Reviewed: Nov. 30, 2008

BY FAR THE MOISTEST TURKEY I HAVE EVER HAD!! THIS WAS MY 2ND TURKEY I HAVE EVER MADE.THE FIRST ONE WAS I COOKED IN A BAG AND WAS DRY. I THINK IT MUST BE THE BRINING PROCESS THAT MAKES IT SOOO MOIST. I RUBBED THE SALT ALL OVER THE TURKEY AND PUT THE TURKEY IN A GARBAGE BAG IN THE FRIDGE OVER NIGHT- BECAUSE I DIDNT KNOW HOW ELSE TO KEEP THE TURKEY COVERED IN THE WATER? WORKED WELL.

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JENNI932000

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Reviewed: Nov. 30, 2008

I made a Thanksgiving turkey for the first time this year and after reading the reviews I chose this one. It was so moist and flavorful. I used other reviewer's ideas and stuffed it with apples and used twice the wine. It was falling off of the bones. Plus, my husband liked it and he does not like turkey because it's usually dry. Now I will make this turkey every year.

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mom of two

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Chatham, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

Ok, this was my first turkey ever. I added 1/2 cup of sugar, maple syrup, honey, garlic, pepper, and lemon juice to the brine. I am never NOT bringing my bird again. This was the best turkey I have ever had in my life. My husband and brother went crazy over this. Thanks for the recipe.

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Jacquie

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

not worth the extra time and effort it takes to prepare. i have used the bag method for years, and that is far easier that this, and tastes just as good!

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puppylove2145

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: San Diego, California, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

Family was very cautious of this. But it was so amazzzzzingly moist and flavorfull... Per other reviews i did add more vegitables, and drained the brine and let the turkey set a few hours in the fridge withought it. Other reviews had said it was dificult and messy to flip the turkey. I tied twine around the turky securing both wings in it, Put my mits inside of baggies and it was so simply easy to flip.. no problems at all... i did Baste every half hour. And i used 2 cans chicken broth in the bottom of the pan and no wine. It was amazing and the only way i will ever do a turkey again. WAY worth the trouble.

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mom of two k's

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

This recipe is AMAZING. I added some garlic herb butter under the skin and cooked the first 30 minutes at 500 degrees. Then I dropped the temperature down to 350 until the thermometer read 165. The turkey was flavorful and so juicy, and the gravy was to die for. I have found my go to recipe for turkey.

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julebug7

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

Very moist and delicious. Followed the recipe exactly except i let the bird sit uncovered in the fridge for about 3 hours after removing from the brine as suggested by another reviewer. Great way to cook a turkey and relatively simple.

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cheryl

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Rochester, New Hampshire, USA

Living In: Dover, New Hampshire, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

Very good turkey. I liked the change of baking on the breast side down. I didn't brine, but will next time. Also, cooked to temp of 165.

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CHARITYBOO

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: Beaverton, Oregon, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

We hosted our first Thanksgiving dinner this year and used this recipe for the Turkey - like the name says it turned out Perfect! We followed the recipe exactly. Didn't leave much to make gravy with though.

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KARYN35

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

This was my first time to cook a turkey, and it turned out wonderful. We used a twenty pound turkey, and it was not easy to turn over (but well worth it). The white meat was to die for. My family was very impressed. The only thing I would recommend is not putting the vegetables in the bottom right away. They tend to burn.

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TeraOWU

Cooking Level: Beginning

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

This was only the 2nd time I had baked a whole turkey. I used a brined turkey from Trader Joe's and skipped the brining steps. I used a turkey injector and injected a total of 6 tbl of melted butter into the breast area (next time I will add a bit of seasoning salt). Some oozed out, so I smeared it over the skin. I followed the rest of the recipe, except I baked it breast side up and covered it loosely in foil. I did not turn it (I couldn't imagine turning a 20+ lb turkey). It browned beautifully and was extremely juicy. I used a turkey timer (you plug it into the breast and it pop-ups when it hits 180 degrees). It took about 3 1/2 hours. I will definitely use this again. I don't know if the vegs in the roasting pan were necessary, and it was a mess to clean up. Next time I will definitely line the pan with foil and might omit the extra vegs. Oh, and the wine I used was a 2007 Kenwood Chardonnay. It had been recommended to pair with turkey in our local paper's wine column. It was a very nice Chard and value priced.

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Cook4mycrew

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

This really is "Perfect Turkey". I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out EXCELLENT.

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Rick

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

This is the first time I ever cooked a turkey, so I was very nervous. I did exactly as the recipe instructed, and it turned out great. Everyone loved it. For some reason my turkey didn’t brown, but that was probably a lack of expertise upon my part. Next time, I will triple the carrots. The carrots were so good they almost overshadowed the turkey.

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Lisa

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Huntsville, Alabama, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 29, 2008

The name says it all...this is the ONLY way I'll do turkey from now on...breast meat (which hubby and I don't like) was delicious! Fixing to make soup from leftover carcass and veggie stuffings.

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Emily Tisdale

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Nov. 28, 2008

I had never used a roaster for anything. I was told by several friends to try it, so I bought a roaster and tried it! Wow, the turkey was soooooo moist and very flavorful. I will be making Thanksgiving turkey like this more often.

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Julie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Iona, Idaho, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 28, 2008

Beautifully golden. The white meat was moist. The best we have ever had in 20 years of Thanksgivings.

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GoneToTheDogs

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Reviewed: Nov. 28, 2008

Delicious! This was the juiciest Turkey I've ever tasted! Rave reviews by our guest(s) at dinner on Thanksgiving! This is one recipe that will remain in my cookbook permanently!

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Stephanie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Peoria, Illinois, USA

Living In: Channahon, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 28, 2008

I BRINED A BUTTERBALL TURKEY - it was too late to turn back because I had not read all of the reviews about brining a BB turkey. I am sooooo glad that I did it. Now I did not use the brining ingredients in this recipe because I had already purchased a brining kit (with a bag) at the grocery store and used that, but I did follow the rest of this recipe. I did stuff it, but the stuffing came out so wet that it was almost unservable until my husband said to mix it in the the extra batch that always goes in the oven and Wow, that made the stuffing even better too. I did do the upside down thing and it was not fun turning a 22 pound stuffed hot turkey, but we managed and in the end, it turned out to be the best turkey any of us have ever had. No one could get over how moist and flavorful it was. The brine kit that I used was from Fire & Flavor and they do have a website FIREANDFLAVOR.COM. It was not too salty and I will never do a turkey again without brining it. Perfect turkey is right!!!

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LMSHIRE

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: York, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 28, 2008

I made this for Thanksgiving and couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out...everyone loved it. The brining was somewhat difficult (mostly because I didn't have a large enough stockpot), so I ended up with about 1/4 of my turkey hanging out on top. I just turned it over early on Thanksgiving morning so that the other part could soak for a few hours before I cooked it. It sure was worth that extra trouble, though, I was so surprised at how moist it turned out, and that was even after over-cooking it a bit. I followed another reviewer's recommendation and put chopped apples inside the turkey and a lot of vegetables (carrots, celery and onions) around the outside of the turkey. Great recipe, a definite keeper -- thank you so much!

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Natalie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Denver, Colorado, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 28, 2008

I cooked my very first turkey on Thanksgiving yesterday and it turned out very well. Sooo juicy and flavorful. My family and guests loved it. One of my guests (who is a chef) commented that my turkey was so far the best that he had tasted. The process is long but if you follow the instructions carefully,you will be happy with the result. Though, I am not so happy with the skin browning.Next time I will cover it with foil half way during roasting to make it more brown.Thanks for the recipe and I can't wait for next year Thanksgiving.

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