17 Thanksgiving Turkey Mistakes

One of the main reasons I have never attempted making thanksgiving dinner is because of the daunting task of cooking the main dish, the turkey. I feel like there is so much pressure to make the perfectly browned, crispy skinned, juicy meat and well seasoned bird. However, this helpful list, the 17 thanksgiving turkey mistakes everyone makes, from christine byrne is sure to make the process a lot more approachable.

(images via)

1.    you wait too long to buy a turkey

2.    you forget that a frozen turkey takes 4 days to thaw

3.    you don't realize that many turkeys are pre-brined

4.    you don't let your turkey come to room temperature before roasting

5.    you don't dry the turkey really well inside the cavity and on the outside

6.    you don't salt inside the cavity

7.    you don't use a roasting rack inside your roasting pan

8.    you cook stuffing inside the bird

9.    you roast the turkey at 1 temperature, instead of starting it in a really hot oven and then lowering the heat

10.  you freak out about the skin browning too quickly and turn down the oven temperature

11.  you baste

12.  you don't use a real thermometer

13.  you check the temperature at the wrong time, in the wrong place

14.  you cook the turkey past 160°F

15.  you don't let your turkey rest for at least 15 minutes before carving

16.  you destroy the turkey when it comes time to carve it

17.  you carve up the whole bird even though only half of it will get eaten on thanskgiving

To read the whole article, including tips and tricks on what you should do (instead of the unmentionables above) click here.