How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey Testimonials Page 6

• I grew up with the normal, pretty dry turkey. I've also had friends' turkey that's injected with juices and cooked in special pans. I tried the slow-cook method and will never cook a turkey any other way again. I did have a 22 lb bird so I cooked it at 260 degrees instead of 250 out of paranoia. It came out perfect. The meat was so tender I couldn't carve it with a knife. It just fell apart. That was the first time I didn't remember to put gravy on it, because it was already to moist and tender. Anyway. I liked it. So did everyone who ate it. Thanks for helping make my Thanksgiving a good one. Henry and Emily O., 11/27/09
• I am a new bride, and I have never cooked a thanksgiving turkey- let alone a whole bird! But, my husband was working, and I wanted to bring him and his coworkers a thanksgiving dinner to remember. After reading the testimonials, I was sold on your method - and so I tried it. I used rosemary and sage between the skin and meat, and I put a little extra butter on the skin because I wanted it super crunchy. I also used some tin-foil to cover it, because it was all I had lying around. It was such a success I couldn't believe it. Everyone was fighting over the white meat, it was so juicy and succulent and I got tons of compliments on my great cooking skills. My husband even said it was the best turkey he had ever had- including his mothers. If that isn't a vote of confidence, I don't know what is! Thanks for making my first thanksgiving experience such a success, I will be recommending this recipe to all my friends!
  Nina M., Portland, OR 11/27/09
• I got roped into signing up to bring the turkey to our 1st "traditional" Thanksgiving covered-dish at work this year. It was the week before Thanksgiving & I figured it would give me a chance to do a trial-run before the big day at my house. I'd already purchased a 12.78# butterball. Because I had to work the same day that I needed to bring the turkey, I went online & found your site. It fit perfectly into my schedule so I decided to go for it!
  
  I washed & prepped the bird the night before & when I woke up I just took it out of the fridge for about 20 minutes, preheated the oven to 450º as instructed, then in it went. Turned the heat down to 250º after 20 minutes & then I went off to work. With fingers crossed, I drove back home 4 hours later & took it out of the oven - Perfection! I carried it back to work in the covered roaster. It was so moist & tender it just fell off the bone. It was delicious with lots of rave reviews!
  
  I repeated it at my house on Thanksgiving day & it also came out perfect!
  The only thing I did different was omitted the thyme (I didn't have any) and added some poultry seasoning to the rosemary & butter. I also sprinkled the outside with paprika. Thanks so much for sharing! Happy holidays to you & yours! Dee in Florida, 11/29/09
• We followed your advice to cook a 15.2 lb turkey. We used a black covered roasting pan, with a tight-fitting lid. After the first 20 minutes at 475 we turned the oven down to 250 and set the timer for 5 hours. When there was 1 hour and 20 minutes left on the timer, we decided to check it. The tender timer had popped out, the bird looked beautiful, and the meat thermometer read 180. In other words, it was done! So rather than 5 hours at 250 it only took 3 hours and 40 minutes at 250. We had to hurry up the other dishes to catch up while the turkey rested for 20 minutes. I checked the oven temp with an oven thermometer, and the two matched fairly closely, with the thermometer at 250 and the oven at 250. Anyway, the turkey was great--moist, tender, and delicious. It carved easily and the pieces held their shape. Thanks for your detailed suggestions. We will use this method again, but we will be prepared for an "Early" bird. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving! Lori B., 10/28/09