Butterball
How to cook a turkey? Let us count the ways
(Rich Hein/Sun-Times)
Foster Farms, (800) 255-7227, www.fosterfarms.com
Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, (800) 288-8372, www.butterball.com.
There are 5,769 ways to cook a turkey.
OK, so I'm exaggerating. But the variables seem endless: Frozen or fresh? Brined or not? Oven-roasted, microwaved, smoked or charcoal-grilled? Slow-roasted or fast? Covered or uncovered? And that's without getting into all the things you can rub on it, wrap around it or stuff into it.
"It's easy to roast a turkey. Anybody can do it," says Carol Miller, a supervisor for the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line in Naperville.
Easy for her to say. Miller has been dispensing cooking counsel to turkey tyros for more than 25 years.
She and colleague Marty Van Ness, a 17-year Talk-Line veteran, recently conducted the annual "Butterball University" training session for freshman operators at the culinary advice line.
Coursework included side-by-side comparisons of differently prepped poultry, with a lineup of 11 whole turkeys and two breasts on one day, plus three more birds cooked outdoors.
This was my second year at Butterball U, and after years of cooking turkeys at home, I still learned a few things about the gradations in techniques and results.
I'm convinced you get the tastiest, most beautiful turkey with the least effort by open-pan roasting:
Put your turkey on a flat rack in an open shallow pan (about 2 inches high) and roast it at 325 degrees, timed according to the accompanying chart (see page 4). Two-thirds of the way through, loosely cover the breast and the top of the legs with foil. That's it.
You can make it more complicated, but few other methods produce a better bird, and some common procedures can considerably compromise looks and flavor.
Those old-fashioned covered roasting pans, for example, and other moist-heat methods, like oven bags, often give you a turkey with pale, blistered skin, bared leg bones and a taste that's more steamed or stewed than roasted -- a defect that seems especially pronounced in the dark meat.
The biggest surprise of the Butterball lineup? The microwave turkey. It's a fussy process, but you can cook a good-looking, tasty, 9-pound turkey in less than 90 minutes.
Local freelance writer Leah A. Zeldes has cooked turkey 57 ways.
| Eight ways to cook a turkey | |||||
| Method | Temperature | Approximate cooking time* | How-to | Pros | Cons |
| Open pan (Easiest) | 325 degrees | 3 1/2 hours | Roast, breast side up, on a flat rack in an open, shallow pan. Two-thirds of the way through, loosely cover breast and tops of legs with foil. | Easy. Looks beautiful. Excellent roasted flavor. Good drippings for gravy. | Slow. |
| Covered roaster | 325 degrees | 3 hours | Place, breast side up, on a flat rack in a lidded, dark-enamel pan. Remove cover for the last 30 minutes of cooking. | Easy. Slightly faster than open pan. No splatters. | Not pretty. Stewed taste. Easy to overcook. |
| High temperature in foil | 450 degrees | 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours | Loosley envelop turkey in foil, leaving sides open. Place, breast side up, in an open, shallow pan. Turn back the foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking. | Fast and easy. | Not pretty. Stewed taste. Easy to overcook. Can't stuff turkey. Smokes up kitchen. |
| Oven bag | 350 degrees | 2 to 2 1/2 hours | Shake flour inside bag. Arrange bag on a shallow pan and add sliced onions and celery. Place in bag, breast side up, on top of vegetables. Close bag and cut slits into it. | Easy. Faster than open pan. No splatters. | Not pretty. Stewed taste. Easy to overcook. |
| Microwave (Fastest) | High (100 percent), then medium (50 percent) power | 2 hours (for 12-pound turkey) | Place, breast side down, in shallow, microwaveable dish; use microwave-safe items such as wooden spoons to keep bird level. Brush with 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon paprika and 1/8 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master. Cook on high 4 minutes per pound, rotating once midway. Flip to breast up and cook at 50 percent power for 8 minutes per pound, stopping regularly to rotate turkey, remove drippings and baste with sauce. | Fast. Frees oven for other cooking. Looks good. Surprisingly good flavor. | Only for turkeys up to 12 pounds. Requires close attention. Needs browning sauce. No roasted flavor. Drippings not suitable for gravy. |
| Charcoal grill (Best looking) | Medium (325 to 350 degrees) | 2 to 3 hours | Build medium-hot charcoal fire, arranging coals outside of drip pan. Place turkey away from coals, over drip pan. Cover and cook, adding coals as needed. | Looks gorgeous. Very good flavor. Relatively fast. Frees oven for other cooking. | Only for smaller turkeys. Needs close attention. Weather can affect cooking. Unpredictable done time. Can’t stuff turkey. Drippings not suitable for gravy. |
| Gas grill | Medium (325 to 350 degrees) | Depends on method | Turn off burners in the center or on one side. Place turkey on the turned-off section; place drip pan under grate. Or, cook turkey in a pan on the grate, using any oven method. | Frees oven for other cooking. | Only for smaller turkeys. Temperature harder to manage than indoor oven. Weather can affect cooking. |
| Smoker (Best flavor) | Hot (250 to 300 degrees) | 6 to 10 hours | Build a hot fire on bottom grate; add wood chunks. Add and fill water pan. Cover smoker. Add water, coals and wood as needed. | Looks gorgeous. Wonderful flavor. Frees oven for other cooking. | Only for smaller turkeys. Very slow. Tricky to manage temperature. Needs close attention. Weather can affect cooking. Unpredictable done time. Can’t stuff turkey. No drippings for gravy. |
| *For 18-pound, unstuffed turkey, unless noted | |||||
| Turkey roasting times | ||||
| Net weight | Roasting times (in hours) | |||
| (in pounds) | Unstuffed | Stuffed | ||
| 10 to 18 | 3 to 3 1/2 | 3 3/4 to 4 1/2 | ||
| 18 to 22 | 3 1/2 to 4 | 4 1/2 to 5 | ||
| 22 to 24 | 4 1/2 to 4 1/4 | 5 to 5 1/2 | ||
| Source: Butterball Turkey Talk-Line | ||||