Here are our best tips for better Thanksgiving cooking, including how to achieve a crispier-skinned bird, fluffier pumpkin pie, and richer gravy, as well as step-by-step guidance on trussing your turkey and carving it table-side.
1. CRISPIER-SKINNED TURKEY
For a turkey with skin that’s crisp and flavorful, keep a small saucepan of melted butter, whole peppercorns, sherry vinegar, and dried sage and thyme on the stove, and use a basting brush to slather the infused butter all over the turkey as it roasts, every 30 minutes or so.
See How to Grill the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey »
2. MORE FLAVORFUL MEAT
If you’re bringing your turkey, dried herbs are a better bet than fresh ones for seasoning the brine solution. Drying concentrates the flavor; after penetrating the meat along with the brine, the herbs will bloom in the heat of the oven, releasing their fragrant oils to flavor the meat.
3. SWEETER, RICHER GRAVY
Fortified wines like sherry, port, and madeira contain not only more alcohol but also more sugar than unfortified wines do. Adding a few tablespoons of any of the above to a gravy at the end of cooking will accentuate the richness and sweetness of the caramelized pan juices and other ingredients.
4. ALL-NATURAL ROASTING RACK
A mirepoix of chopped carrot, onion, and celery lining the bottom of the roasting pan not only enhances the flavor of turkey as it cooks, it also acts as a roasting rack, elevating the bird so heat can circulate under it, for even browning all over. After roasting under the turkey and becoming infused with pan juices, the mirepoix can be added to the gravy to boost its flavor, too.
5. PERFECTLY COOKED TURKEY
White meat cooks faster than dark meat does, and breaking down a whole turkey into breasts, drumsticks, thighs, and wings before cooking lets you give each part the treatment it deserves. Begin by seasoning and pan searing the turkey pieces skin-side down, then roast them skin-side up in the oven, removing individual pieces once they’re cooked.
Do you have any great tips to making a better thanksgiving turkey? Please share in the comment section below. Thanks!
