Alton Brown turkey - post your results here!

[twowhat?]

First, I didn't use Alton's brine solution. I used a store-bought jar of sea salt/sugar/spices. Just easier and I really feel that the brine solution doesn't matter so much as long as the salt/sugar/water ratio is correct.

Second, I did not have a smoking problem, and the turkey didn't snap and pop like some reviewers said. I think the difference is turning the oven (bottom coils) to 500 degrees versus turning on the BROILER at 500 degrees. With the broiler on, I can imagine that it WILL smoke, pop, turn the skin at the top nearly black, and I'm suspecting that the reviewers who complained about smoke and near-charring actually had the broiler on...

I set my oven to 500 (not broil) and I did put a little water in the bottom of the pan since I was already afraid of smoke. It browned very nicely and evenly in 30 min at 500, minimal smoking, no cracking, no popping!! Then I slapped on my turkey triangle and turned it down to 350 to finish cooking.

Then my probe thermometer malfunctioned. Hahahaha. By the time I realized it wasn't working properly, our 14.5 lb bird had been in for almost 2.5 hours. In a panic I opened the oven and grabbed our other thermometer and took the turkey's temp - we were well over 10 degrees PAST 161 at about 176. Oops. But the turkey looked great and despite technically being overcooked, it was so good. If my probe thermometer had worked and I took it out at 161, it would have been even better, which was actually kind of hard to imagine since it was already so good!

And a trick I used for the turkey triangle for those who don't want a big piece of aluminum foil that has touched raw meat sitting around waiting to go on the turkey - I covered the raw turkey with plastic wrap first, THEN molded the turkey triangle onto it. Then discarded the plastic wrap. So the aluminum foil stayed clean and I just set it on the counter to wait to put on the turkey after the 500 degree sear.

Yum, yum, yum!!!

Share your Alton Brown turkey success (or failure) story!!

[Penny's Pappa]

Another year, another delicious turkey.

Definitely need a new probe though I think. We took ours out at 160°, let it rest for 20 mins, and though the majority of it was perfectly cooked, there were some underdone parts. So, not a perfect bird, but pretty close. Still the most tender, juicy turkey breast I've ever had.

Not much in the way of smoke and popping/fizzing this year, too (no, I didn't broil it in the past). Maybe this bird was a little leaner than in years past? Or maybe I was more prepared -- I had opened up several windows and turned on a ceiling fan. Either way, it wasn't as bad as I remembered it.

All-in-all, it was a good day.

[tylersmama]

My AB turkey turned out perfectly! The teeniest bit of smoke, but that's just my oven...it smokes at any temp over 400. :rolleyes The turkey was browned perfectly, and I didn't even need any foil over it. I put a little water in the pan during the 30 min/500 degrees to keep the drippings from burning, and then threw some veggies in the bottom ala Cook's Illustrated's gravy recipe. Dee-licious!