I have searched for years to find a good turkey recipe. Americas test kitchen, food and wine etc. this is by far the best recipe and video. Fool proof and wonderful. Been making for last two years.
Part 1 and part 2 may be the best cooking videos I've ever seen. Your explanations were exceptional! And I've watched thousands of cooking videos, but always have struggled with turkey... mostly because I do it so rarely. Thank you!!!! I think I'll be doing chickens like this often now, too.
I’ve done spatchcock and dry brined turkeys before, but I’m doing it your way this year! I’ve fallen in love with your videos!! You have the most amazing way of explaining things and taking it step by step, bravo Ben!!
"If you are the kinda cook that sets your smoke alarm off all the time, you're probably doing something right" That's me! & Thanks for validating my cooking process!
Dear Ben Starr, thank you for your thorough video part one and part two on perfect Thanksgiving turkey. You are a good teacher. I appreciate your thoroughness, the way you instruct, and your rate of speed when talking… It’s not fast it’s just right. I appreciate you and wish you a happy Thanksgiving 2024.
This is an excellent, EXCELLENT, series (two videos) for spatchcocking and baking turkey. I’ve saved this, watch it every year, and have forwarded it to several people. It definitely deserves more views and likes! Ben Starr, score yourself ten bonus points! Do not pass GO! Do not collect $200.
Thank you Chef Ben. I have dry brined and spatchcocked duck and turkey in the past. Definitely learned a couple great tips from you to make the outcome even better. I have a 20 lb bird in my fridge thawing, and will begin brining tomorrow early a.m. for a Sunday roasting.
We were a little worried about how that turkey looked in my fridge over those 3 days. Mr Ben, this was a GAME CHANGER. Fast, yummy and delicious. My family even took pictures of it. This will forever be my go to recipe!
I love the detailed, scientific tutorial on how to cook! I hope to see tons more, I've been a fan since Master Chef...you should have won!! Thank you :)
Another success story for me this Christmas. I am getting comments like "this tastes like a chef cooked it from a high end restaurant". Thank you for sharing all your good tips. Merry Christmas Chef Starr.
I am thankful for you coming into my life with this tutorial! Thank you for reminding me of my own common sense that I learned and not being overrun by the people who have no idea what they're talking about but like Aesthetics only. Peace on Earth Goodwill toward men!
Fond this set of insructions a couple of weeks ago. Decided I'd try it this year. OMGOODNESS!!!! This turned out to be one of the tastiet turkeys I've made in recent years! Thanks so much from my family to yours!
I love this two part video and many things are exactly like Grand Mother did to cook turkey; water in the tray, no cavity dressing....Etc. But I had to laugh when you were inserting the temp probe. It reminded me about teaching Interns how to insert a chest tube...... Best, Gene MD
I am grateful I discovered this gent, really enjoy what he does and I hope Ben you are doing new ones too! And NOW I will be making sourdough bread a lot after his videos on this subject!
I’ve always used mayo to coat my chicken bits before rolling in seasoned crumbs and baking. I’ve also never liked mushy stuffing inside the bird and have always done it in a pan. The crunchy top is the best
OK, so after reading, more than once, then book titled "What Einstein Told His Cook" then watching and listening to your approach to cooking, I know I can trust your wisdom and methods in the kitchen. Also, I find your videos entertaining, but grounded in science. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge. I have an extra turkey in the freezer that I have been contemplating what to do with ... now I know!
This is the best turkey roasting tutorial I’ve seen. I followed it last year and I’m doing it again in 2022. One trouble is that the dark meat (my favorite) is best if cooked to a higher temp, maybe as much as 180. Maybe pulling the turkey at 160 is a good compromise?
On larger turkeys, you are correct, the thigh meat could stand a little extra cooking. But you compromise the breast meat when you do that. If you don't need to present the turkey whole, pull it at 150, cut off the leg quarters and return them to the oven for another 10 minutes
@benstarr I’m so glad I found this video and can’t wait to try in a week! But I have a question… How to do you make gravy if there are no drippings? Or is there still some drippings to make some gravy with? Or am i suppose to ditch the gravy because it’ll be so juicy I won’t need it?
You won't NEED gravy for your meat...but what is Thanksgiving without gravy to put on your dressing, mashed potatoes, etc? I don't use drippings from the turkey to make my gravy. As I mentioned in the video, I take the parts that I spatchcocked out, I saute or roast them, make a stock, and use that for my gravy!
U would suggest setting your thermometer to 155 Degrees F since the bird will likely climb another 12 to 15 degrees while resting which will overcook your turkey.
I suggest pulling at 150F if you are roasting a whole turkey. It's not possible to have PERFECTLY cooked breast AND dark meat, unless you cook those parts separately. 150 in the breast is generally the "sweet spot" where the dark meat will be done, and yes, the breast will be slightly overcooked. (But the salting process helps it stay moist even after overcooking.) The BEST solution is to cook the breast and leg quarters SEPARATELY, pulling the breast at 140F, and the leg quarters at 160F. But most people are unwilling to do this.
Such a great video (#1&2). Having switched from Wolfgang Puck’s wet brine recipe to dry brining, I needed the common sense and scientific advice you provided. Many thanks and Happy Thanksgiving.
Well you sold me. My spatchcocked turkey is dry brining and waiting on roasting thanksgiving day! Looking forward to great memories! Edit ; day after thanksgiving,best turkey I’ve ever done! Raves about the tender juicy breast meat! Thank you for the recipe!
Glad I found this video. I was thinking about dry brining this year, now I think I'll spatchcock too. What vegetables and/or herbs did you have on the pan under the turkey while it cooked? The celery and carrots are obvious but I can't figure out what else you have, or what else I should put under there during the cooking.
The veggies under are sorta irrelevant, they don't become part of the meal. I've got parsnips and rosemary in there, as well, but nowadays I roast the turkey directly on the sheet pan. I don't experience many issues with burned drippings because the turkey really doesn't release that much liquid.
