You cook a turkey, what, once a year? Maybe your favorite way to cook turkey is your grandma's; maybe you try a different recipe every year in search of a better way. I'm not saying you or your grandma are wrong, but if your turkey is in the oven for more than two hours, you're wasting your life. This is the best turkey recipe I've ever found, courtesy of the thorough test chefs and food scientists at Cook's Illustrated. Cooking time: two hours. (And don't worry: My standards are high, and this turkey is fantastic.)
After this recipe, you'll never go back to your old turkey method
Photo courtesy of Cook's Illustrated/Joe Keller.
More specifically, the recipe comes from the pages of Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe , and it's been my go-to for the past four years. If you're unfamiliar with them, Cook's Illustrated is a magazine published by the food science group America's Test Kitchen. The magazine is ad-free, and their premise is simple: they extensively test different ways to make a dish, and then publish what they learn, along with what they think is the best way to make that food.
Case in point: this incredible two-hour turkey. The skin is crispy, the bird is juicy, and the flavor is phenomenal. (I wasn’t even sure I liked turkey that much until I had this bird.) I can’t think of a simpler turkey recipe, and the cooking time is minimal, which is important when your kitchen (and oven) is called upon to do a thousand other things on Thanksgiving morning.
