Alton Brown Turkey Tips

When it comes to the holy day of Thanksgiving, I worship at the altar of Alton Brown.  Sure, Martha knows how to make a pretty table, but Alton has been prolific in his Thanksgiving tutorials, recipes and advice.  Last year, I made turkey using the upside-down roasting method.  It turned out well, but recently Alton was on NPR discussing his Turkey do's and don'ts, that I thought he must know what he's doing!  Here are some highlights I learned:

• Try brining - Brining adds juiciness and flavor.
• Don't stuff your turkey - The stuffing should reach a temperature of 165 degrees to prevent salmonella.  Unfortunately, getting the stuffing to this temperature can result in an overcooked turkey.
• Don't baste your turkey - The function of skin is to be impermeable to most substances, therefore basting won't make your turkey any more moist.  At most, it will flavor your skin and give it a nice color.  Also, repeated opening of the oven door to baste the turkey lowers the oven temperature and prevents proper cooking of the turkey.

Tomorrow, I'll post the Good Eats Roast Turkey recipe that I'm going to try this year!