Excellent information presented in a thorough manner, thank you. I get the honor on supplying a pre-roasted turkey at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. The gathering is about a 30-minute drive from my home with plating starting about two hours later. I am planning on using a faux-Cambro method that I have used for BBQ brisket. The method is to wrap the meat in foil and then put it into an insulated chest padded with towels to further insulate the meat. I have gone several hours like this with good results. Clearly, there won't be any crispy skin doing this and I think the chances of any bacterial bloom will be minimized by the high heat and being careful to not contaminate the cooked product with dirty hands or utensils. What do you think?
We do a lot of potentially dangerous things at Thanksgiving to get turkey in the mouths of large numbers of family. "Holding" food for hours at a time is potentially dangerous...but we KNOW where the danger zone is. It's below 140F. If you want to be paranoid, keep a thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. If your temp drops below 140F during transport and holding, the only "FOOD-SAFE" thing to do is to warm the turkey in the oven to a temp/time combination that will pasteurize it again. (145F for 9ish minutes will do it.) HOWEVER...we know that we have pasteurized any potential pathogens within the meat already, with the first bake. So it's not LIKELY that we'll get a crazy surge of bacteria within the meat during transport and holding. Our most likely source of contamination, as you astutely observed, will be introduced by contact. Use gloves if you need to handle the turkey. Only slice JUST before serving. Would these things be considered acceptable in a restaurant environment? Absolutely not. But are you likely to murder your family after transporting the turkey and waiting a couple hours before serving? Probably not. I think your plan is more solid than what many people will risk next week!
@@ultimatefoodgeek Following is the report on how the roast and transport plan worked out. The 17 pound (before spatchcocking) fresh turkey was dry brined uncovered in the fridge for 3 days using 1/2 teaspoon of coarse Kosher salt per pound of meat. I used your suggested olive oil-based mayonnaise for the rub prior to roasting. Two hours sitting on the counter to allow it to warm up a bit. Turkey was placed on top of whole carrots, celery stalks and some fresh thyme sprigs that I had laying around. Oven was pre-heated to 450*F, which is where I made a mistake. My oven has several convection modes, which includes Bake, Broil, Roast and Pure. I selected Convection Roast. Fortunately, I peeked in the oven at 45 minutes and discovered the turkey getting way too brown with an internal temperature of just 86*F. I then draped the turkey with foil and reduced the oven temperature to normal Bake Mode at 350*F. I let the internal temperature climb to 150*F at 90 minutes and then pulled the turkey and wrapped the whole sheet pan and turkey with heavy duty foil and then placed it into an ice chest padded with bath towels while leaving the thermometer probe accessible. Referring to the owner's manual for my oven, after the fact, revealed that I should have selected the Pure Convection mode. Oh well, the turkey was saved from total incineration. The turkey sat in the ice chest for and additional 2 1/4 hours before carving. The internal temperature was 154*F when removed from the ice chest. The crispy skin of the product was non-existent, as expected, but the meat was perfectly done and juicy. Compliments were accepted and there has been no one admitted to the local hospital for food poisoning.
I definitely need to try this method! I’m shocked at how small it ended up looking 😆 Thank you for such an interesting and informative 2-part series. From a new subscriber 🇨🇦
I decided to go for just a breast this year because doing the whole bird is such a hassle. Might not have done that if I’d ever heard of this spatchcocking thing prior to your video.
I tried your way of roasting my Thanksgiving turkey Ben. But I think the temperature, placing the probe any not bring sure what a fully roasted turkey should look like when I start to carve into it caused my turkey to be a bit undercooked in the deep legs (where the legs meet the turkey body).
For extremely large turkeys, it's possible the innermost parts of the thigh/leg may need additional cooking to bring them to temp. I find it's better to roast 2 SMALLER turkeys (12-16 pounds) for a big crowd, than a single, large turkey over 16 pounds.
@@ultimatefoodgeek thank you for the reply. My turkey was just under 10 pounds before spatchcocking it. I am going to give it another try, maybe with a chicken. You are awesome!!
Definitely going to spatchcock my turkey this Christmas, not done here in uk commonly, excellent videos. I practised on a chicken, and did taste a bit salty. We don’t have kosher salt here, but presumably it is the same as sea salt. I was a bit cautious about using too much salt. Any idea, please
One other question and you might have mentioned it is does it matter much if it’s a store bought turkey that’s injected with a solution or do you prefer a fresh turkey from a butcher? Thank you
We have spatchcocked chicken and game hens on BBQ before so will try this with turkey using this method.Not a fan of turkey skin but the dogs love it.Removing the wishbone makes carving much easier and yields more breast meat.Also we like duck fat under and on top of the skin,amazing.TIA for this recipe.
Yes, I remove the wishbone on my birds. But teaching that to students has resulted in enough stress for them that I figured people would discard this entire method if included a demo of that. Otherwise, this method is super simple. But wish one butchering requires a bit of practice to master. So I left it out of this video.
@@ultimatefoodgeek Whuh? Dude you're removing the backbone! Most likely possibly ending this method right there! If you're actually teaching,how are students going to learn wishbone removal in most all poultry? So no practice? Makes no sense.
Did you listen to the video? There's no such thing as "how long should I roast it?" PLEASE watch the ENTIRE video...it explains exactly when to pull the bird out of the oven. The oven temp and done temp are the same, whether it's a chicken or a turkey. A chicken will not take very long at all to roast...probably less than an hour, but DO NOT cook it without a kitchen thermometer inserted properly into the thickest part of the breast.
I prefer a shallow pan, as a deeper pan interrupts air flow around the bird. As you see from the video, not very much juice is released, so there is not a worry about the pan overflowing
@@ultimatefoodgeek THanks for the reply! I used you method for they turkey this year and am now happily snacking on some wonderfully flavored leftovers. This meat has MUCH more than any leftover turkey I can recall. I did notice though, that the meat did not achieve a fall apart tenderness. IS this an error on my part,?
@@titelcat No. This internal temp favors the breast meat over the dark meat. If you like fall-apart dark meat, pull the turkey at 150, rest 20 mins, carve off the breasts (but don't slice them), and return the carcass to the oven for another 15 minutes.
It's not ideal, unless your electric roaster can achieve 425F. But if it can, you're good to go. I would use the roaster for other dishes, and do the turkey in the oven. It only takes about 90 minutes.
