A miraculous way to roast a turkey that uses butter-covered aluminum foil to protect the breast from the high heat while basting it. The foil is removed at the end so that the skin can crisp up. This article also talks about brining and whether or not you should do it. It also has a lot of tips for roasting a turkey perfectly.
You probably know that my parents owned and operated restaurants when I was growing up. What you might not know is that they also did a lot of catering. We estimate that they’ve catered over a thousand turkey dinners, with each dinner requiring numerous turkeys. Their dinners have always gotten great reviews, and now I’m going to show you how my mom roasts a turkey perfectly. We will first talk about what size turkey you need, and then we will talk about how to cook it (basting and crisping the skin with butter!) so that the meat is perfectly cooked and juicy. Even the breast meat is juicy.
Cooking a turkey can be an intimidating task, especially if you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. While there are many ways to cook a turkey one of the easiest methods is to wrap it in foil before putting it in the oven. Wrapping your turkey in foil helps ensure it cooks evenly stays moist and tender, and results in deliciously crispy skin. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to cook a perfect foil-wrapped turkey.
Benefits of Cooking a Turkey Wrapped in Foil
There are several advantages to cooking your turkey encased in foil:
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Even cooking: The foil works to distribute heat evenly around the entire turkey, preventing the extremities from drying out. This allows the whole turkey to cook at the same rate.
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Moist and tender meat Foil locks in juices and steam to keep the turkey meat lovely and moist. Without foil, these juices would drip to the bottom of the pan.
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Crispy skin While it seems counterintuitive, the foil actually helps the skin get crispy and browned The steam from the meat separates the skin from the meat slightly, allowing it to get crispy once the foil is removed at the end.
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Easier cleanup: Any drippings or messy spills are contained by the foil, so cleanup of your pan is a breeze after cooking.
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Self-basting: As the turkey juices accumulate in the foil, they fall back over the turkey, essentially self-basting it as it roasts.
Step-by-Step Guide to Cooking a Turkey in Foil
Follow these simple steps for foolproof results:
1. Prep the Turkey
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Remove giblets and neck from cavities. Rinse turkey inside and out with cold water, then pat dry completely with paper towels.
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Liberally season the inside cavity with salt and pepper. You can also stuff with aromatics like lemon, onion, herbs.
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Brush the skin with melted butter or oil and generously season all over with salt and pepper.
2. Layer Foil on a Roasting Pan
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Place two large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil on your roasting pan, allowing enough overhang to completely wrap turkey.
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Create a raised foil rack by folding foil strips: this elevates the turkey above rendered fat.
3. Put Turkey on Foil and Wrap
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Place seasoned and prepared turkey breast-side up on top of the foil racks.
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Bring foil up over breast and legs, wrapping turkey tightly. Make sure seams are sealed.
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Leave a tent of space between foil and breast meat to allow air circulation.
4. Roast Turkey Wrapped in Foil
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Roast turkey at 350°F for about 1 hour per 4 pounds. For example, a 16 lb turkey takes about 4 hours.
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Baste periodically: open foil tent and use turkey juices to baste breast meat. Reseal foil.
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Once turkey is fully cooked, remove foil and brown skin at 425°F for 15-30 minutes.
5. Safely Check Doneness
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Turkey is safely cooked to 165°F at thickest part of breast and thigh. Use a food thermometer in multiple spots.
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Let turkey rest 20 minutes before carving for juicier meat.
6. Make Gravy from Pan Drippings
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Once turkey is carved, pour juices and browned bits from foil into a pot. Skim off most of the fat.
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Whisk in flour to thicken, then add chicken broth. Season with salt, pepper and herbs.
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Simmer until slightly thickened. Serve gravy alongside sliced turkey.
Turkey Foil Wrap FAQs
Should you sear turkey before or after wrapping in foil?
For best results, sear the seasoned turkey skin just until lightly browned before wrapping in foil. This helps render fat and enhances flavor.
What temperature should foil-wrapped turkey cook at?
