Food - Drink
Why You Should Start Roasting Your Thanksgiving Turkey Upside Down
By KATIE HORST
When roasting a whole turkey for the holidays, there's a risk of an overcooked top and undercooked bottom. This is because dark meat, like the legs, takes longer to cook than light meat, like the breast; since the breast sits higher on the bird, closer to the roof of the oven, and the thighs are lower, the turkey is unevenly cooked all around.
To prevent uneven cooking, roast the turkey breast-side down, so the thighs and breasts cook at the same rate. Roasting the turkey up-side down protects the breast from direct heat, so your white meat won't end up dry and stringy, and the fat will also drip down throughout the whole bird to naturally baste it with little effort on your part.
The only downside of this method is that you'll have to do a little extra prep to present the bird as if it were cooked right-side up. Let the upside-down turkey rest after roasting so the juices don't drip out when you flip it over; some recipes advise flipping the turkey breast-side up only during the last few minutes of cooking.