The 7 Scientific Secrets Of Better Turkey
In the spirit of selflessness, this year I offered to relieve my mom of her Thanksgiving turkey duties and roast the big bird myself.
There’s just one problem: I’ve never cooked a bird in my life, let alone a fowl with a major holiday riding on its success.
My preliminary recipe research only amplified my self-doubt. As a first-timer, I wanted the simplest strategy for turning out a winning turkey—nothing fancy—but a quick Google search revealed that from oven temps to turkey tools, every chef and their mother-in-law has a different take on “the best” turkey technique.
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Where should you stuff your stuffing? How often should you baste? To brine or not to brine?
To make matters worse, every recipe is framed as the be-all and end-all of turkey recipes. Smoking your turkey, steaming your turkey, frying your turkey—how could all of these recipes be the recipe?
I was tempted to just give up and wing it, but I decided that if I was going to shove my hand in an animal’s cold carcass and yank out its body parts, it had better be worth it.
So I asked for help. I went to the top: Nathan Myhrvold, Ph.D., is perhaps the world’s foremost food-science authority. He also happens to be a Princeton-educated physicist, an inventor, and a former student of Stephen Hawking.
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After Myhrvold left his position as chief technology officer at Microsoft, he trained as a chef and then built The Cooking Lab in Bellevue, Washington, where he and his team explore the intersection of food and science.Their findings fill the pages of the five-volume, 2,400-page work Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, and the recently published Modernist Cuisine at Home, designed for cooks like me.
The gist of what he told me? A large percentage of “definitive” recipes you’ll find are gimmicky, many of the steps are unnecessary, and roasting the perfect Thanksgiving turkey really is (and I exhale a sigh of relief here) quite simple.
And he’s right. I know, because I roasted a turkey according to Myhrvold’s scientifically proven advice and it came out crispy, tender, juicy, and loaded with flavor. So, this Thanksgiving, I invite you to ignore the hyper-involved 18-step methods, ditch the deep fryer, and relax.
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Roasting an amazing turkey is easy as pumpkin pie—so long as you avoid these 7 turkey myths:
Turkey Myth #1: You must buy your turkey fresh, not frozen
Buying your turkey straight from a local farm is a great way to support your community, but, according to Myhrvold, it’ll do little for the flavor of your fowl.
“I would not be afraid of a frozen turkey,” he says. “A professionally frozen turkey that’s defrosted properly is generally going to be pretty damn good.” (We like the organic, antibiotic-free birds from Bell & Evans.) And for turkey thawing tips, follow these rules from the USDA.
Related: Smoke the Ultimate Turkey
Turkey Myth #2: Salting the skin is just as good as brining
For the average home cook, Myhrvold says brining—submerging meat in salty water—is the ticket to tender turkey. The reason: By the time most birds brown, there’s a good chance the white meat will dry out.
“The salt in brine modifies the proteins and makes them hold more water, which makes your flesh more juicy,” he says.
Your brining options: You can either soak the bird in the brine, or inject the solution directly into the meat using a kitchen syringe.
Turkey Myth #3: You need a ton of herbs and spices
Save the special seasonings for the gravy.
“Any spices that you add are only going to be on those tiny little bites of skin,” says Myhrvold.
The brine takes care of most of the flavor. Keep the seasoning simple: Before buttering the bird, brush it with soy sauce (for depth of flavor and salt) and paprika (for that kick of something special). That’s it.
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Turkey Myth #4: You need a special roasting pan
“Some people fetishize cooking equipment to this huge degree—you know, ‘You need this special roasting pan…,’ says Myhrvold. “That’s bullshit. Any pan that will hold the juices so that they don’t make a mess in your oven will work.”
If you want a simple, inexpensive piece of gear that’ll elevate the flavors of the turkey, pick up a V-shaped roasting rack. It allows air to circulate around the turkey, which helps the turkey brown evenly.
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Turkey Myth #5: Cooking your stuffing inside the bird yields tastier results
According to Myhrvold, this method doesn’t do much for the flavor, and it can also be dangerous.
“The inside of the turkey’s not that big, so the ratio of meat to stuffing is never right,” he says. “Plus it’s hard to get it out again, and there are food safety concerns because the bird’s so big and thick that it takes a long time for the heat to get in there.”
