How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey Testimonials Page 3

• I had a turkey in the freezer that was given to me over the holidays, and I had never cooked one before. I found your page and followed the directions, and I have to say, it's the juiciest turkey I have ever had, thank you so much! Sincerely, Kara B. 1/8/09
• Thank you so much for helping to make my Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys perfect!
  
  For the past 23 years, my wife and I have hosted both Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house (pot luck style with 20 people) and I've been cooking the birds every time. I've baked them following the directions on the wrapper and they were tasty, but usually dry. More recently, I've been deep frying my turkeys and they've turned out tender and juicy. However, there are issues I have with the deep frying method: 1.) The weather has to be decent on the day of frying (which I have no control over). 2.) The amount of oil needed to fill a turkey fryer usually costs more than the bird does! 3.) When you are finished cooking, you're stuck having to deal with a fryer full of used oil. What a pain!
  
  I guess you might say that I was in a "turkey-rut." The whole idea of having to cook turkeys again this year was starting to get to me. I knew that I had to do it but I needed a change, something different, something delicious, and something easy! I jumped on the internet and finally came across your site. After reading through the easy-to-follow directions and reviewing all of the glowing testimonials, I knew I had to give it a try.
  
  Wow! What a treat it was to have something so easy, turn out so beautifully! Other reviewers commented on the juices flowing during carving. I had a flashback to those comments when I made my very first cut into the breast meat. Everyone around me went; "Mmmmm!" as the juices flowed, proving that this was going to be a tender, juicy turkey.
  
  Thanks again for the wonderful recipe and for pulling me out of my rut! You are "The Bomb!" Dale D., Virginia Beach, VA 12/31/08
  
  Note: I hope that's good...
• Thanks for your help this year, everyone enjoyed the Turkey. Happy New Year! Peter, 12/28/08
• IT WORKS!
  
  I have been baking dried turkeys for years. I was just about to put another turkey in the oven, I thought about checking out the internet on how to bake a turkey, got on your site and applied your suggestions, and, IT WORKS!!
  
  Thank you so much, every part was moist, flavorful, and delicious.
  
  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sincerely, Deborah C., 12/26/08.
• 1st time cooking a turkey. Used your recipe/procedure here: https://www.howtocookathanksgivingturkey.com/
  and it came out great - even my mom was impressed. Good work. Lawrence, 12/26/08
• I just tried your turkey recipe. Excellent results. Thanks. Francois G., 12/25/08
• For the past 15 years, I have only used a baking bag to make my turkeys. This Christmas I used your slow cooking method instead of a bag, and my turkey came out fantastic! The white meat was literally falling off the breast bone when I pulled my turkey out of the oven! I love dark meat because it's so much juicier than white, but the white meat came out as tender and juicy as the dark. I will never go back to baking bags! Thank you for posting this method!
  Maria S., Smithfield, NC 12/25/08
• Just wanted to let you know that I used your recipe to cook our Thanksgiving turkey and now nobody wants anyone else to cook the turkey. It turned out great, everyone raved and nominated me to cook the Christmas turkey also. The only problem for me is having to get up early and have the bird cooked in time to be at dinner with the cooked bird 45 minutes away. My kids will now eat turkey that they would not before.Thanks. (I think)
  Wendie, 12/24/08
• Well, I was not sure about your recipe when I started it, but I am a new fan! I did a 14.5 lb turkey in an aluminum pan with foil (I didn't pay attention to the fact that you said it was covered). I ended up cooking the turkey for approximately 7 hours. I think I had to do it longer due to the fact that I was cooking my dressing on the bottom rack under the turkey for the first couple of hours. It was tender and JUICY! Juice literally spurted out of the turkey leg when I went to get the meat. I don't like dark meat, but this way was good.
  
  I used fresh sage leaves, parsley, butter and poultry seasoning under the skin. I will make the turkey this way every time - I will also get a proper roasting pan.
  Thank you, Elizabeth S., 12/24/08
• I'm getting ready to put my Xmas bird in the oven and I wanted to let you know that everyone loved my turkey on Thanksgiving Day. My mother-in-law put it in a bag, but this time I am going to do it uncovered and see how it goes. That was the first time in 15 years that I've been spending the holidays with my husband's family that I have heard anyone comment on how good the turkey was. Even my "foodie" brother-in-law said it was 'awesome'. No need to slather each bite with gravy to keep it from getting stuck in your throat - It was nice and moist!
  Happy Holidays! Annie C., New Orleans 12/24/08
• The day before Thanksgiving I stumbeled upon your website after doing a google search. I've never cooked a turkey and was VERY nervous about how it would turn out. (Especially after hearing so many horror stories about how dry and how bad turkeys can turn out.) But I must say that after 4 hours of roasting and a lot of anxiety, it turned out wonderful! My husband said that it was the best turkey he'd ever had, and he's always very honest about what he thinks about my cooking. And I have to agree with him, it was moist, yet had a crisp skin, and melted in your mouth. AMAZING! Thank you so much for the web site and recipe. Janey, 12/9/08
• I used your method last night, which is GREAT btw, however after the first 20 minutes I put the turkey in a bag. I set the timer and I have a digital meat thermometer and I was surprised to hear it go off nearly an hour before the timer was supposed to go off. I also have an oven thermometer and made sure it stayed at the correct temp the whole time so I would imagine using aluminum foil as some people have asked would reduce cooking time since the bag GREATLY reduced it. We were able to cook a 13 lb turkey on a weeknight and still get some sleep! It was done through and through and juicy as can be. Eating some of the breast right now and the rosemary really improved the flavor. Thanks again! Dylan H., 12/9/08
  
• I took responsibility for our entire thanksgiving feast this year, I adore culinary arts and decided to tackle doing the entire dinner from scratch. (Even down to homemade cranberry jam.) I was nervous, however, to do my first turkey in the midst of this. Your instructions were pretty much a lifesaver, the turkey turned out beautifully and got rave reviews! Already looking forward to using your procedure again at Christmas. (That is, if I don't decide to do a goose... any experience with that?)
  
  Thanks again! Lindsey, 12/4/08