Help! I only have 24 hours left. If I dry brine now, will the skin still be crispy? Any tips for the short amount of time I have left? My turkey was already pre-brined when I bought it.
@@anelis88 You are outside the window where dry brining will help much. Add 1 Tablespoon of baking powder to 3 tablespoons of coarse salt and rub the skin of the turkey after spatchcocking. Leave it in the fridge uncovered to dehydrate the skin as much as you can. Prick and rub with mayo tomorrow and roast. You won't get the seasoning and moisture effects of the salt, but the skin will be better than if it went straight into the oven with no intervention
I haven't tried. I'm not sure I want fresh herbs under the skin as it dries for several days, they'll go bad. Dried herbs would be more appropriate. Lots of folks have been worried about not having an herb-flavored turkey this year. Put herbs in your gravy or drippings or sauce! Let the turkey taste like turkey. :)
You CAN do this on a grill. However, the direct heat from the burners right under the turkey can cause it to overcook or burn on the bottom before it cooks fully through. Place the turkey on a baking sheet or something to help shield heat from the bottom. If your grill is large enough, only activate the burners on ONE side, and place the turkey on the OPPOSITE side, with no active burners directly under it. Smaller turkeys or large roasting hens work much better on the grill...it can be very tricky to get it right if you're not accustomed to doing it.
Way to go on the cooking info you are absolutely CORRECT look what happened to eggs and egg white or how about Coffee some years ago I could go on and on with examples of this governmental food and drink findings that are eventually found to be totally in error. BRAVO CHEF. I have been putting these facts in comments for years.
I am going to try your method for the first time. Looking forward to the results. But I do have a question. Before cooking the turkey, can I add a herb paste under the skin without changing the results in the cooking?
This is a great question. I tell people to definitely not put any herbs on top of the skin, because they will burn at the high oven temps. I have never tried putting herbs under the skin before. I think it's quite possible the skin will shelter them from burning. I foresee potential complications trying to put them under the skin after the turkey has dried in the fridge, so my gut tells me the paste needs to be put under the skin after spatchcocking. Maybe do a test run with a chicken, and see how it goes. Please be sure to share your results with us!
@@ultimatefoodgeek Everyone loved the turkey. They said it was so juicy. I did tuck a little butter with pepper under the turkey breast. It took less than an hour for my 10 lb. turkey and i let it reach 155 degrees. Will make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
What other seasonings? Dried herbs, garlic powder, black pepper will all burn. Salt is the best seasoning here. Incorporate your herbs and spices into a gravy or sauce.
I am glad I found your video that was the best turkey I ever made. The skin was crispy, meat was juicy, and it had good flavor. Wow it was so good! Thanks
Would you suggest basting the last 30 minutes or so with a Italian herb blend? Or would that affect the crispiness of the skin? Could i top with pepper or dry herbs at the very end when its resting? Thanks in advance, I love your reasoning behind everything you do.
Never baste! Basting does absolutely nothing. It does not make the meat more moist. All it does is make your skin soggy. That has been proven time and again in direct testing. The best way to incorporate herb flavor is in your gravy. I would not sprinkle dry herbs directly onto a turkey. Pepper would be fine, but I am still an advocate of putting all of the flavoring in the gravy, and let your turkey taste like turkey.
@@ultimatefoodgeek okay will take your advice. And in your experience olive oil mayo does a good job getting the skin crispy/keeping it that way while also keeping it moist? As opposed to just straight olive oil
And finally, just 450 until done temp? No need to adjust temp or cover in foil? I have a 25.5 lb bird. After spatching and cleaning its about 22.5 lbs left
@ I get that. But this is my first turkey and I need an estimate of when to start my turkey on Thursday. If he says his 6lbs took 45 min should I assume my 16 will take around double that?
Found your video a little bit to late to brine for 3 days. I salted my turkey and placed in the fridge for 24 hours before time to cook. Anything I can do to help the cook with less brine time ? Thank you for the video and I will allow more time to let the bird dry brine next time .
Lower your oven temp to 425. Larger birds can brown excessively before the center reaches temp. Still pull at 150 and be sure your thermometer probe is in the center of the breast and not adjacent to the breast bone. You may find your dark meat is a bit under on a huge bird. If whole-bird presentation isn't important, you might carve off the whole breasts after a 15 minute rest and then return the rest to the oven for another 10-15 minutes if that's the case.
No butter on the skin? Is it the water/milk fat content? Your videos are excellent btw, so much great info, without being boring, and not the usual cooking for dummies stuff floating around lately.
Jason, I've discovered that mayonnaise, which I normally abhor, produces the crispiest, richest skin, and it's an emulsion of egg yolks and oil. The milk solids in butter can actually burn at this high roasting temp, so I do recommend you use oil or mayo. Butter is better for a slower, longer roast.
HELP! I cut through the breast side thinking I was removing the backbone (Oops). After I discovered that I had removed part of the breast bone, I then removed the backbone. I now have 2 parts. What can I do to salvage this situation? I'm having guests on Saturday. Should I just buy another turkey and start over?
Unless presentation is super critical for you, don't buy a new turkey. Just push the pieces together, roast, and then break it all down like I do in the video and cut the breast into several pieces. No one will know!
Ben, after dry brining and covering the bird with the mayo would you put and herbs ? Such as herbs de Provence on the bird before cooking ? Enjoyed the informative videos keep it up thanks happy thanksgiving to all
At the high roasting temperatures of this recipe, the herbs would burn and become bitter. This recipe celebrates the natural flavor of the turkey, I don't recommend adding any additional flavors to this. Put the herbs in your dressing or stuffing instead!
I wondered about this as well so I'm glad to see the question and answer. But we're planning to put it on the 26" Weber (not sure yet what temp) so may add some herbs since it won't be at 450.
I did have a problem. I dry brined and butterflied, roasted it with convection at 450 until the breast reached 150 degrees. It rose to 160 on the counter. After resting, the dark meat and the breast meat near the bone was undercooked. What should I do next time?
"Undercooked" is a tricky word. You may not be accustomed to the texture of meat cooked at that temperature, but it is definitively safe to eat. If you prefer a firmer, drier texture, pull it when the breast meat reaches 155.
