How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey Testimonials Page 1

• My turkey was a hit! I've been married for 13 years... 2 kids... and this is only the 2nd^d time I've been in charge of the turkey. It's not that I can't cook... I just don't like to cook. The turkey was perfect. I have been elected to be in charge every year now. Not sure if I am excited about this... but it's a great vote of confidence. Angie
• WOW! What a success! I followed your instructions exactly except for at the end I uncovered and basted for 15 minutes. (10 lb turkey) It gave the turkey a nice golden brown crispy coat. Tender as ever inside. THANKS! (You were right about the everything else usually being the discussion of goodness, this year it was the turkey!) Warmly, Michelle
• I just wanted to let you know that my turkey this year was the best I've ever made, thanks to you! When I cut into the breast meat, you could actually see the juices flowing! You were right! This IS how I will cook my turkey from this day forward! Thanks so much! Jennifer
• Just wanted to let you know, I did cook a turkey using your method and it was absolutely awesome! We were in a cabin so we had to use a foil roasting pan and tin foil to cover the turkey (11lb)....I also just put a thick layer of butter in between the skin and breast (unmelted) and used the spices you recommended sprinkled on the butter....I would say baked it roughly around 4 hours...it was incredible! The temperature in the turkey at the time it was done was well above 180...it was like 200 when I pulled it from the oven... Just wanted to let you know it was GREAT! Lori
• I actually cooked my first turkey last Christmas. Because I hate dry turkey, I researched on the Internet and ended up finding your site. I had planned on buying a covered roasting pan but could not find one so I improvised. I cooked my 12lb turkey exactly to your specified cooking times plus one hour but instead of using a covered roasting pan, I used a oven pan that I already had and put the turkey upside down in an oven roasting bag inside the pan. I have never tasted a turkey so juicy. Slow cooking is the best. Everyone should do it.
  
  Thanks!, Makesha C., Alton, IL, 1/10/07
• My family celebrated our first Thanksgiving together this past week and it was the first time we cooked a turkey. I am used to eating Thanksgiving turkey that has been overcooked. I did have a deep fried turkey one time and it was very moist, however, the cooking process is much too dangerous. I downloaded your directions from the Internet and followed them exactly as you recommended. The end result was the most delicious and moist turkey we have ever eaten!
  
  My sincere thanks for you helping to make our first family Thanksgiving a great success. Glenn H. 11/26/07
• Thank you for your web site! This Thanksgiving, somehow I was chosen out of my family to cook the turkey, even though I had never done it before. I followed your recipe, cooking a 13 lb turkey, and the it was the best turkey we had ever had for Thanksgiving. I cannot stress enough how easy it was, no basting, no fussing, just a great bird. Thanks again for the website Rob E. 11/26/07
• WOW!
  I am sure you hear this all the time but, seriously, that was the juiciest, incredibly moist turkey I have ever had! It was also the first I ever cooked! I went online to get instructions on how to cook a turkey since this was going to be the first one I have ever made and I came across your site. Thank God for goggle :-) Yours was actually the first I looked at.
  
  I was a little worried about my oven temperature but decided to go along with it anyway. I also ended up covering it with aluminum foil, which I believe you don't recommend, however it seemed to not hurt the Turkey. I seasoned it right between the breast and the skin like you said with butter rosemary, and thyme. I also added some bay leaves. I did put a celery stalk, halved orange, onion, one habernero pepper, and a stalk of rosemary.
  
  Then I seasoned the outside with salt, pepper, and paprika. A little over4 hours later I was carving my Turkey (again something I never have done before) and all my worries of it being dry melted away. Really no pun intended! I couldn't help but eat the little pieces that separated themselves from the pieces I was cutting off. I had to give myself a little pat on the back and credit to you! Thank you so much for your perfected slow roast Turkey method! You truly made my first crack at cooking Thanksgiving great! Brian C. 11/27/07.
• Thank you for your advice. I cooked my first Thanksgiving meal last year and it was a success thanks to your help. I was told by a few family members and friends that it was the best turkey they every had. I look forward to cooking this year. Your fan, Tammy
• I have to say- I had never attempted to cook a turkey before. I decided to try for fun one day about 6 months ago and looked online for a recipe. That is where I came across your website posting on "How to make a turkey perfectly". Can I tell you that it was the best turkey I have ever eaten...EVER! ... not to mention it was my 1st time cooking one!! Well, I have since told my parents that "I am in charge of the turkey this year" for Thanksgiving and have forwarded your recipe to approximately 8 of my friends. Thank you so much and I will take this recipe with me forever!
  Thanks again! Germantown, Maryland 11/21/08
  
