When I first heard about cooking turkey upside down for Thanksgiving dinner, I was tempted. On Thanksgiving, there are many things to think about, such as how much turkey to serve each person, what sides to serve with your main dish, the best desserts to end the meal, and more. Anything to make cooking a turkey easier or tastier is music to my ears.
Cooking a juicy, delicious turkey is the centerpiece of many holiday meals. But an often-overlooked question is which way should the turkey be positioned in the oven? Does it really matter if the turkey is cooked breast-side up or breast-side down? Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of each method.
Breast-Side Up
Cooking the turkey breast-side up is the traditional method that most home cooks use. There are several good reasons for this:
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It’s easier to baste the breast meat when it’s facing up. Basting helps prevent the lean breast meat from drying out.
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The presentation is better with the breast facing up. The breast is often the most attractive part of the turkey with the crisp golden skin.
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Breast meat cooks a bit more gently when facing up. If the breast is cooking against the hot pan it risks overcooking.
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Stuffing the cavity is easier with the breast up. Stuffing adds flavor and moisture to the turkey.
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You avoid tearing the skin when flipping the turkey. Turkeys are heavy and awkward to maneuver in the oven.
Breast-Side Down
However, there are also some advantages to cooking the turkey breast-side down:
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Allows the thighs and legs to cook faster. These darker meats take longer to fully cook than the breast.
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Helps keep the breast meat moist and tender. Since the breast isn’t exposed to direct heat, it’s less likely to dry out.
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Allows gravity to self-baste the breast. As the turkey cooks, juices drip down into the breast area.
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May promote more even cooking. With the thick breast on the bottom, it acts as a heat diffuser.
So breast-side down cooking can lead to juicier dark meat, more tender and moist breast meat, and more even cooking. The tradeoff is that you lose the benefits of easy basting and presentation.
There are good arguments on both sides of this debate. Here are some final tips on how to get the best of both methods:
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Cook breast-side up for the first 2/3 of the cooking time, then flip breast-side down for the final 1/3. This allows you to baste and brown the breast before self-basting the breast at the end.
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Use a cooking bag or tent foil over the breast. This protects the breast when cooking breast-side down.
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Cook stuffing separately. Cooked stuffing can be added after cooking the turkey breast-side down.
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Baste well when cooking breast-side up. Baste every 30 minutes to keep the breast meat moist.
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Cook on lower heat if cooking breast-side down. This prevents the breast from overcooking.
So in the end, it comes down to your specific turkey and oven. Monitor the temperature and moisture carefully. With a few tweaks, you can get tender, juicy meat and crisp skin, no matter which direction your bird is facing!
Why roast a turkey upside down?
The idea is that flipping the bird during cooking keeps the breast from coming into direct contact with the oven’s heat, which makes the white meat juicy and the dark meat perfectly cooked. According to some cooks, the fat from the legs and thighs drips into the breast meat. This idea makes sense if you look at gravity, but maybe not if you look at physics.
I had to find out for myself so I ordered a frozen, 12-pound gobbler. Once it was no longer frozen, I took it out of the fridge and patted it dry. Then I drizzled it with oil and sprinkled it with salt. Then it was time for the flip. As if I were in cobra pose, I turned the turkey over so that the breast side was down and the tips of the wings were tucked under the drumettes.
What happens when you cook a turkey upside down?
Heres what I learned after roasting the upended bird at 375°F until the internal temperature reached 165°F:
- It’s faster. From what we know about past turkey recipes, it should take a little over 2 ½ hours to roast a 12-pound bird. The same size bird flipped over only took 2 hours. It’s likely because the legs and thighs cook faster when they’re facing up, which cuts the cooking time and saves time.
- The legs and thighs get beautifully golden brown. The bird turned brown so quickly that I had to cover it with a tent after only an hour because I didn’t want it to burn. As a bonus, the skin stayed crispy until we were ready to eat, which doesn’t happen with most birds.
- The breast is lackluster. While the legs and thighs were shocking and amazed, the breast was mostly pale and had marks where it had been on the roasting rack.
- It requires broiling. You’ll need to wait until the bird is a little cooler before you can flip it back over to brown the breast. Trust me, browning the breast will make it taste and look better. This part is tricky; after a bird rests, it’s likely ready to carve. When I broiled the breast, it wasn’t evenly golden brown, and it was hard to get the sides of the breast done. It’s better than no browning, but not ideal. Check out the picture below to see how the dark and white meat are different in color.
How to Cook a Turkey
FAQ
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