Hi, I’m Marty Richardson from chefmartyrich.com. Welcome back to our daily tip series.

Let’s Talk Turkey!

We finally get to the turkey! Today is the day I start giving you tips on the star of your Thanksgiving table, the turkey.  I want to give you eight different ways to keep your roast turkey moist.  I think it is a great place to start.

Start Fresh

#1. Start with a fresh turkey.  I was a butcher for about 4 years.  I owned a butcher shop in Newport, Rhode Island and we used to go to  Helgers Turkey Farm and get fresh turkeys for customers.  Believe me, buying fresh makes a difference.  When the turkey gets frozen the cell walls get destroyed.  So when you thaw it out, the cell walls won’t retain the moisture in a frozen turkey like they do in a fresh turkey.  That is the best tip to start with for you.  If you can get a fresh bird – go for it!  It is worth the extra money.

Two Birds Are Better Than One

#2. If you are cooking for a crowd, rather than getting a great big 24 – 28 pound bird, get 2 smaller turkeys.  The smaller turkeys are going to cook a lot quicker.  Smaller turkeys will cook more evenly as well.  So, that is my second tip.

Brine Your Turkey

#3.  My 3rd tip is to brine your turkey.  I am going to do a whole video about brining turkey.  But, it is basically a salt solution – 1 cup of salt to 1 gallon of water.  You don’t want it overly salty tasting when you mix it together.  I also put a half cup of sugar per gallon in it along with the salt.  But that is me.  You can flavor it in a number of different ways with herbs and spices.  It takes about 4 hours to brine minimum and up to about 12 hours maximum.  Don’t brine it too long, it will get too salty.

Butter It Up

#4. You can create an herb butter.  This flavored butter is essentially herbs of your choice (preferably fresh or dried if necessary) .  Sage is used quite often in poultry seasoning.  Soften the butter, then mix in the herbs. Then, you lift up the skin and rub the butter directly on top of the turkey meat.  Then the butter and the herbs will self-baste and flavor the turkey meat.  That will help keep the breast moist.

Losen Up

#5. The next tip is to not truss your turkey.  Meaning, don’t take the legs and tie them up in front of the cavity.  With the wing tied up close to the breast, then neither the breast nor the leg get to cook properly.  A lot of times, your turkey will have a factory installed clip, either metal or plastic, that is keeping those legs together.  I suggest you take that off.

Breast Side Down

#6.  If you have got a V roasting rack that actually fits inside your roasting pan, you can turn the turkey upside-down and roast it breast side down while you cook it for the first part. All the juices are going to self-baste the breast meat.  That will help keep your turkey breast moist.

Take It’s Temperature

#7. Don’t over-cook your turkey.  It is not sufficient to just take the wing or leg and wiggle it, and let that be your guide to tell if your turkey is done.  No.  You need an instant read thermometer.   Now I know I talk about this a lot.  If you watched the tip series in the beginning, you know I have done a couple of videos on the instant read thermometer.  I think it is the most valuable piece of equipment that I actually have, if you are a meat eater.  So I suggest you invest in one.  You want to cook your turkey up to 165 to 170 degrees.  Insert it where the meat is the thickest and try not to hit the bone.

Give It A Rest

#8.  The last tip I want to give for keeping your turkey moist is to let it rest.  What happens is the heat of the oven is driving the juices and blood from the outside.  The liquid is trying to retreat from the source of the heat.  Once the temperature of the turkey is 165 to 170 degrees, you want to take the turkey out and let it rest for approximately 30 minutes.  First, that gives you time to make your gravy with the pan drippings.  Second of all, it is much easier to carve the turkey when it is not piping hot.  And third, the juices will have a chance to redistribute themselves back through all the cell walls of the turkey and give you a much moister turkey over all.

Those are the top 8 for you.  Get psyched!  Thanksgiving is coming.  It is only a week and a half away.  I have more tips on turkey for the rest of the week for you.  But I thought I would start with a juicy bird.  Ok, thanks for watching.