Kenji López-Alt, the chief culinary consultant of Serious Eats, is renowned for his innovative and foolproof turkey recipes that have transformed the way we cook turkey for Thanksgiving and other holidays. As an MIT-trained food scientist, López-Alt approaches cooking through a scientific lens, rigorously testing recipes to understand how different techniques and ingredients affect the final results. Over the years, he has leveraged this knowledge to develop turkey recipes that maximize juiciness, boost flavor, and yield exceptionally tasty results every time.
In this article, we’ll provide a comprehensive guide to López-Alt’s groundbreaking turkey recipes and explain the science and techniques behind them. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced cook, implementing López-Alt’s tips and tricks is sure to level up your turkey game this holiday season.
Spatchcocking – The Simplest Route to Perfection
One of López-Alt’s most popular turkey cooking methods is spatchcocking – removing the backbone and flattening the bird so it lays flat. Studies show spatchcocking allows the turkey to cook faster and more evenly eliminating the dreaded scenario of burnt, dried out breast meat and underdone legs.
By laying the turkey flat, the breasts are no longer stacked on top of the legs distant from the heat source. This enables even heat circulation, allowing both white and dark meat to cook at the same rate to ideal doneness. The increased exposure to hot air also crisps up the skin beautifully.
Spatchcocking takes only about 15 minutes Removing the backbone is easier than it sounds – just use sturdy kitchen shears. Then press down firmly on the breast until the turkey flattens
Cook the spatchcocked turkey in a 425°F oven for around 15 hours, until the thighs reach 165°F The result is moist, tender meat and crispy browned skin throughout the entire bird. It’s the easiest route to turkey perfection.
Dry Brining – The Flavor Boosting Hack
In addition to innovative cooking methods, López-Alt also employs next-level seasoning techniques to maximize turkey flavor. One of his go-to tricks is dry brining – rubbing the turkey with salt and letting it rest overnight.
Through the process of osmosis, the salt initially draws moisture out of the turkey, then this concentrated brine slowly migrates back in. The salt dissolves muscle proteins, allowing the turkey to retain more moisture as it cooks.
But dry brining doesn’t just improve juiciness. As López-Alt explains, salt enhances meaty, savory flavor compounds. A 24 hour dry brine seasons the turkey deeply and uniformly, taking its inherent flavors to new heights.
For the best results, López-Alt recommends using 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per 5 pounds of turkey. Rub the salt all over the bird, including the cavities. Chill uncovered overnight, then roast as desired – it works equally well for spatchcocked, whole, or part turkeys. Just be sure to reduce any additional salt called for in recipes.
Low and Slow Roasting – Maximize Juiciness
In addition to spatchcocking and dry brining, López-Alt also revolutionized turkey roasting itself. Conventional roasting starts at a high temperature, which can overcook the delicate breast meat.
López-Alt’s method is exactly the opposite. He found that starting the turkey at a low 225°F then finishing at 375°F delivers unprecedented juiciness. The initial gentle heat gently brings the turkey up to temperature without desiccating it. Then the hotter finish crisps and browns the skin.
For ideal results, he recommends roasting turkey parts separately. Roast legs and thighs at 275°F to an internal temperature of 175°F, and roast boneless turkey breast at 250°F until 145°F. The precision temperature control prevents any part from overcooking.
Mastering the Turkey Porchetta
The pièce de résistance – López-Alt’s turkey porchetta, or ‘turchetta’. This show-stopping dish takes turkey to porcine heights. He butchers and seasons the breast à la porchetta – Italy’s classic herb-stuffed, crispy-skinned pork roast.
The process is meticulous butfoolproof. First, he carefully removes the breast meat then lays it flat. Next, he makes incisions and rubs it with an aromatic blend of garlic, fennel, herbs and pepper. Then he rolls and trusses the breast into a cylindrical roast.
As it roasts gently at 275°F, the porchetta-style preparation delivers ridiculously juicy and flavorful meat. When sliced, each piece unveils fabulously moist turkey encased by crisp, golden skin. It’s a masterpiece worthy of any holiday table.
Thanks to the work of Kenji López-Alt, gone are the days of dried out, bland turkey. His innovative techniques like spatchcocking, dry brining, and low slow roasting deliver juicy, well-seasoned results no matter your preparation method. And for true turkey connoisseurs, the turchetta represents the pinnacle – intricately prepared for scene-stealing succulence.
