How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey Testimonials Page 4

• My daughter used your recipe to make her first Thanksgiving turkey and it was DELICIOUS! She was so proud of herself, as of course was I! Thank you so much for making my daughter's first holiday meal a huge success. Valerie P., 12/3/08
  
• I tried your recipe out this Thanksgiving, with the slight addition of brining the turkey for 20 hours first, and then cooked it according to your method. I for one, have hated pretty much every turkey that I have ever eaten at a Christmas or Thanksgiving meal, but I have to say, as did all of my guests, that this was the best turkey we have ever eaten in our entire lives (and some of these folks are very advanced in age.)
  
  I am from Louisiana and we usually pride ourselves on our ability to cook, but turkey is one of the things we never could get a hold of (hence, the invention of the tur-duck-hen.) For the past five years we did the turduckhen, but those came out fairly dry as well. Before that, ?we fried the turkey, but that was a whole other mess, so we decided this year that once and for all, we decided we were going to learn how to cook a turkey. I did tons of research, and I came down to two methods to employ for this year's turkey experiment....brining, and your cooking/prep process. I was not sure how the turkey was going to come out until it hit the carving platter.
  
  I let the turkey sit for about a half an hour after removing it from the oven. It was still hot when I started carving it. The first thing I carved was the breast...the part I hate. I took a bite, and was literally bowled over by how moist and tender the meat was. Of course everyone was standing around watching and was shocked by my reaction to the breast (they all know how much I hate turkey.) Within a few minutes one side of the breast of a 20 pound turkey was devoured simply by sampling. It was unbelievable. Everyone ate white meat that day, and only when that ran out did they turn to the dark meat.
  
  Honestly, I liked the outcome so much, turkey will be now cooked once a month at my home in this fashion. I finally have found a way to prepare something I grew up hating for its dryness, into something I will now look forward to (I am 36 years old.)
  
  Thank you for your recipe. It was great. I would add the brining option to your page.
  Will B. 12/1/08
  
• First of all, you must know that I have not had to cook a turkey for the last 15 years as I have had to suffer through T Day at my mother in laws – we continually take bets to see how undercooked Tom will be each year. YUCK! But this year, I really wanted to open the door to my fridge and make leftovers from my own turkey! You know, pot pie, turkey curry, turkey, cranberry and mayo on pumpernickel – So I bought my turkey on Friday and threw it in the oven on Saturday using your time chart directions. I used very little to no seasonings aside from S&P, but I did throw in Herbs de Provence in the neck and gizzard pot for the gravy. I have never cooked or tasted such a moist, perfectly cooked turkey in my life! I made my husband come look at the perfectly colored roasted turkey – he thought I was dissing his mom and then I gave him the choice of eating it or going to his mother’s for leftovers. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your recipe on the internet, if you do not mind, I have downloaded the file to my recipe file to use for years to come! THANK YOU!! Lorna S., 12/1/08
• I just wanted to write you a quick note to thank you for the directions on your website. Our turkey turned out great and it was easy to pull off. Thank you very much! Brandon, 11/28/08
  
• My husband and I hosted our first Thanksgiving dinner with both sides of the family and a few friends. I have always cooked a mean roasted chicken and was clueless about turkey cooking, so I Googled how to make a turkey and came across your site. As it was the first site I saw I clicked on it and thought I would give it a shot your way. I cannot tell you how many people preferred my roasted turkey over the 2 fried turkeys we had too. The turkey was perfectly cooked and so juicy it was amazing. I added fresh basil grown by me along with some Thyme....delicious and now i will be making my chickens the same way. I try different recipes for a variety of things and I can tell you that I never give feedback to the person that I found the recipe from. I definitely will be recommending your method to all my friends and family.
  
  Jennel P., 11/28/08
  
• Thank you….Thank you….. My turkey was perfect!! I had 20 guests over and everyday couldn’t give me enough praise for my turkey. Not only was it flavorful and juicy, it was looked beautiful. Now how about the perfect stuffing using the turkey parts? any simple recipes ??
  
  Myra B., 11/28/08
  
• Thank you for the informative website. Did exactly as listed. The turkey came out just great! Really moist! Lifting the skin above the breast meat and inserting the butter, thyme and rosemary was excellent. Only thing is the skin did not come out a golden brown so on the last 45 minutes I removed the cover and wa la! Golden skin with an excellent color rendition. At least when I do my next turkey, it will be just as great!!
  
  Thanks again, Gobble Gobble,
  Howard H., 11/28/08
  
• I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful "how to" on making a Thanksgiving turkey. Although it wasn't Thanksgiving, I wanted to make my first turkey. I followed your instructions and the turkey came out beautiful. The funny thing is I still go over to my grandmother's every Thanksgiving for turkey, maybe this year she may come to my house. Again thank you very much for the informative piece, I would have been lost without it.
  Sincerely,
  Ed G., 1/3/08
  
• My name is Melissa, I live in Belgium and I have 24 years old. I want to thank you for your recipe. I cooked the first turkey of my life for Christmas, I was very scared! I had 10 guests and I had to succeed this meal! My turkey weighed 12 kg (24lbs). I did not sleep : I dreamed that I was attacked by turkeys!
  
  Finally, I followed your recipe and my turkey was perfect! Thanks to you! May God bless you! I had a lot of success! I wrote this recipe and I will give it to my daughter when she grows and I think it will do the same with it.
  
  Thanks a lot
  
  Melissa, 1/1/08