Uncle Bill's Method for Cooking Turkey

"Scalding the turkey makes for a very nice moist turkey. I have been doing this method for over 25 years. Cooking time shown in the method is for a 16 pound stuffed turkey."
 
Download
photo by DeliciousAsItLooks photo by DeliciousAsItLooks
photo by DeliciousAsItLooks
photo by GefM9966 photo by GefM9966
photo by Annie D. photo by Annie D.
photo by vajefferson photo by vajefferson
photo by vajefferson photo by vajefferson
Ready In:
5hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
6
Serves:
14-18
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • Turkey must be thoroughly thawed before preparing for the oven unless you are using a fresh turkey.
  • Remove turkey parts from cavities and use as you desire.
  • Wash cavities well with cold water.
  • Boil a kettle of hot water (scalding hot.).
  • Place turkey in a clean sink or a large roasting pan.
  • Pour hot water over the entire turkey including in the cavities.
  • The skin will shrink tightly to the turkey.
  • "This will help hold the natural juices in the turkey while it is cooking. Do not peel skin back to layer herbs under the skin. This will destroy the process for a moist turkey.
  • "Pat dry both inside and outside of turkey.
  • Preheat oven to 400°F.
  • Sprinkle cavities with salt and black pepper and granulated garlic powder.
  • If you are stuffing the bird, then line inside of cavity with cheesecloth, then stuff with your favorite dressing,"stuff loosely",.
  • Tie legs and wings with a good meat wrapping twine and leave a lifting loop to remove the turkey from the pan when cooked.
  • Place a wire rack in the bottom of roasting pan.
  • Place the turkey on the wire rack, breast side up.
  • Pour 2 cups of water or 2 cups of chicken broth into the pan.
  • Pour about 1/2 cup or more if required of extra virgin olive oil over the exterior of the turkey.
  • Cover the turkey with heavy aluminum foil, but do not let the foil touch the turkey as it will stick to the turkey while cooking.
  • Pinch foil tight to the sides of the pan.
  • Place turkey on lower rack in oven and cook for 1 hour.
  • Reduce heat to 325 F and cook for 2 1/2 hours.
  • Now turn heat up to 350 F and cook for another 1/2 hour.
  • Remove foil from turkey. At this time test for doneness by inserting an instant read thermometer into the breast to see how the cooking temperature is. We are cooking towards a reading of 175°F.
  • Baste,the turkey and continue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 1 hour at 350 F, basting about every 15 minutes so that the turkey turns a nice brown color.
  • When the time for cooking is finished, test for doneness. Insert the instant read thermometer into the thickest portion of the turkey breast, reading should be 175 F and no more. .
  • Remove from oven, lift turkey out the roasting pan using the string loops.
  • Cover with foil and let the turkey rest for about 1/2 hour before carving.
  • Total time for cooking a 16 pound stuffed turkey is 5 hours.
  • There is no need to baste the turkey until the last 1 hour of cooking, this saves you a lot of time as you do not have to remove the foil tent during the first 4 hours.
  • For a crispy browner skin, you may wish to consider rubbing butter over the entire bird after pouring olive oil. This works very nicely.
  • COOKING TIMES: Left Side -Stuffed---- Right Side - Unstuffed.
  • *12-14lbs.
  • 4 - 4 1/2 hours-- 3 1/2 - 3 3/4 hours.
  • *14-16lbs.
  • 4 1/2 - 5 hours-- 3 3/4 - 4 hours.
  • *16-18lbs.
  • 5- 5 1/2 hours-- 3 3/4 - 4 1/4 hours.
  • *18-20lbs.
  • 5 1/2 - 6 hours-- 4 1/4 - 4 1/2 hours.
  • *20-22lbs.
  • 6 - 6 1/4 hours-- 4 1/2 - 5 hours.
  • *22-24lbs.
  • 6 1/4- 6 1/2 hours-- 5 - 5 1/4 hours.
  • NOTE: Test for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast, reading should be 175 F and in the thickest part of the leg or thigh, reading should be 180°F.

Questions & Replies

  1. Has anybody tried using this method and the same cooking times but used the oven cooking bags instead of a roasting pan? Would it change the amount of time needed to cook the turkey? Also would i just add the 2 cups of liquid in the cooking bag, in previous years we always use a cooking bag for our turkey (but not the scalding method) and we end up with quite a bit of liquid in the bag, wasn't sure if i added 2 cups before cooking if i'm going to overflow my pan with liquid while cooking. Thank you for any help!
     
