How to get the bottom of the turkey cooked in time?

A

anna_x

Well-known member
I ran late this year so I got a Butterball rather than brining It was completely thawed, so being too icy inside was not the problem. I cooked the unstuffed turkey in a bag.

When the thigh thermometer said 185 degrees, I took it out and it rested for almost 30 minutes before I opened the bag. The breast meat was perfect. The thigh meat juice ran pink. I cut off the white and put the bottom half back in the oven for another hour. Then it was fine.

This is not the first time this has happened. How do the rest of you deal with this?

 
Anna, do you put the bird on a rack? For the second time,I roasted our turkey at high heat...

for the entire time. Our unstuffed 16 pound bird took under two hours to reach 70 degrees at the thigh--and finally got to 80 degrees after a 30 minute rest. It was perfect.

I've never used a bag, but always cook atop a V-rack.

 
Anna! I had the exact same problem!! However my turkey was a Honeysuckle White and I brined it!!!

I put it on an oven rack, not an oven bag, tested the breast meat which showed 175 so I took it out and started carving only to find the thighs pink, also just as you did, I put it back in the oven for an hour and it was ok, but not tender.
I was so upset, I've never had this problem before, and was going to ask for advice here, but you beat me to it.
The breast meat was moist and delicious, however, I was embarrassed to serve the dark meat (my guests all preferred the dark meat!!)
I'll never buy another Honeysuckle White turkey.
I'm sorry you had the same problem, but I feel
at least I'm not alone!!

 
ATK recommendes turning the turkey over during baking.

Their Solution (for turkey for a crowd): Choose a 20# Butterball or kosher turkey. Both have been, in essence, brined--the Butterball injected with a saltwater solution and the kosher bird packed in salt during koshering. Roast the bird at 425 degrees for 1 hour, then lower the heat to 325 degrees, turn the turkey and continue to cook about 2 hours longer. The turkey is better if turned halfway through cooking, but those not up to the task can skip this step.

 
I suspect that the theory here is to roast breast-side down to start same as with chickens. Makes

for moist.

I've never found that it makes a big diff and with a turkey, it is such a hummer to turn. I just start with foil across the breast and thighs.

Anyone else have experience with moister poultry with turning?

 
My father, who was a chef, taught me to turn the bird halfway through cooking.

The bird starts out on its back and ends up on its tummy. To be really safe this process takes two people.......especially when you are cooking a very large bird.

 
Charlie, on your recommendation I used this method last Christmas ...

and was very happy with the result. I'll definitely be using the high heat method again. I did have some fluctuating thigh temperature readings, which were a bit confusing, but in the end it worked out great!

Does using a v-rack offer any additional advantage?

 
I roasted a turkey breast down once...it definitely resulted in juicier breast meat...

but there were some drawbacks. First, appearance-wise ... the breast was kind of flattened and there were rack imprints on it. (I think I left it breast down too long before flipping it over.) Second, flipping the bird was a bit of a scary prospect with an unwieldy, hot & slippery turkey!

Initially I thought that the idea behind this method was just to get the juices flowing down through the breast (versus draining away from it). But I've since read a theory that it slows down the rate at which the breast starts cooking, allowing the thighs to get a jump-start.

I'll link an article that espouses this method, however they go a step further, in that the turkey is also turned to roast on each side, as well the breast and back.

And here is another site which uses the same method as in the (usaweekend) link, but it has some pictures of just how evenly and gorgeously browned the bird looked when done.

www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/74/Classic-Roast-Turkey

http://www.usaweekend.com/01_issues/011111/011111cooksmart1.html

 
I really think it does Ruth. The V-rack. Crisper all around, more consistent heat. No lost skin.

I use some kind of rack for all my roasts. I have a small drop-in nonstick one as well, that is perfect for small chickens and prime rib for 2.

 
My turkeys are always over 20 lbs so I only tried turning it once...

Maybe I should just cook them upside down the whole time on a V-rack??? I carve in the kitchen so looks don't matter.

Perhaps I need a new thermometer, too. I'll look for one soon.

 
Yes, but with the bag, all the juices collect and sag through the spaces!

Do you think that holding the juices close to the bottom of the bird slows down the heat transfer in that area?

 
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