So I bought an expensive organic chicken to try this method. I had an external thermometer but ordered one to go in oven. It didn’t arrive so I thought well I’ll just use the one I have. Well I go to use it and battery dead. My luck. Now I have to guess it chicken is safe temperature. Agh
Guessing is very problematic. You should overcook the chicken, to be on the safe side, but it won't be as tender and juice as if you pulled it out at the exact right temp. I'm so sorry.
Loved the video! I stopped doing stuffed birds since discovering spatchcocked turkey could be tossed into a weber grill and have it smoked in only 3 hours. Glad to see you are still sharing your knowledge Ben! (Been following you since Masterchef)
Thanks, Fernando! Yeah, we usually smoke our turkeys on my Big Green Egg these days. Smoked turkey is just about the best thing ever when it's done properly!
Well... I went a bit cray-cray on the salt/baking powder treatment so the skin came out saltier than I intended.. And although I took it out of the oven at 150°, it only coasted up to 155°.... My husband freaks out if he doesn't see 165°... So I put it back in until it hit 160°... And it floated up to 165° he was happy... But I will tell you, the white meat was sooooo juicy!!!
I have a 9.9 lbs bird that'll weigh close to yours but my convection oven only gets to 393°F, whats the fix ??? Why so low you ask...because it's an RV microwave/ convection device and this is my Class A home, lol. Yes I have a good oven safe thermometer that I use religiously, so my guess is a longer cooking time with less crispy skin. I'm actually not a skin kind of guy but juicy meat is key.
24 hours isn't enough for a large bird, and you certainly won't get any dehydration of the skin in 24 hours. In fact, I even leave my chickens for 48 hours, because they don't seem evenly seasoned after 24.
Lisa, it sounds to me like your oven bakes very hot! Get a cheap oven thermometer from Amazon and preheat your oven to 450. See what temp your thermometer in the oven registers. Something tells me your thermostat is WAY off. Now, as for smoke alarms going off...that's pretty normal in a proper kitchen. (I only have smoke alarms active far away from my kitchen...as a professional chef, I know that proper searing temps create lots of smoke, my smoke alarm would be going off literally every day if I had it active downstairs.) But if your turkey skin was actually BURNT after 30 minutes at 450, your oven was probably baking above 500F.
Only partially true. Juices boiled off at such a high temperature leave fond on the bottom of the pan. There is very little, if any, fond after roasting. Meaning the bird loses very few juices during the process.
Didn't agree witj most of what you said. Always stuff my bird, Dad always stuffed the bird we're here and our turkeys are delicious. Moist, full of flavor, and the stuffing from inside the bird is amazing. You just have to know what you're doing.
I realize that turkey is a polarizing dish due to long-established tradition. But stuffing can be MORE easily made OUTSIDE the bird and be every bit as delicious. And teaching amateur cooks to safely execute a stuffed bird creates all sorts of dangerous liability for EVERYONE involved. Stuffing a bird is obsolete. If YOU want to carry on your family's tradition and you know how to do is safely...great. But it's irresponsible to teach that method online to many people who will be cooking a turkey for their first time ever, and don't understand food safety.
I have searched for years to find a good turkey recipe. Americas test kitchen, food and wine etc. this is by far the best recipe and video. Fool proof and wonderful. Been making for last two years.
this deserves so many more views. "what's a girl to do" and "this is science"?? food safety comedy gold
Mine came out beautifully! Perfectly done.
Part 1 and part 2 may be the best cooking videos I've ever seen. Your explanations were exceptional! And I've watched thousands of cooking videos, but always have struggled with turkey... mostly because I do it so rarely. Thank you!!!! I think I'll be doing chickens like this often now, too.
I’ve done spatchcock and dry brined turkeys before, but I’m doing it your way this year! I’ve fallen in love with your videos!! You have the most amazing way of explaining things and taking it step by step, bravo Ben!!
"If you are the kinda cook that sets your smoke alarm off all the time, you're probably doing something right"
That's me! & Thanks for validating my cooking process!
Appreciate the temp holding period.
Made this today, best turkey ever. Thanks Ben for teaching us how to properly and safely roast a delicious bird.
Dear Ben Starr, thank you for your thorough video part one and part two on perfect Thanksgiving turkey. You are a good teacher. I appreciate your thoroughness, the way you instruct, and your rate of speed when talking… It’s not fast it’s just right. I appreciate you and wish you a happy Thanksgiving 2024.
This is an excellent, EXCELLENT, series (two videos) for spatchcocking and baking turkey. I’ve saved this, watch it every year, and have forwarded it to several people. It definitely deserves more views and likes!
Ben Starr, score yourself ten bonus points! Do not pass GO! Do not collect $200.
Thank you Chef Ben. I have dry brined and spatchcocked duck and turkey in the past. Definitely learned a couple great tips from you to make the outcome even better. I have a 20 lb bird in my fridge thawing, and will begin brining tomorrow early a.m. for a Sunday roasting.
We were a little worried about how that turkey looked in my fridge over those 3 days. Mr Ben, this was a GAME CHANGER. Fast, yummy and delicious. My family even took pictures of it. This will forever be my go to recipe!
I must agree, but the results were much better than I could have hoped for! Best tasting turkey to date. Thank You!
@@glfarwell That's great, you guys!
Just finished watching video two (again). This will be year #2 making this. Happy Thanksgiving 🦃
The Thanksgiving Day Parade and 👆🏾Video. Now and forever my Thanksgiving morning tradition.
#BestTurkeyEver
Second year making it with this method and it is the best. Thank you so much for sharing your culinary skills and wisdom.😊
I love the detailed, scientific tutorial on how to cook! I hope to see tons more, I've been a fan since Master Chef...you should have won!! Thank you :)
Happy 2024 Thanksgiving Ben! great instructions and come back every year.
Excellent video Ben! I'll never do a turkey any other way ever again.
Another success story for me this Christmas. I am getting comments like "this tastes like a chef cooked it from a high end restaurant". Thank you for sharing all your good tips. Merry Christmas Chef Starr.
Excellent lesson on meat temp safety!
I am thankful for you coming into my life with this tutorial! Thank you for reminding me of my own common sense that I learned and not being overrun by the people who have no idea what they're talking about but like Aesthetics only. Peace on Earth Goodwill toward men!
I really like the way you educate on food temp and safety!
This will be my 3rd year. It is the only way I will make it now. Thank you.
Fond this set of insructions a couple of weeks ago. Decided I'd try it this year. OMGOODNESS!!!! This turned out to be one of the tastiet turkeys I've made in recent years! Thanks so much from my family to yours!
This was both informative, and incredibly entertaining; well done!
I love this two part video and many things are exactly like Grand Mother did to cook turkey; water in the tray, no cavity dressing....Etc. But I had to laugh when you were inserting the temp probe. It reminded me about teaching Interns how to insert a chest tube......
Best,
Gene MD
I had the written recipe and salt brining for the turkey, but your video saves me from reading all those pages! Thank you for sharing!
This recipe is the best. Did it last year and I'm doing it again. Absolute Banger!
Dry brined my bird after watching this last week. Then I smoked it. Great tip Chef it was delicious
I am grateful I discovered this gent, really enjoy what he does and I hope Ben you are doing new ones too! And NOW I will be making sourdough bread a lot after his videos on this subject!
I’ve always used mayo to coat my chicken bits before rolling in seasoned crumbs and baking. I’ve also never liked mushy stuffing inside the bird and have always done it in a pan. The crunchy top is the best
Found this video the day before thanksgiving 2020. Thank you for the detailed methodological explanation!
OK, so after reading, more than once, then book titled "What Einstein Told His Cook" then watching and listening to your approach to cooking, I know I can trust your wisdom and methods in the kitchen. Also, I find your videos entertaining, but grounded in science. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge. I have an extra turkey in the freezer that I have been contemplating what to do with ... now I know!
This is LITERALLY the best compliment I've ever received. Thank you, good sir.
This is the best turkey roasting tutorial I’ve seen. I followed it last year and I’m doing it again in 2022. One trouble is that the dark meat (my favorite) is best if cooked to a higher temp, maybe as much as 180. Maybe pulling the turkey at 160 is a good compromise?
On larger turkeys, you are correct, the thigh meat could stand a little extra cooking. But you compromise the breast meat when you do that. If you don't need to present the turkey whole, pull it at 150, cut off the leg quarters and return them to the oven for another 10 minutes
@benstarr I’m so glad I found this video and can’t wait to try in a week! But I have a question… How to do you make gravy if there are no drippings? Or is there still some drippings to make some gravy with? Or am i suppose to ditch the gravy because it’ll be so juicy I won’t need it?
You won't NEED gravy for your meat...but what is Thanksgiving without gravy to put on your dressing, mashed potatoes, etc? I don't use drippings from the turkey to make my gravy. As I mentioned in the video, I take the parts that I spatchcocked out, I saute or roast them, make a stock, and use that for my gravy!
Great video, going to try this. Glad I found your channel tonight. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and making it enjoyable to watch!
U would suggest setting your thermometer to 155 Degrees F since the bird will likely climb another 12 to 15 degrees while resting which will overcook your turkey.
I suggest pulling at 150F if you are roasting a whole turkey. It's not possible to have PERFECTLY cooked breast AND dark meat, unless you cook those parts separately. 150 in the breast is generally the "sweet spot" where the dark meat will be done, and yes, the breast will be slightly overcooked. (But the salting process helps it stay moist even after overcooking.) The BEST solution is to cook the breast and leg quarters SEPARATELY, pulling the breast at 140F, and the leg quarters at 160F. But most people are unwilling to do this.
Such a great video (#1&2). Having switched from Wolfgang Puck’s wet brine recipe to dry brining, I needed the common sense and scientific advice you provided. Many thanks and Happy Thanksgiving.
Well you sold me. My spatchcocked turkey is dry brining and waiting on roasting thanksgiving day! Looking forward to great memories! Edit ; day after thanksgiving,best turkey I’ve ever done! Raves about the tender juicy breast meat! Thank you for the recipe!
Trying this method with the dry brine this year. Thanks for the thorough explanations!
This was fantastic. I’ve been told I’m in charge of the turkey always now! I’ve never had breast meat this juicy. Well done chef!
I'm so happy this worked so well for you! I do ALL my chickens, game birds, and turkeys this way. I'll never go back to a "whole" bird...
Thank You.....
Glad I found this video. I was thinking about dry brining this year, now I think I'll spatchcock too. What vegetables and/or herbs did you have on the pan under the turkey while it cooked? The celery and carrots are obvious but I can't figure out what else you have, or what else I should put under there during the cooking.
The veggies under are sorta irrelevant, they don't become part of the meal. I've got parsnips and rosemary in there, as well, but nowadays I roast the turkey directly on the sheet pan. I don't experience many issues with burned drippings because the turkey really doesn't release that much liquid.
Best method i have tried. Amazing.
Great video! You are a great instructor please keep introducing new classes.
Excellent information presented in a thorough manner, thank you. I get the honor on supplying a pre-roasted turkey at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. The gathering is about a 30-minute drive from my home with plating starting about two hours later. I am planning on using a faux-Cambro method that I have used for BBQ brisket. The method is to wrap the meat in foil and then put it into an insulated chest padded with towels to further insulate the meat. I have gone several hours like this with good results. Clearly, there won't be any crispy skin doing this and I think the chances of any bacterial bloom will be minimized by the high heat and being careful to not contaminate the cooked product with dirty hands or utensils. What do you think?
We do a lot of potentially dangerous things at Thanksgiving to get turkey in the mouths of large numbers of family. "Holding" food for hours at a time is potentially dangerous...but we KNOW where the danger zone is. It's below 140F. If you want to be paranoid, keep a thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. If your temp drops below 140F during transport and holding, the only "FOOD-SAFE" thing to do is to warm the turkey in the oven to a temp/time combination that will pasteurize it again. (145F for 9ish minutes will do it.)