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. THE MOST FEARED CREATURE IN A HOUSEWIVES KITCHEN IS HER FIRST TURKEY...<br/><br/>NEVER FEAR UNCLE BILL IS HERE!!!<br/><br/>I had never cooked a turkey before and my DH detests turkey at all times but with this recipe I even got rave reviews from him!! I loved that it didn't have tons of salt or anything else complicated happening with it and yet was still the most moist turkey I've ever eaten!<br/><br/>Before I poured the boiling water over this giant bird I gently separated the skin from the meat with my hands and lukewarm water running over it to make it easier, then I rubbed down the meat with a compound butter I had made the night before that had everything from raw hazelnuts and walnuts to fresh sage and rosemary in it for a dramatic touch. It was simply amazing! I was fascinated by how the skin just sealed up against every nook and cranny. My little old auntie accused me of having done a practice turkey before this one and honestly I had never done this before!! You should've seen me smack talking that 25lb bird @ 3am! I didn't even have the proper tools to tie up the legs I used a brand new greased up shoe string!!!! <br/><br/>If this is your first turkey and you go any other way than this recipe your just plain silly!! Just remember your working with something that is going to be eaten not bronzed and put on display for the rest of your life! Tin foil the breasts if they get brown too soon or (I know it sounds crazy) cook the bird breasts down for the first half of the bake time! <br/><br/>Will never be able to thank you enough for this method Uncle Bill, you have made me a legendary cook in my family @ just 22years old I have all the little old ladies jealous of my prowess in the kitchen!!
     
  2. I tried this at Thanksgiving. It was well worth the extra time getting the bird in the oven. Everything was moist, even the breast meat! I will use this method always from now on!
     
  3. I used a 13lb turkey and cooked it an hour on 400, an hour and 45 mins on 325, a half hour on 350, took the foil off and started basting and within 45 mins my popper popped and the turkey was perfect!!! Soooo easy! Plus it made 5 cups of drippings for the gravy. I used the gravy recipe #74273. It was awesome!
     
  4. Yummy Turkey Bill. Even though you said not to, I rubbed down my turkey under the skin and marinated overnight. Before roasting, I poured the scalding hot water over my bird. I used a bag too. My baby was so moist that when I moved her out of the pan her legs fell right off--wings came off with a gentle tug. She was a juicy beauty! I brined my turkey last year--THIS WAS BETTER. Brining was a giant pain in the butt and this tasted better.
     
  5. I've had burnt or dry turkey the whole time I was growing up... Thank you for posting an easy recipe for those who still need the basics!
     
Advertisement

Tweaks

  1. I'm impressed. Our turkey was soooo good. Moist, tender, and the gravy....well, the best it's ever been. The only thing I did differently, was to use cooking spray instead of oil to coat the bird. I've never cooked my turkey on a rack before, but will be doing that from now on. I also went with the chicken broth version. Thanks Uncle Bill :)
     
  2. This recipe was awesome! It is really amazing to see the turkey skin compress when you pour the hot water over it and it's easy to see why the juices get sealed in so well. When I took the turkey out there was not much juice in the bottom of the pan so I guess that means it was mostly sealed into the turkey! I didn't even have to baste the turkey at all. I did the 1 hour at 400 degrees, 2 hours at 325, and half hour at 350. When I went to start basting it the built-in pop-up timer on the turkey had gone up so I figured it was done. I couldn't believe it - the turkey was a beautiful golden brown and was perfectly tender and I didn't even have to baste it at all! I didn't have any olive oil so I used butter instead. Thanks Uncle Bill!
     
  3. I made a 10 pound turkey. Cut the cooking time to less than 3 hours. Using this method the turkey was technically done at 2 1/2 hours. The part I don't like about making a turkey is getting it off the bones. The meat was so tender using Uncle Bill's recipe that the meat fell right off the bone! I literally just lifted the large breast peaces from the roasting pan to my carving plate! Absolutely the most tender turkey I've ever made! Instead of water I used Swansons chicken broth with garlic. Also, I had a roasting pan with lid so didn't need the tin foil. Many thanks for posting!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I live in Burnaby, British Columbia. I am retired and have written a cookbook entitled, From Uncle Bill's Kitchen. I am a recipe developer, author, publisher, distributor and a chef. My cookbook is very unique as I have a Nutrient Analysis for each ingredient used in each recipe that shows you the values for Calories, Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. A high-lighted bar shows the values on a per serving basis plus the Fat/Cal%. From Uncle Bill's Kitchen contains tried-and-true, tested, easy to follow reipes for both novice and experienced cooks. You'll find old Russian, Ukrainian, and other ethnic favorites, along with modern West Coast dishes. The Nutrient Analysis will please the health conscious. Uncle Bill's favorite recipes will reward efforts of the most creative cook and provide the family with many tantalizing, healthful meals. I have appeared on 48 various Television Shows in Vancouver, Burnaby, Kelowna and Kamploops, B.C. Canada, as well as in Palm Springs, CA. In Palm Springs, CA, I have been a Guest on the JACKIE OLDEN RADIO SHOW and THE JOEY ENGLISH RADIO SHOW, twice a year since 1998. I also do demo cooking shows at CHAPTERS BOOK STORES, SAVE-ON-FOOD STORES, GALLOWAY'S FOODS, WESTMINSTER PUBLIC QUAY MARKET, and in the U.S. at BARNES & NOBLE BOOKSTORES in Palm Springs, CA, Phoenix and Yuma, AZ. I was in Palm Springs, CA from June 10th to July 14th. 2002 and again appeared twice on the Jackie Olden Show, twice on the Joey English Show and pre-taped a TV COOKING SHOW with Jackie Olden that is aired on TV from Palm Springs, CA to Los Angeles, CA.
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes