

• Jaw-dropping flavor
• Succulent moistness
• Crispy skin
• Amazing gravy

Shall we dive in? Let’s go.

Common Mistakes

First things first, there is some misinformation, bad practice, and unethical marketing around turkey, which makes it hard to really find the right way to cook one. Before we get into my method, let’s talk about some of those things that we can get wrong if we’re not careful, which can put a dent in our plans.

Thawing: Chances are you’re cooking a frozen bird. There’s nothing wrong with that, but these birds tend to be big, which means it’s hard to cook them evenly. The last thing you want is to cook a turkey that only seems thawed on the outside, but is still rock hard in the middle. Suddenly you’ve been baking for two hours longer than you think you should have, your guests are hungry, that turkey breast will be stringy and dry, and your annoying aunt Lindy will say, “See, this is why I hate turkey!”

None of that.

To avoid this fiasco, take your bird out of the freezer and put it in the fridge one week before cooking. It won’t go bad after just a week in the fridge, and it’ll have plenty of time to thaw and get soft.

Wet Brines: Brining your turkey is mandatory. However, I suggest against a wet brine for two reasons: First, wet brining takes up a lot more space than dry brining, and that is often precious space that we don’t have. You’ll have to sacrifice other foods that should have gone in your fridge, or as I’ve seen a few times, you’ll take the gamble of brining your turkey outside overnight (because, you know, it’s cold outside so it’ll probably be fine). Second, wet brining just isn’t necessary.

Hear me out on this one: you don’t need to immerse your turkey in lemon, rosemary, sage, and a bunch of other herbs and spices for 24 hours to make it taste good. In fact, those flavor molecules are rather large, so they’re simply not going to “seep into” the meat no matter how many blog posts claim otherwise. All you need is salt, and if you’re dry brining, you don’t need that much.

The day before cooking (12 to 24 hours), take out your turkey and sprinkle it all over with salt (½ teaspoon per pound). Salt molecules are very small, so unlike other flavorings, this stuff will actually penetrate through the skin and into the meat, which makes all the difference for both flavor and texture.

Trussing the Legs: Most turkeys come with the legs trussed for you. If so, snip them. You don’t want to cook a trussed up bird because while it might look fancy at the time, it inhibits complete browning of the skin. What would you prefer, pretty string tying up the legs that you’re going to cut later anyway, or evenly browned skin?

Another reason to cut the trussing is because the legs need more intense cooking than the rest of the bird, and once you’ve cut the trussing, the legs can spread out and catch more heat.

Baking with a Sheet: Don’t put the turkey on a baking sheet (or in a baking pan) in the oven. This is for the same reason we don’t keep the trussing: we want thorough, even browning of the entire bird. If you leave it on a sheet, then the bottom/back of the bird will stay pale and leathery. No one wants to eat that.

Instead, set up two racks in your oven. Put your turkey itself on the top rack, and put a sheet pan beneath it on the bottom rack to catch all the drippings (throw some carrots, celery, and sliced onions on there, too). And trust me, you’ll want those drippings.

Pop-up Thermometers: A lot of turkeys come with plastic pop-up thermometers installed. So when the thermometer “pops” and you see a red tab sticking out, you know the meat is done! Sure… or it’s overcooked by fifteen to twenty degrees and you have a dry bird on your hands. If you want it done right, remove that pop-up thermometer and throw it away. Use your own insert thermometer instead.

Basting: Don’t baste your bird.

”What?!” scoffs your great aunt Suzie who doesn’t really like turkey anyway.

You heard me—don’t baste your bird! If you “need” the basting, then your oven is too hot. All that basting really does is prevent the skin from browning and getting crispy like we want.

Resting and Tinfoil: You may have read my articles on this before, but resting your meat before cutting into it is (almost always) overrated. You might lose some water content, but you’ll more than make up for it with deliciously warm meat and soft, gelatinized connective tissue.

Don’t Deep Fry the Turkey!!! This is America, so of course we love a good deep fried turkey. The main reason is because that skin gets so amazingly crispy while the inside doesn’t overcook. Yeah, okay, or you could burn your whole face off and take the house with it. Deep fried turkeys have often shot flames up to ten feet in the air. They’ve resulted in house fires, property damage, and devastating injuries to cooks and bystanders.

It’s just not worth it. If you want that delicious crispy skin, make it my way instead ;)

Identifying and Choosing Your Turkey

Basted, Self-Basted, or Enhanced: Turkeys labeled in this way have generally had a salt brine (and possibly other tenderizers) injected in. Producers are allowed to inject up to 8% of the weight of the bird with a salt solution, and they’ll usually say this right on the packaging.