Cook foil wrapped turkey at a steady 350°F the entire time. Higher heat risks overcooking breast meat. The foil distributes heat evenly.
When do you remove foil to brown skin?
Remove foil from turkey about 30 minutes before it finishes cooking so the skin gets nicely browned and crispy.
Do you need to flip a foil-wrapped turkey?
No need to flip. The foil conducts heat all around the turkey as it cooks. Set breast-side up the entire time.
Can you stuff a turkey wrapped in foil?
Absolutely! Just be sure to factor the stuffing into the overall cook time, as a stuffed turkey takes longer.
Wrapping your turkey in foil is a surefire way to enjoy a perfectly cooked, moist and delicious Thanksgiving turkey with gloriously crisp skin. Follow this guide for success!
Step #3: Season And Butter The Turkey
Next you’ll be seasoning liberally with salt and pepper, all over. But, there’s no seasoning in the below picture because this turkey was brined. If you have brined your turkey, don’t add anything to it here.
Brined or not, what you’re going to do is to take a big piece of aluminum foil. You’ll want a piece bigger than in the below picture. Let me explain. I forgot how my mom did it when I was taking these pictures. I thought she only put foil over the breast meat. She has since told me that I was wrong. So, get a piece of foil big enough to cover the whole bird. If you need to, you can use two pieces that overlap. Then smear one side of the foil with a lot of softened butter or margarine. You want a good cup (that’s two sticks) of butter spread on there.
Note, I think it’s best to use unsalted butter, especially if you’ve brined the turkey. Or just keep in mind that there’s salt in your butter when you’re seasoning the turkey. You can make the butter taste better before putting it on the foil if you want to take this butter thing to the next level. This is my recipe for Compound Butter for Turkey. Putting it on the foil before roasting is one way to use it, and adding little bits of it to sliced turkey that is already cooked is another way to use it.
Then, take that foil and put it butter side down onto the turkey. Press the foil against the turkey skin so that it’s making contact all over. The breast meat won’t dry out because of this foil, and the tasty butter will stay on the turkey for a lot of the cooking time. It will also drip into the roasting pan, leaving you with tasty baste juices and great drippings for your gravy.
Instructions For Roasting Turkey
Take the turkey out of the fridge 30 minutes before you cook it. This will make it less cold and help it cook more evenly. If you haven’t brined your turkey, just take it out of the box and pat it dry with paper towels. Don’t rinse it off since that only sprays potential bacteria around your kitchen. If you wet-brined your turkey, also just pat it dry, no need to rinse it. If you dry-brined your turkey, don’t do anything. It looks like a lot of seasoning is about to fall off in the picture above, but that was just the start of the process. By then end, it’s the finest of layers and you want to leave it on there.
If your turkey has giblets inside, you can do one of three things:
1) You can discard them;
2) You can make turkey broth with them to add to the beef drippings when you make gravy. This is a great idea if you’re brining the turkey because the turkey juices might get too salty. You can use this broth instead. To do this, put the giblets (removed from any packaging) into a medium saucepan. You can also remove any extra skin or fat from the turkey and add that. You can even add the wing tips, which don’t have much meat on them and often turn too dark when roasted. Only add enough water to the pan to barely cover the meat. In this case, less is more, since less water means the flavor will stay strong. Sage, thyme, rosemary are some of the fresh herbs that you can add. You can also use dried herbs or poultry seasoning, as well as raw onion, garlic cloves, carrots, and celery. You don’t have to peel the carrots or celery, and you can leave the peels on the onions and garlic. Just give everything a good rinse. Don’t add salt because that will make it harder to get your gravy seasoning right later. Give it all a stir, some items might be sticking out and that’s actually ideal. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and then reduce it to a simmer. Let it sit there simmering for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring every now and then. Remove from the heat and strain away the aromatic pieces. Those can be discarded so that all is left is the broth.
3) Add them to the roasting pan, putting them around the turkey as it roasts. This will add extra flavor to your gravy. They will be strained out and thrown away before the gravy is served. Just mush them up a bit before you make the gravy.