The takeaway: Stuff your face, not your bird.
Need a recipe? See ours below.
(And for even more crazy delicious meal ideas, pick up a copy of The Guy Gourmet Cookbook from Men’s Health. It includes 150 power-packed breakfasts, fast dinners, and big-batch meals you have to try.)
Turkey Myth #6: You should stick with one oven temp
“To get a brown bird, you need the skin to be dried out and heated to at least 300 degrees, which means the oven needs to be much hotter than that,” explains Myhrvold. “But if you did that the whole time, you’d overcook the outside, and the inside would still be raw.”
Think of it like grilling. If you have a thick T-bone, you’re going to want to sear it on both sides over intense, direct heat to develop that caramelized char.
Then, you move it off the heat, close the lid, and allow the inside to cook. Same premise, different animal.
Turkey Myth #7: The more basting, the better
As the turkey cooks, fat from the bird will drip into the roasting pan. Most people think that basting the turkey with its own fat results in juicer meat.
That’s false—most of the juice just falls right back into the pan—but basting does help with one thing: crisping the skin. Think of it as a lighter form of frying: When the fat in the juices settles on the skin and is exposed to the high heat of the oven, it causes the skin to sizzle and crisp.
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One caveat: “I wouldn’t baste it very often, but as the bird gets further along, you’re going to be checking it just to make sure everything’s OK,” says Myhrvold. “And when you do, squirting it with drippings using a bulb baster is a smart thing to do.”
To ensure your bird’s skin stays covered in fat between basting, do this: Cover the turkey’s breasts with a piece of cheesecloth soaked in butter or oil while it roasts.
Ready to roast? Don your oven mitts, gentlemen. It’s time to turkey.
Classic Thanksgiving Turkey
Recipe by Men’s Health
What you’ll need:
1 10-lb turkey
Salt for brining
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp paprika
1 piece of cheesecloth soaked in melted butter or olive oil, large enough to cover the turkey’s breasts
How to make it:
1. First, brine the bird.
If you’re submerging your turkey in brine, place the bird in a large container, such as a cooler or large stockpot. Grab a cleaned gallon jug, fill it with water, and pour it over the turkey, until the bird is submerged, counting gallons as you go.
Then, remove the turkey from the cooler and add 1 cup of salt for every 1 gallon of water you added. Stir until the salt dissolves. Put the turkey back in the cooler, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
If you’re injecting the bird with brine, combine 1 cup of water with 1 Tbsp of salt for every 5 pounds of turkey (for this recipe, you’ll need 2 cups of water and 2 Tbsp salt). Fill the kitchen syringe with the solution and inject the turkey throughout the meat beneath its skin. Refrigerate the turkey, uncovered, for 24 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Take the turkey out of the refrigerator and rinse it thoroughly with water. Pat the skin dry with paper towel, and place the turkey on a large cutting board. Combine the soy sauce and paprika and brush the turkey evenly. Allow the turkey to sit for until the sauce dries, 5 to 10 minutes.
Then brush it with half the melted butter. If you’re using the cheesecloth, soak it thoroughly in the remaining melted butter, and cover the breasts. Place the roasting rack on a baking sheet and place the turkey on the rack.
3. Slide the turkey into the oven and roast until the skin begins to brown and crisp, about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325°F, and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted at the thickest part of the thigh reads 160°F, about 2 ½ hours for a 10-lb turkey).
Let the bird rest for at least 30 to 50 minutes, during which the temperature should climb to 165°F and the bird will become juicier. Carve.
Related: The Easiest Way to Carve a Thanksgiving Turkey
BONUS: The Easiest Thanksgiving Stuffing
Recipe by Men’s Health
What you’ll need:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 tsp poultry seasoning
3 cups turkey or chicken stock
1 lb day-old sourdough bread, cubed
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Salt and ground black pepper
How to make it:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and poultry seasoning. Cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the turkey stock and bring to a simmer.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bread, parsley, and butter, tossing to combine well. Season the stuffing and transfer to an oiled 3-quart baking dish.
3. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until well browned, about 20 minutes more.
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