If there's one thing everyone wants to avoid at Thanksgiving dinner, it's a dry turkey. It's a big cooking day, but ensuring your bird is well-cooked and moist should be number one on your list. Luckily, Michelin-starred chefs have been more than generous in sharing their best Thanksgiving turkeytips and tricks, including Gordon Ramsay. Even though he has British roots and doesn't necessarily celebrate Thanksgiving, he's perfected a moist Christmas turkey that can be easily eaten on Thanksgiving.
Julia Child is famous for saying, "With enough butter, anything is good," and turkey is no exception. Ramsay's key for a guaranteed delicious and juicy turkey is a parsley and garlic butter that gets generously slathered both under the skin and on top of the turkey. While the turkey is cooking, you'll want to baste the bird with the melted butter pan juices to ensure a crispy skin while cooking. In addition to a hearty amount of butter and seasonings, Ramsay also ensures the entire bird is moist by adding additional fat and ensuring it does not overcook.
For those of us who like watching cooking tutorials, Gordon Ramsay shared his roasted turkey video on his Facebook. In order to really coat the turkey and ensure it stays moist, you're going to need to become well acquainted with your raw bird. Ramsay isn't shy about loosening the skin with his fingers to ensure the butter mixture completely coats the breasts and thighs. He even takes a ball of butter and slides it down to sufficiently coat the breast, which tends to be the driest part of the bird.
Ramsay knows that fat equals flavor, which is why he also drizzles on some olive oil and drapes uncooked bacon over the top of the bird after 10 minutes of cooking. The bacon doesn't just keep the breast moist, it also drips down and mixes with the pan drippings to create a deliciously flavored gravy. You've got your flavor — now it's time to cook it properly. Ramsay's secret to cooking the perfect turkey includes letting it rest as long as it cooks. Fans of the turkey agree that it is well worth the effort and time put into prepping this festive protein. One person in the Facebook comments had high praise for this method: "My husband used your recipe today for Thanksgiving; best turkey EVER!"
Ramsay's key for a guaranteed delicious and juicy turkey is a parsley and garlic butter that gets generously slathered both under the skin and on top of the turkey. While the turkey is cooking, you'll want to baste the bird with the melted butter pan juices to ensure a crispy skin while cooking.
REST: Once you're sure the turkey is fully cooked (check by piercing the thickest part of the leg with a skewer to see if the juices run clear), leave it to rest in a warm place for at least 45 minutes or up to a few hours. This lets the meat relax and allows all the juices to be reabsorbed.
Lift up the skin of the turkey with your fingers and separate it from the flesh. Divide the herb butter and spread it under the skin. Season well, place in a roasting tin. Cook the crown for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and cook the turkey for 1½ hours, or until the juices run clear.
"I always use salted butter. I find that it just makes everything taste so much better, especially when used in sweet baked goods (in place of unsalted butter)." 9. "Many chefs will tell you that adding oil to butter (when sautéing or searing something) will 'raise its smoke point' so it won't burn.
In recent years, brining has become more popular and can be done with either a wet or dry brine. A wet brine involves immersing the turkey in a salt-water solution for 12-24 hours. Dry-brining is where salt is rubbed over the turkey skin for 24-48 hours before cooking.
Simply heat your oven to 300 degrees, put the carved meat in a baking dish, and add some chicken broth or turkey stock to the pan. The meat will absorb some of the liquid as it heats, making it nice and juicy. Cover the pan tightly with foil and place it in the oven until the meat is hot, 20 to 30 minutes.
It will carry on cooking so you must never cover the bird. Put it to the side and rest it for at least one hour.” “The tin foil theory is about keeping moisture in, much like brining, using butter, oil, and basting,” Kelly explains.
It may seem a bit alarming to leave the turkey out on the counter for a couple of hours before putting it in the oven or smoker, but food safety experts who know about the Temperature Danger Zone, know that food can safely rest between 40 and 70°F (4 and 21°C) for a total of 4 hours.
If you let the turkey rest a bit, the juices reabsorb into the meat rather than running out of the bird and landing on the cutting board. Carve it to order. The longer you let it sit after you slice it, the drier it will be. If you need to slice it, cover it with foil or plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.
Add Fat if You Want To. Because turkey breast is especially lean, I like to rub softened fat beneath the skin just before roasting. It melts and gives the meat extra flavor, richness, and moisture. Duck fat is wonderful for this, and it fortifies the poultry flavors, but unsalted butter works well, too.
To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.
Having some liquid in the bottom of your roasting tray, smearing with butter and draping over smoked bacon will all help to keep the crown moist during cooking and stop it from drying out. You can keep an eye on the internal temperature of your bird as you're cooking if you have a temperature probe.
This is Gordon's rough guide to help you plan your day. For Gordon's classic roast turkey recipe with lemon, parsley and garlic, he roasts the unstuffed 5kg (11lb) turkey at 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7 for 10-15 minutes, then the oven is reduced to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4 and the turkey is cooked for 2.5 hours.
European butters have a higher butterfat percentage than American butters, and have become the butters of choice for many chefs, bakers, and passionate home cooks.
But if you're baking, unsalted butter is the best way to go since added salt can alter the chemistry of your recipes, clash with more delicate flavors, or crash into sweetness.
Keep your breast from drying out before the dark meat is done by elevating or trussing the legs. Exposing the legs to more heat allows them to cook at the same rate as the breast meat. Combined with a good rub or brine, you'll have a supermoist turkey everyone can enjoy.
If you let the turkey rest a bit, the juices reabsorb into the meat rather than running out of the bird and landing on the cutting board. Carve it to order. The longer you let it sit after you slice it, the drier it will be. If you need to slice it, cover it with foil or plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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