HOWEVER...we know that we have pasteurized any potential pathogens within the meat already, with the first bake. So it's not LIKELY that we'll get a crazy surge of bacteria within the meat during transport and holding. Our most likely source of contamination, as you astutely observed, will be introduced by contact. Use gloves if you need to handle the turkey. Only slice JUST before serving. Would these things be considered acceptable in a restaurant environment? Absolutely not. But are you likely to murder your family after transporting the turkey and waiting a couple hours before serving? Probably not. I think your plan is more solid than what many people will risk next week!
@@ultimatefoodgeek Following is the report on how the roast and transport plan worked out. The 17 pound (before spatchcocking) fresh turkey was dry brined uncovered in the fridge for 3 days using 1/2 teaspoon of coarse Kosher salt per pound of meat. I used your suggested olive oil-based mayonnaise for the rub prior to roasting. Two hours sitting on the counter to allow it to warm up a bit. Turkey was placed on top of whole carrots, celery stalks and some fresh thyme sprigs that I had laying around. Oven was pre-heated to 450*F, which is where I made a mistake. My oven has several convection modes, which includes Bake, Broil, Roast and Pure. I selected Convection Roast. Fortunately, I peeked in the oven at 45 minutes and discovered the turkey getting way too brown with an internal temperature of just 86*F. I then draped the turkey with foil and reduced the oven temperature to normal Bake Mode at 350*F. I let the internal temperature climb to 150*F at 90 minutes and then pulled the turkey and wrapped the whole sheet pan and turkey with heavy duty foil and then placed it into an ice chest padded with bath towels while leaving the thermometer probe accessible. Referring to the owner's manual for my oven, after the fact, revealed that I should have selected the Pure Convection mode. Oh well, the turkey was saved from total incineration. The turkey sat in the ice chest for and additional 2 1/4 hours before carving. The internal temperature was 154*F when removed from the ice chest. The crispy skin of the product was non-existent, as expected, but the meat was perfectly done and juicy. Compliments were accepted and there has been no one admitted to the local hospital for food poisoning.
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I made it exactly as you said and everyone said it was the best turkey they've ever had.
Thank you! Fantastic videos
Just clarifying:
In Part 1, you used baking POWDER in the dry brine… correct?
At 19:09 you say “baking soda”. I’m pretty sure you just misspoke.
Yes, that was an error in speaking. Baking POWDER is what you use in the dry brine mixture to enhance the skin.
@ Thank you! This is an EXCELLENT two-part series on spatchcocking, dry brining, food safety, and carving!
Great videos - excellent, simple, logical and educational directions - Thanks so much!
I definitely need to try this method! I’m shocked at how small it ended up looking 😆
Thank you for such an interesting and informative 2-part series. From a new subscriber 🇨🇦
Excellent! At what temp do you recommend pulling a bone-tied-on rib roast from the oven to allow for coasting?
I decided to go for just a breast this year because doing the whole bird is such a hassle.
Might not have done that if I’d ever heard of this spatchcocking thing prior to your video.
I tried your way of roasting my Thanksgiving turkey Ben. But I think the temperature, placing the probe any not bring sure what a fully roasted turkey should look like when I start to carve into it caused my turkey to be a bit undercooked in the deep legs (where the legs meet the turkey body).
For extremely large turkeys, it's possible the innermost parts of the thigh/leg may need additional cooking to bring them to temp. I find it's better to roast 2 SMALLER turkeys (12-16 pounds) for a big crowd, than a single, large turkey over 16 pounds.
@@ultimatefoodgeek thank you for the reply. My turkey was just under 10 pounds before spatchcocking it. I am going to give it another try, maybe with a chicken. You are awesome!!
Definitely going to spatchcock my turkey this Christmas, not done here in uk commonly, excellent videos. I practised on a chicken, and did taste a bit salty. We don’t have kosher salt here, but presumably it is the same as sea salt. I was a bit cautious about using too much salt. Any idea, please
Use a bit less salt! I have had a few people comment about there being too much salt in the recipe when they did not use kosher salt
One other question and you might have mentioned it is does it matter much if it’s a store bought turkey that’s injected with a solution or do you prefer a fresh turkey from a butcher?
Thank you
I always prefer a fresh turkey from a butcher. But that's not within everyone's reach. If your turkey is injected, you can still dry brine.
We have spatchcocked chicken and game hens on BBQ before so will try this with turkey using this method.Not a fan of turkey skin but the dogs love it.Removing the wishbone makes carving much easier and yields more breast meat.Also we like duck fat under and on top of the skin,amazing.TIA for this recipe.
Yes, I remove the wishbone on my birds. But teaching that to students has resulted in enough stress for them that I figured people would discard this entire method if included a demo of that. Otherwise, this method is super simple. But wish one butchering requires a bit of practice to master. So I left it out of this video.
@@ultimatefoodgeek Whuh? Dude you're removing the backbone! Most likely possibly ending this method right there! If you're actually teaching,how are students going to learn wishbone removal in most all poultry? So no practice? Makes no sense.
I’m trying this with a 3.5 lb chicken. How long should I roast and should it still be at 450 degrees???
Did you listen to the video? There's no such thing as "how long should I roast it?" PLEASE watch the ENTIRE video...it explains exactly when to pull the bird out of the oven. The oven temp and done temp are the same, whether it's a chicken or a turkey. A chicken will not take very long at all to roast...probably less than an hour, but DO NOT cook it without a kitchen thermometer inserted properly into the thickest part of the breast.
Nice! I'd be curious to know what temperature the thighs came to,
Would you talk a bit about the choice of a pan for roasting? I am thinking in particular about the depth of the pan.
I prefer a shallow pan, as a deeper pan interrupts air flow around the bird. As you see from the video, not very much juice is released, so there is not a worry about the pan overflowing
@@ultimatefoodgeek THanks for the reply! I used you method for they turkey this year and am now happily snacking on some wonderfully flavored leftovers. This meat has MUCH more than any leftover turkey I can recall. I did notice though, that the meat did not achieve a fall apart tenderness. IS this an error on my part,?
@@titelcat No. This internal temp favors the breast meat over the dark meat. If you like fall-apart dark meat, pull the turkey at 150, rest 20 mins, carve off the breasts (but don't slice them), and return the carcass to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Wow! Great science and method. Thankyou
I use an electric roaster to free up oven space. How would this work in a roaster oven
It's not ideal, unless your electric roaster can achieve 425F. But if it can, you're good to go. I would use the roaster for other dishes, and do the turkey in the oven. It only takes about 90 minutes.
