Turkey 101

Turkey Roasting Tools

Martha outlines the following recommendations for the roasting pan and other tools necessary to make a perfect Thanksgiving turkey:

• In addition to the roasting pan, be sure to have on hand scissors, cotton kitchen twine, trussing needles, a turkey baster, and an instant-read thermometer, a pastry/basting brush, a fat separator, and cheese cloth.
  
• When choosing a roasting pan, the most important consideration is its size. The pan should be just large enough to hold the roast and no larger. If the pan is too large, the juices and drippings will burn, giving an acrid flavor to the roast and ruining any pan gravy or juice that you might make.
  
• Good cookware is an investment that will last for many years. The high price tag is often a reflection of that longevity. You can certainly find less expensive items, but you may end up replacing them more often.
  
• A heavy, high sided roasting pan with sturdy handles is ideal, but simple baking pans work as well. Ideally, the sides of the roasting pan should be 3 to 5 inches high (low sides are best for small roasts, high sides for large roasts). Anything higher than the actual roast will hide the meat from the oven heat, distorting the cooking times and inhibiting the browning.
  
• A roasting rack, either a V-shaped rack or a flat grid type rack, is a good investment. Setting the meat on a rack keeps it off the bottom of the pan and promotes even browning by allowing the hot, dry oven air to circulate around the entire roast. Without a rack, the bottom of the roast will begin to stew in the accumulating pan drippings. Another advantage of a roasting rack is that the pan juices are cleaner, so it's easy to make a pan sauce.
  
• It's best to position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven for larger roasts and in the center for smaller roasts so that the top of the roast will be in the upper-middle part of the oven. This allows maximum air circulation for even cooking and is especially important when roasting at high temperatures.