Pennyaline wrote:
> On 11/25/2011 12:12 PM, cshenk wrote:
>
>> Actually Bryan, stuffed turkey is not dry unless you do it wrong or
>> at too high a temp.
>
> Stuffed turkeys are almost always dry, because more oven time is
> required to get a cavity full of stuffing up to the correct
> temperature all the way through.

It's not dry if you cook it upside down for the first hour and a half. I
think that the size of the turkey is also an issue. I've found that the
14-16 lb range seems to yield the most meat in relation to frame, and cooks
in a resonable amount of time so that the extremities are not dessicated. If
I had a huge crowd to feed--and the oven space--I'd be inclined to cook two
smaller turkeys than one of those 24-lb behemoths.

This year, I cooked the turkey unstuffed: something I've never done on
Thanksgiving. I just put some onion, garlic, celery, and herbs in the
cavity. It did cook a lot faster, but I didn't notice any particular
difference in moisture in the final result.

What I *did* notice--too late, alas--was that none of the drippings had
browned on the roasting pan. No fond at all. This made for a lackluster
gravy, despite the fact that I had been simmering stock for it all day (made
with the neck and some frozen chicken trimmings, plus the usual vegetables
and herbs). I had a small container of strong brown stock left in the
freezer, and at the last minute thawed, reduced, and added that, which
helped. But still very disappointing.