Help! I only have 24 hours left. If I dry brine now, will the skin still be crispy? Any tips for the short amount of time I have left? My turkey was already pre-brined when I bought it.
@@anelis88 You are outside the window where dry brining will help much. Add 1 Tablespoon of baking powder to 3 tablespoons of coarse salt and rub the skin of the turkey after spatchcocking. Leave it in the fridge uncovered to dehydrate the skin as much as you can. Prick and rub with mayo tomorrow and roast. You won't get the seasoning and moisture effects of the salt, but the skin will be better than if it went straight into the oven with no intervention
@ thank you so much for the quick reply!
you know your stuff bro.
What exactly is kosher salt. Thank you
Have you ever put herbs under the skin? Would that work to impart flavor and keep from burning?
I haven't tried. I'm not sure I want fresh herbs under the skin as it dries for several days, they'll go bad. Dried herbs would be more appropriate. Lots of folks have been worried about not having an herb-flavored turkey this year. Put herbs in your gravy or drippings or sauce! Let the turkey taste like turkey. :)
I could also use a gas grill at 450 correct? Free up the oven for my wife and stay out of her way.
You CAN do this on a grill. However, the direct heat from the burners right under the turkey can cause it to overcook or burn on the bottom before it cooks fully through. Place the turkey on a baking sheet or something to help shield heat from the bottom. If your grill is large enough, only activate the burners on ONE side, and place the turkey on the OPPOSITE side, with no active burners directly under it. Smaller turkeys or large roasting hens work much better on the grill...it can be very tricky to get it right if you're not accustomed to doing it.
Thank you - I will cook it in the oven. 👍
Way to go on the cooking info you are absolutely CORRECT look what happened to eggs and egg white or how about Coffee some years ago I could go on and on with examples of this governmental food and drink findings that are eventually found to be totally in error. BRAVO CHEF. I have been putting these facts in comments for years.
BUTTERMILK . A lot of recipes mentioned buttermilk ... is there a way to incorporate the buttermilk into your method, which I I think it's awesome?
Is it ok to ‘defrost’ my frozen turkey, dry brine it and then leave it in the fridge for 2/3 days?
Yes, that is the proper process.
I am going to try your method for the first time. Looking forward to the results. But I do have a question. Before cooking the turkey, can I add a herb paste under the skin without changing the results in the cooking?
This is a great question. I tell people to definitely not put any herbs on top of the skin, because they will burn at the high oven temps. I have never tried putting herbs under the skin before. I think it's quite possible the skin will shelter them from burning. I foresee potential complications trying to put them under the skin after the turkey has dried in the fridge, so my gut tells me the paste needs to be put under the skin after spatchcocking. Maybe do a test run with a chicken, and see how it goes. Please be sure to share your results with us!
@@ultimatefoodgeek Thanks. I will let you know how it goes.
@@ultimatefoodgeek Everyone loved the turkey. They said it was so juicy. I did tuck a little butter with pepper under the turkey breast. It took less than an hour for my 10 lb. turkey and i let it reach 155 degrees. Will make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Should you put other seasonings before putting in the oven
What other seasonings? Dried herbs, garlic powder, black pepper will all burn. Salt is the best seasoning here. Incorporate your herbs and spices into a gravy or sauce.
Thanks I was going to mess my bird up🦃
I am glad I found your video that was the best turkey I ever made. The skin was crispy, meat was juicy, and it had good flavor. Wow it was so good! Thanks
Great video but did you wash off the salt before you started cooking?
Do not wash the bird after salting! Part of this trick is that you are dehydrating the skin, so putting water on it would ruin all of that work
Thanks Ben, very useful.
Would you suggest basting the last 30 minutes or so with a Italian herb blend? Or would that affect the crispiness of the skin? Could i top with pepper or dry herbs at the very end when its resting? Thanks in advance, I love your reasoning behind everything you do.
Never baste! Basting does absolutely nothing. It does not make the meat more moist. All it does is make your skin soggy. That has been proven time and again in direct testing. The best way to incorporate herb flavor is in your gravy. I would not sprinkle dry herbs directly onto a turkey. Pepper would be fine, but I am still an advocate of putting all of the flavoring in the gravy, and let your turkey taste like turkey.
@@ultimatefoodgeek okay will take your advice. And in your experience olive oil mayo does a good job getting the skin crispy/keeping it that way while also keeping it moist? As opposed to just straight olive oil
And finally, just 450 until done temp? No need to adjust temp or cover in foil? I have a 25.5 lb bird. After spatching and cleaning its about 22.5 lbs left
How long for 16lbs bird???
it's a temperature thing, not time
@ I get that. But this is my first turkey and I need an estimate of when to start my turkey on Thursday. If he says his 6lbs took 45 min should I assume my 16 will take around double that?
Yes, your bird should be done in about 90 minutes, possibly less. Will depend on your oven, whether you have convection, and whether it's accurate.
In your dry-brine video you said add baking powder, in your roasting video you said you added baking soda? Which one and what's the difference
Bill, thanks for noticing this. The correct ingredient is baking POWDER. If I mentioned baking soda, I misspoke.
Found your video a little bit to late to brine for 3 days. I salted my turkey and placed in the fridge for 24 hours before time to cook. Anything I can do to help the cook with less brine time ?
Thank you for the video and I will allow more time to let the bird dry brine next time .
Do you recommend cooking the turkey to 145 degree and leaving in the oven off until it reaches 160?
Great video Chef. I am roasting my first spatchcocked turkey tomorrow. Any tips for a larger bird (22 lbs.) Still the same oven temp?
Lower your oven temp to 425. Larger birds can brown excessively before the center reaches temp. Still pull at 150 and be sure your thermometer probe is in the center of the breast and not adjacent to the breast bone. You may find your dark meat is a bit under on a huge bird. If whole-bird presentation isn't important, you might carve off the whole breasts after a 15 minute rest and then return the rest to the oven for another 10-15 minutes if that's the case.
No butter on the skin? Is it the water/milk fat content? Your videos are excellent btw, so much great info, without being boring, and not the usual cooking for dummies stuff floating around lately.
Jason, I've discovered that mayonnaise, which I normally abhor, produces the crispiest, richest skin, and it's an emulsion of egg yolks and oil. The milk solids in butter can actually burn at this high roasting temp, so I do recommend you use oil or mayo. Butter is better for a slower, longer roast.
@@ultimatefoodgeek thanks again!! I'm thinking of making a garlic aoli for just this purpose.
HELP! I cut through the breast side thinking I was removing the backbone (Oops). After I discovered that I had removed part of the breast bone, I then removed the backbone. I now have 2 parts. What can I do to salvage this situation? I'm having guests on Saturday. Should I just buy another turkey and start over?
Unless presentation is super critical for you, don't buy a new turkey. Just push the pieces together, roast, and then break it all down like I do in the video and cut the breast into several pieces. No one will know!
Ben, after dry brining and covering the bird with the mayo would you put and herbs ? Such as herbs de Provence on the bird before cooking ? Enjoyed the informative videos keep it up thanks happy thanksgiving to all
At the high roasting temperatures of this recipe, the herbs would burn and become bitter. This recipe celebrates the natural flavor of the turkey, I don't recommend adding any additional flavors to this. Put the herbs in your dressing or stuffing instead!
@@ultimatefoodgeek after posting comment that crossed my mind that it would burn. Thanks for quick reply!
I wondered about this as well so I'm glad to see the question and answer. But we're planning to put it on the 26" Weber (not sure yet what temp) so may add some herbs since it won't be at 450.
I did have a problem. I dry brined and butterflied, roasted it with convection at 450 until the breast reached 150 degrees. It rose to 160 on the counter. After resting, the dark meat and the breast meat near the bone was undercooked. What should I do next time?
"Undercooked" is a tricky word. You may not be accustomed to the texture of meat cooked at that temperature, but it is definitively safe to eat. If you prefer a firmer, drier texture, pull it when the breast meat reaches 155.
Where will you wash it...in the bathtub????
So I bought an expensive organic chicken to try this method. I had an external thermometer but ordered one to go in oven. It didn’t arrive so I thought well I’ll just use the one I have. Well I go to use it and battery dead. My luck. Now I have to guess it chicken is safe temperature. Agh
Guessing is very problematic. You should overcook the chicken, to be on the safe side, but it won't be as tender and juice as if you pulled it out at the exact right temp. I'm so sorry.
Loved the video! I stopped doing stuffed birds since discovering spatchcocked turkey could be tossed into a weber grill and have it smoked in only 3 hours. Glad to see you are still sharing your knowledge Ben! (Been following you since Masterchef)
Thanks, Fernando! Yeah, we usually smoke our turkeys on my Big Green Egg these days. Smoked turkey is just about the best thing ever when it's done properly!
Well... I went a bit cray-cray on the salt/baking powder treatment so the skin came out saltier than I intended.. And although I took it out of the oven at 150°, it only coasted up to 155°.... My husband freaks out if he doesn't see 165°... So I put it back in until it hit 160°... And it floated up to 165° he was happy... But I will tell you, the white meat was sooooo juicy!!!
Ur the alton brown if u tube, very good video
A high compliment, Alton is my hero.
mines 9 pounds how long?
Sorry inane question - is it important that the turkey remain uncovered in the fridge? We placed a layer of tinfoil over the turkey just now...
Yes, it's important to leave the turkey uncovered I'm the fridge, so the skin dehydrates and roasts up crisp!
I have a 9.9 lbs bird that'll weigh close to yours but my convection oven only gets to 393°F, whats the fix ??? Why so low you ask...because it's an RV microwave/ convection device and this is my Class A home, lol. Yes I have a good oven safe thermometer that I use religiously, so my guess is a longer cooking time with less crispy skin. I'm actually not a skin kind of guy but juicy meat is key.
Just cook until you hit temp! It will be delicious
@@ultimatefoodgeek thanks for the super fast reply by bird gets transformed in 2 days, yah!!!
I did not use the baking soda. No pinkness.
I wasn’t think bacteria I was talking over kill on the brine 24 hours is fine from what I’m told.
24 hours isn't enough for a large bird, and you certainly won't get any dehydration of the skin in 24 hours. In fact, I even leave my chickens for 48 hours, because they don't seem evenly seasoned after 24.
Bro you swear we're going to leave the door open for an hour while we check the temp 😅
It only takes 3 seconds for the temp in the oven to drop 100 degrees.
I cooked the turkey this thanksgiving at 450, my smoke alarm went off after 30 mins. I don’t know how his turkey is golden brown!
Lisa, it sounds to me like your oven bakes very hot! Get a cheap oven thermometer from Amazon and preheat your oven to 450. See what temp your thermometer in the oven registers. Something tells me your thermostat is WAY off. Now, as for smoke alarms going off...that's pretty normal in a proper kitchen. (I only have smoke alarms active far away from my kitchen...as a professional chef, I know that proper searing temps create lots of smoke, my smoke alarm would be going off literally every day if I had it active downstairs.) But if your turkey skin was actually BURNT after 30 minutes at 450, your oven was probably baking above 500F.
Thanks Ben! This year I invested in a internal thermometer.
There are no juices in the pan because at 450F degrees they evaporated.
Only partially true. Juices boiled off at such a high temperature leave fond on the bottom of the pan. There is very little, if any, fond after roasting. Meaning the bird loses very few juices during the process.
Didn't agree witj most of what you said. Always stuff my bird, Dad always stuffed the bird we're here and our turkeys are delicious. Moist, full of flavor, and the stuffing from inside the bird is amazing. You just have to know what you're doing.
I realize that turkey is a polarizing dish due to long-established tradition. But stuffing can be MORE easily made OUTSIDE the bird and be every bit as delicious. And teaching amateur cooks to safely execute a stuffed bird creates all sorts of dangerous liability for EVERYONE involved. Stuffing a bird is obsolete. If YOU want to carry on your family's tradition and you know how to do is safely...great. But it's irresponsible to teach that method online to many people who will be cooking a turkey for their first time ever, and don't understand food safety.