The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 740

be on the roster year-round. (Turkey Association of
America,youcanmailthatchecktomyhomeaddress.)It’s
got more flavor than chicken, and everyone knows that
nothingbeatsleftoverturkeyformakingsoups,sandwiches,
andallmanneroftreatsfortherestoftheweek.
In theory, roasting a turkey is not all that different from
roasting a chicken—the same basic problems and solutions
apply—it’sjustamatterofadjustingscaleandtiming.


IFYOU

follow food media, you may notice

thateverysingleyear,everymagazine,blog,andtelevision
show comes out with a brand-new recipefor roast turkey,
claiming it as the be-all-end-all-world’s-best-you’ll-neverneed-another recipe. Until the next year rolls around. Now,
onecouldgivethemallthebenefitofthedoubtandassume
thateveryyearthey’retellingthetruth.Ifso,whatahappy
worldwelivein,for,yearafteryear,thequalityofourroast
turkeys is progressing on a never-ending, sure-and-steady
upwardpathtowardperfection.
Oryoucouldgofortherealanswer:wefoodwritersare
allliars.
OK,soit’snotsobadasallthat.Thetruthis,there’sno
onebestwaytocookaturkey,andanybodywhotellsyou
different is selling something, most likely a magazine or
book(*winkwink*).Thereisanear-endlesslistofgoalsand
restrictions, based on the tastes, skills, and time constraints
of different home cooks, and thus a near-endless supply of

recipes for turkey. Some people want that perfect golden
brown centerpiece in the middle of the table. Some want
their share of stuffing, moist with drippings. Others care
only for the meat, pushing even the crispest, crackliest,
saltiest bits of skin off to the side of their plates (we shall
speaknomoreoftheseheathens).
Here are four different turkey recipes for four different
scenarios.