How to cook a great turkey with oven

You can cook a great turkey in the oven without drying out if you cook it the right way.

 

First(this is an optional step),if you have a large sanitary 5 gallon plastic bucket, brine the turkey in it a day before cooking.This is usually made with some sort of stock so only do this if your turkey has not been injected with a salt solution, otherwise you may over do the salt.

 

Dry the turkey inside and out before roasting. Cook it according to size/time instructions. Here's the big trick, cook for the first 3/4 of the cooking time BREAST DOWN. This will allow the moisture to soak down back into the meat rather than the cavity that you will not eat.

 

Rotate the turkey for the last 1/4 of cooking time to brown the breast side skin.

 

The last and most important tip is that you need to let the turkey rest. Once you remove the turkey from the oven, tent foil over it and let it rest for 45minutes. This is key. If you cut it while it's piping hot, juices run out and the meat becomes dry. If the turkey cools a little it will stay moist. Don't worry, the foil keeps it nice and warm for serving. Actually, it continues to cook after removing from the heat, so it's ok to remove from the oven before the 180 degree recommended temperature is reached. It will reach that temp on its own which prevent overcooking, thus drying.