My Favorite Turkey Washed in Butter and Wine

Over the years, I have cooked turkey in a million different ways, and I always come back to this method. I first learned about this when I went about planning my very first Thanksgiving feast that I was cooking and hosting. I found this technique of covering the turkey breast in cheesecloth soaked in white and melted butter in an OG Martha Stewart magazine Thanksgiving edition, circa 1997, not to date myself! Come to find out, after years of researching different methods, this technique most likely came via Julia Childs. I’m sure she learned from a French chef, but that’s as far back as I go.

The seasoning and dry brining are mine!

First off, if you are buying your bird frozen you want to give 3-4 days to defrost in the refrigerator. Plan on picking up your bird on Friday or Saturday before Thanksgiving. You can start the dry brining process before the bird is completely defrosted, but it does help for it to be mostly defrosted for ease of manipulating the legs, and wings and getting the giblet sack out!

2-3 days before cooking, season the bird with the spice mixture. Generously rub it all over, including inside the cavity, between the legs and breast and the back. Set on a sheet pan lined with a cooling rack, and let “brine” in the refrigerator uncovered. Leaving the bird uncovered will allow the skin to fully dry out, so you will get better browning and crisping of the skin. Seasoning this far ahead of time allows the bird to release juices that will grab onto the seasoning and pull it back in seasoning the meat on the inside.

An hour before you put the bird in the oven, stuff it with quartered onion and a lemon. Truss the bird: tuck the wing tips back and under the bird. Take an 18-20 inch piece of kitchen twine, and starting at the top of the bird, where the tucked-under wings are, secure the middle of the twine under the backside grabbing the wings. Bring the twine on both sides up and between the legs and the breast. Pulling snuggly wrap each side of twine around a leg like a figure 8. If the tail is still attached, wrap the twine around the tail and tie it snuggly in a knot. Try to truss as snuggly as possible so the legs are snug against the breast, and the bird becomes a compact unit. This will help it to cook more evenly.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Plan on approximately 15 minutes per pound of turkey, so a 13-15 lb bird will take 3-4 hours. I also plan on my bird resting for 45-1 hour. So working backward from when you want to eat dinner is the way to go. Soak cheesecloth in warmed wine and butter. Drape the soaked cheesecloth over the breast, and legs. Place in the oven on the sheet pan lined with a cooling rack. I do not use a roasting pan for this or the sides of the bird will not get browned. If your oven has the space place the bird in the oven with the legs toward the back and then rotate the bird a 1/4 turn each time you baste. If not, plan on cooking the bird halfway on one side and then rotate 180 degrees for the second half. Start checking the temperature of the bird in the thickest part of the thigh making sure not to touch bone about an hour before you think it should be done. Depending on how accurate your oven temperature is, your bird may cook faster or slower.

Make a bundle with the herbs and keep the wine and butter warm and melted. Use the herb bundle to baste the bird with the wine and butter mixture. You will baste over the cheesecloth, keeping the cheesecloth moist every 15 minutes.