  Response... Thank you for the compliment but I'm just the messenger. I just found the approach a couple of years ago and the turkey got so good I decided to share my find with everyone on the Internet. We all have to thank whoever came up with the method in the first place.
• I just cooked a turkey so amazing I was jokingly proposed to. Not only was this my VERY FIRST time cooking a turkey, it did it all in a DORM KITCHEN. Yeah. So easy and so yummy... Thank you so very much. This recipe helped me have a totally stress free perfect holiday memory. Jennifer 11/06/08
• It came out great, I added 1TBS of spicy brown mustard to the melted butter before I coated the bird under the skin per directions, it cooked super moist with an almost overwhelming flavor. Thanks for a great recipe. Thomas C. 11/27/08
• AWESOME TURKEY... I have been with my husband for 15 years and have never cooked a turkey for the holidays because he said he hated turkey because it was too dry. We had this same issue with pork when we first met until I finally convinced him to try mine, when he did he loved it. This year we were suppose to go out for Thanksgiving, and the last minute we had a change of plans. We ended up staying home. My son really wanted Turkey but my husband didn't. When I came across your recipe, I convinced him to try turkey again, and if he hated it I would never cook one again. The recipe made sense with searing the juices in. This turned out to be the BEST JUICIEST turkey we ever had. I was really nervous because there was so little juice in the pan, but it all was in the turkey. My husband now likes Turkey. He could not believe that a turkey could actually be so juicy. Thanks Roxane M. Florida 11/28/08.
• Wow! I followed your directions completely except the seasonings and I got the most compliments ever! The turkey was moist, flavorful, and pretty! Thank you so much! Dara 11/27/08
• What a blessing I found your instructions! Finally at age 61 I cook a moist juicy turkey. Thanks so much! Jim D., Spring, Texas 11/27/08
  
  Note: I'm just the messenger. This method has been around for years.
• Just wanted to drop a quick note thanking you for the cooking instructions for turkey.
  So.... Thank you! You should consider Google Adsense for your site, you'd make a nice little sum before the holidays I think. Anyway, Best Happy Thanksgiving wishes to you and your loved ones. Bob G. 11/27/08
• I just wanted to let you know that I got tagged at the last minute to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner at my work. I went online and found your site and decided to use your recipe/method. This morning as I was preparing/cooking the bird some of my family members were very skeptical about the outcome - mostly they said that it would be undercooked and everyone who ate it would get sick. I paid them no mind and continued to follow your directions.
  
  When I arrived at work, one of my co-workers took the turkey to carve. About 30 minutes later people were asking me where I got the turkey because it was the best tasting, most juicy, most tender they ever had. WOW! I told them it wasn't the turkey, it was the way it was prepared and cooked and then referred them to your website. I'm not a big fan of turkey, so I hardly ever cook it myself. But I am now a convert. It was so easy and it turned out prefect. So, in spite of the fact that I had to work, my Thanksgiving was definitely enjoyable thanks to the turkey. Thanks and Happy Holidays to you all. Lynn M. 11/28/08
• Neither my wife nor I cook. We both work and it's just easier to order out. We had to cook our first ever Thanksgiving Turkey last year out of necessity, rather than choice. Up until last year, we had ordered our Thanksgiving Turkey ready-made from a gourmet food shoppe: all we had to do was pop it in the oven to warm up. However, last year our daughter was born the week before Thanksgiving, and we were unable to place our order because my wife was about to give birth. I asked a friend to order our turkey for us, but when I went to pick up our usual cooked bird on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving , much to my dismay I discovered that our friend ordered an uncooked 12 pound turkey!
  
  Our friend loves to cook, so she couldn't imagine that anyone would order a pre-cooked turkey. Since neither my wife nor I cook we asked our friend how to cook the turkey, but we were totally intimidated by all the elaborate preparations she described. It was too late to order a ready-to-eat bird, so either we cooked our turkey ourselves or have a turkey-less Thanksgiving. We needed a relatively simple, fuss-free method to cook our bird. My wife found your website and we decided to cook our first-ever Thanksgiving Turkey using your instructions. It was hands-down the best turkey we had ever had! So much better than our gourmet shoppe pre-cooked turkey. Every bite was so succulent and melt-in-your-mouth tender: especially the breast!
  
  We used your method again this year, and our 11.5 pound turkey came out spectacular again! We still don't cook throughout the year, but your instructions have made our Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner our annual family cooking event.
  
  Thanks so much for sharing How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey!
  George T. New York, NY 11/28/08
• This method rocks!! This was my first time cooking a turkey on my own, and it turned out better than most of my family's turkeys! Don't tell them I said that though. The turkey was juicy and flavorful as hell with the butter, thyme, and rosemary method.
  
  Although I did alter it a bit. I couldn't find any sprigs of thyme and rosemary. So, I got some regular thyme and rosemary in the bottles. I opened it up a bit with a mortar and pestle. Then I put it in with the two blocks of butter when it was melting. I also used a basting brush to coat the inside of the turkey with all of it. I couldn't find any gloves in short order. I used the some tin foil to cover it when it was cooking and the last hour or so I took it off to give it some "color". I wasn't even thinking of making a turkey until I saw this site. Psyber N. 11/28/08