You don’t have to get up at 6am to make a perfectly crisp and juicy roast turkey. With these super easy steps, that bird will be ready to eat in less than two hours. To make things even easier, you can do everything ahead of time, including making a bed of soft, bready stuffing for the turkey to sit on.
To speed up the cooking of your turkey, cut out the backbone. When you butterfly the turkey, you expose more of the meat to the heat, which takes less time and gives the skin a crisp texture without drying out the breast. You can do this yourself or ask your grocery store to do it for you. So that your house doesn’t smell like smoke, the turkey is cooked on top of the dressing, which soaks up the turkey’s juices. Now you don’t have to worry about how to cook a turkey.
The following recipe is best begun two days before you plan to cook your bird to allow for optimal brining and drying time.
Step 1: Butterfly the Bird
Butterflying a bird is easy, but if you want to butterfly a turkey, you’ll have to put in a lot of effort. The first time, I knew I wanted to do it myself, but the next time, I’ll ask my grocery store clerk very nicely to do it for me. It makes you sweat!
All you need to do is take out the backbone and break the breast bone so the turkey lies flat.
Step 2: To Brine or Not to Brine
If you think ahead and brine your turkey, the meat will be juicy and tender all the way down to the bone. If you don’t have time, choose a kosher turkey, which is salted while being processed, or a frozen bird, which has probably already been injected with a salt solution.
If you think ahead and brine your turkey, the meat will be juicy and tender all the way down to the bone. If you don’t have time, choose a kosher turkey, which is salted while being processed, or a frozen bird, which has probably already been injected with a salt solution.
If you do decide to brine your turkey, don’t worry, it’s really easy. From the simplest turkey brine to the most fancy brines with orange peel and juniper berries, it only takes a minute to get your bird ready to brine. Here are some easy guidelines:
- Use a fresh bird, not a frozen one. Salty solutions are often injected into frozen birds in order to make the meat more juicy.
- If you don’t have a big pot, you can use a big Ziploc bag (or a more expensive brining bag) instead.
- Plan to brine your turkey two days before you cook it so it has time to soak up the brine and dry out before roasting.
I made a simple brine with 1 part sugar and 2 parts salt, put it in a big bag with a zipper, and put it in the fridge overnight. Since the turkey is flattened, it’s easy to find space for it in a fridge that’s already full.
Step 3: The Dressing
While your turkey is rearranging its protein molecules to soak up more water from its briny bath, this is a great time to make the dressing that will soak up the juices.
Choose your favourite recipe (I used this one), but don’t cook your dressing yet. Put it in the bottom of the roasting pan where the turkey will be. Wrap the bird in foil and put it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it.
Step 4: Drying the Turkey
After brining your turkey for 8 hours or overnight, take it out of the bath and give it a good rinse.
Paper towels should be used to dry the turkey inside and out.
If you have one, put the bird on a greased roasting pan with holes in it. If you don’t have one, get a rack, cover it with foil, cut some holes in it to let the juices through, and spray it lightly with cooking spray.
Put in the fridge overnight to dry. Place right on top of the foil-covered dressing pan to save space in your fridge.
Step 5: Let’s Get Cooking!
To make room for the height of your bird, move the oven rack to the lower middle position and heat the oven to 450F. (230C).
Take the turkey and stuffing out of the fridge.
Take the foil off the top of the stuffing, and put the turkey back on the rack on top of the stuffing.
Using your hands, pull the skin away from each side of the breastbone to make two pockets. Be careful not to tear the thin membrane around the breast. About 2 tablespoons of butter should be rubbed under the new skin. Brush 1 to 2 tablespoons of melted butter mixed with your favourite fresh herbs on the outside of the turkey. I picked sage and thyme.
Put the turkey on top of the dressing in the oven and roast for 80 to 100 minutes, turning the pan from front to back every 40 minutes. The skin should be crisp and dark brown.
When put in the thickest part of the breast, the thermometer should read 165F (74C), and when put in the thickest part of the thigh, it should read 175F (80C).
Step 6: Rest
Put the rack with the turkey on a cutting board, make a tent with foil, and let the turkey rest for 20 minutes.
Set the oven rack to the upper-middle position, put the roasting pan with the dressing back in the oven, and bake for about 10 more minutes, or until the dressing is golden brown.
Let the dressing cool for 5 minutes, and then put it in a bowl or on a platter with the turkey. Carve and serve your turkey!