best way to oven cook turkey

[nhtrkybstr]

My wife cooked my bird in the oven last year, and it was great, but was a little dry. Any ideas on the best way to cook a turkey? Any and all ideas appriciated!

[IssaquahBob]

I've roasted a number of wild turkeys and for me it is my favorite way of cooking this great bird. I salt & pepper the cavity and stuff my bird; rub the outside with butter or margarine and salt & pepper; then place it in a flour dusted roasting bag; cover the entire breast with strips of bacon (doesn't have to be anything expensive); pour in a bit of inexpensive cognac; seal the bag; put about 6 small slits in the top of the bag; place in a roasting pan with something to keep the bag off the bottom of the pan (I have 2 square metal trivets that I use); put in a pre-heated 325 degree oven and bake until a meat thermometer stuck into the stuffing registers about 165 degrees. I roast a 6 lb bird about 2 1/2 hours; a 10 lb bird about 3 1/2 hours; and a 15 lb bird about 4 hours (all bird weights were before the bird was stuffed). The key is not to overcook.

[grizzly]

i use an oven bag and a cup of water . put the turkey and the water in the bag the put it in a pan . the water will add moisture and keep the meat from drying out while roasting...wayne

[Treerooster]

I usually roast 3 or 4 wild turkeys a year.

You didn't say, but I assume you plucked the bird? The skin still on will certainly make a difference in how dry the meat is.

When I roast a turkey it is stuffed and I also use the oven bag as the others have said. I think the bag is the only wat to go really. I don't do anything in the bag but put a little flour in it. I do rub the skin with lemon juice before its put in the bag, I think it seals the pores on the skin. I roast at 350 degrees and cook to about 165 or 170 degrees. Many times you will read to measure the temperature on a turkey in the thigh. This may be true on a tame bird, but I don't think it is on a wild bird. They are built a bit different. I take the temp on a wild bird in the middle of the breast.

I don't get many fall turkeys so my experience is only with spring gobblers. I think the breast sponge on a spring gobbler really helps keep the breast meat moist.