LogFAQs > #912211860

captpackrat posted...

2. Cook very quickly at a high temperature (500F for 30 minutes, then 350 until done). The causes less moisture loss, resulting in a juicier turkey.

That's false, actually. Browning is done entirely for flavour purposes, and has no impact on moisture retention (I've actually seen studies done that suggest searing steaks after cooking them retains slightly more moisture than doing it before). Doing it at the front end just means you don't have to worry about guessing when the turkey is half an hour from being done, since you don't want to finish cooking it and then cook at high heat for another half hour (that will dry it out).

captpackrat posted...

3. Don't stuff the bird. Stuffing makes it take longer to cook, making the turkey dry.

Depends what you stuff it with. The traditional bread-based stuffing? Absolutely, don't do that (that's actually somewhat dangerous, since the stuffing will be soaked with turkey juices but won't necessarily reach 165 to be safe to eat). My mother's approach with turkey, though, is to stuff it with apple, orange, and onion slices, which give it a nice flavour and also add moisture to it. That, I can recommend.

Metalsonic66 posted...

shadowsword87 posted...

Dark meat > white meat

I don't know how people can stand white meat personally.

By drowning it in gravy

If it's cooked right, white meat's delicious. You need to be careful not to take it much past 165, though. The fat content of dark meat makes it a lot more forgiving of overcooking, but white meat will dry out very quickly if you mess up.