This Thanksgiving, Christmas, or anytime you cook turkey, be sure to reference López-Alt’s recipes and techniques. Applying his tips will guarantee show-stopping, foolproof results well beyond any turkey you’ve tasted before. Your guests will be raving as they go back for seconds and thirds. And you can sit back and relax, confident the starring turkey will impress all around your table.
DAY BEFORE: how I’m prepping my bird
I’ve done both and am team dry brine all the way. J. Kenji López-Alt agrees:
“I vastly prefer dry brining. A traditional brine will plump up your turkey with moisture, but that moisture is mainly water, leading to a turkey that tastes watered down. A dry brine, on the other hand, helps a turkey retain its natural moisture without adding any excess liquid, which leads to more intensely flavored results.” (all sources linked at the end of the newsletter).
Dry brines entail covering your bird with a salt based mixture and leaving in your fridge, uncovered, for 24-48 hours.
The salt initially draws moisture out of the protein, then dissolves into this moisture, and this moisture gets reabsorbed back into the bird. Woah. I find the science of it all fascinating. The result is a juicier, all around better-seasoned bird. And by leaving the turkey uncovered in the fridge, the skin dries out, helping to achieve that desired golden brown crispy skin.
Last year I took it one step further and combined my dry brine with my spice rub. You can use any spice rub of your liking, I combined techniques from Alison Roman’s extremely simple method and Kenji Lopez’s dry brine instructions for the following…
what you need
- ⅓ cup kosher salt
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- leaves from ~4 sprigs of thyme, coarsely chopped
what you do
*assuming your turkey is already defrosted.* The morning before you plan to cook your turkey, remove it from all packaging (taking care to remove the bagged giblets from the cavity) and pat dry using a paper towel. Place the turkey on a baking sheet lined with a wire rack and sprinkle all over with the salt mixture, making sure to evenly distribute the seasoning on all sides, inside the cavity and in all nooks and crannies. Place in the fridge, uncovered, for 24 hours (ideally) until ready to cook the following day.
If you have leftover seasoning, you can mix it with a few sticks of butter for a no-waste compound butter which we will use tomorrow to finish our turkey before it goes into the oven. post dry brine application, pre overnight in the fridge
BUT WAIT: have you ordered your bird?
if yes, scroll on. if no, then let’s tackle this! for the second year in a row, I’ll be spending Thanksgiving with my boyfriend’s family in Washington, D.C. Though I’ll be taking the lead on cooking the bird, Jack’s dad will be securing the turkey. His family lives quite close to a fantastic Georgetown butcher shop where we’ll be ordering from. I recommend ordering from your local butcher shop for a few reasons:
- Convenience: the turkey will likely be fresh (ideally) or defrosted and ready to go, saving you the time and inconvenience of defrosting at home.
- Quality: it’s likely your butcher shop is going to source fresher, higher quality, pasture raised, amish heirloom, etc etc birds compared to the frozen guy you’re picking up from stop & shop. Take a look at what your butcher shop offers and read up on what those options mean!
- Local business: support them! There are few places I enjoy shopping more than a speciality store. If you buy most of your meat from the grocery store, use this as an opportunity to get acquainted with your local butcher shop and the people who work there. Becoming a regular a these types of places is part of why I love cheffing.
Order your turkey size based on the following rule of thumb: approximately 1 lb per person or 1.5 lb per person for leftovers (and if you’re not planning for next-day leftover sandwiches, you’re doing it wrong). last year’s 24 pounder
How to Cook the Best Simple and Easy Roast Turkey
FAQ
How long will a spatchcock turkey take to cook?
A spatchcocked whole turkey will cook more quickly than a standard turkey. While the spatchcock turkey cooking time will depend on the size and oven temperature, 6 minutes per pound is a good rule of thumb. Depending on the size of the turkey, cook times are estimated between 60-90 minutes.
Is it better to cook turkey at 325 or 350?
We recommend roasting turkey at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 13 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey.Nov 6, 2024
Should you rub butter under turkey skin?
Should I put butter under the skin of my turkey? Yes. Putting butter under the skin helps add moisture and flavor to the meat.