If you cook a self-basted turkey, you’ll want to be careful with your brine—you don’t want to oversalt it. The general consensus among hardcore barbecuers (my go-to experts on most things meat) is that you’ll want to cut your salt brine by half if you’re cooking with this kind of turkey.

Kosher Turkey: These birds have already been salted on the outside and inside the cavity. If you get a kosher turkey, don’t salt it. Have fun cooking.

Fresh Turkey: Honestly, I don’t trust turkeys labeled “fresh.” Food safety regulations allow marketers to label turkeys as fresh merely as long as it hasn’t been brought below 26℉ by the food processor. It’s not the same thing as a truly fresh bird.

If you know a farmer, you might be able to actually get fresh turkey. If so, make sure it’s butchered within a day of your brining it, and you’ll be good to go. You don’t want to eat a bird that’s been sitting in someone’s fridge for the last two weeks.

All in all, it’s hard to find a bird that hasn’t been pumped in some way, and if you want one you probably need to special order it from a local butcher/farmer or from a specialty store (Wholefoods might work). As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing wrong with a self-basted or kosher turkey if you’re just making a good family dinner.

Let’s Cook

Okay, with all that being said, let’s get into how to actually cook this incredible bird. I usually prefer barbecuing or smoking my turkey, and if you have a good smoker accessible, I fully encourage you to follow these steps on your smoker. However, I assume most of us are cooking in an oven, which while not as great as getting the crispy skin and awesome flavor, will still do a great job.

1. Select your turkey weight by how many people you plan to feed—about one pound per person. If you’re feeding thirty people or something, get two fifteen-pound birds, not one thirty-pound bird (the smaller bird makes for more even cooking).
2. One week before Thanksgiving, remove your turkey from the freezer and put them in the fridge.
3. Twelve to twenty-four hours before cooking, remove your turkey from the packaging. Dump the juices into a baggy. Remove the neck and all the other “innards” and set them in the same baggy—except for the liver. You can use that for something else, but it doesn’t make good gravy.
4. The day of cooking, set your oven to 325℉.
5. If you have any seasonings for your turkey, now is the time to apply them. Gently pull the skin away from the flesh without ripping it and rub butter or mayonnaise under it. Add sprigs of rosemary or sage and your favorite herb blend or spice rub. If you have any extras, add them to your drip pan.
6. Place your turkey on the top rack of the oven. Place a drip pan on the rack beneath it with some onions, carrots, and celery (in a 2:1:1 ratio).
7. Insert your thermometer and set it to alert you once the turkey reaches 155℉*. A fifteen-pound bird will take about two and a half to three hours, but this is just an approximation.
8. As the internal temperature approaches 150℉, tilt the turkey to drain all the juices out from its cavity, then put it back on the heat.
9. (Optional), once your bird hits 150℉, remove the the drip pan from the oven. This will lead to more dry heat in the oven and aid the final steps in the crisping process. But it’ll also get your oven a little dirty (which is why I prefer the grill).
10. As the bird finishes, strain all the drippings through a sieve into a large saucepan. Toss the solids. If it’s super thin, let it gently cook down on the stovetop until it’s viscous. Filter off the excess fat. Salt to taste. That’s it—it’s that simple.
11. Once you’re finally at temperature, remove the bird from the oven. Carve and serve as soon as humanly possible.
12. There should be plenty to go around. That skin will be gorgeously brown and crispy, and the meat will be juicy and succulent. Don’t bite anyone if they get too close to your food.

*Only 150℉? Isn’t that dangerous?

Not at all. The carryover will cause the internal temperature to eventually reach safe temperatures even after you’ve removed it from the oven.

About Gravy…

Let’s talk about that drip pan and the gorgeous gravy you need for Thanksgiving. I’m going to push you to do something a little weird here and make a light, thin gravy. In other words, resist the urge to thicken this gravy with a roux (i.e. flour) or cornstarch. While I have nothing against thick gravy in principle, in the case of this meal, the thin gravy is really good for soaking into the meat of the turkey and making it all sorts of flavorful, while an overly thick gravy has diluted flavor and just sits on top of the meat.

Go Forth and Give Thanks

That should be about it. Enjoy the best turkey you’ve ever had!

Did I miss something? Better yet, did you try the recipe yourself? Let me know in the comments!