Thanksgiving is approaching and thoughts go to preparation of the turkey. The Thanksgiving Turkey is the traditional star of the show and for many families this is the first taste of the bird they’ve had in over 11 months. 
The reason for this could be an entire blog topic in itself…But in any case, many both love it and hide from it at the same time since we are not as comfortable cooking it as say chicken that is commonly prepared & served several times a week. And this adds to the pressure of Thanksgiving when we really want to prepare a spectacular meal.
So what can really go wrong?..Well, to be honest, not a heck of a lot. Sure, dry turkey is legend. However, so long as it’s served in a reasonable amount of time no one will really notice too much (it’s with the leftovers that you really get to appreciate how tough and dry it is). And, if you want a back up, just make some decent gravy so if you have a dry bird the guest will dive for it (like panics going for a bucket of water during a fire).
Now the second thing you see, and this is counter-intuitive, is that while the breasts are overcooked at the same time the dark meat ztends to be underdone, sometimes even pinkish (and, given the heightened awareness of E.Coli nowadays, is enough to make your guests “opt-out” of the bird entirely (“Mommy, why can’t I eat the turkey?..JUST DON’T I tell you, eat the mashed potatoes instead..sound of child crying and embarrassment all around). But even if the meat doesn’t appear pink it will be tough if it’s undercooked. The leg should be cut and separated from the joint with ease. If you practically have to put a wrestling move on the thing then it’s underdone.
So how can a turkey be overdone and underdone at the same time? The reason is that the white breast meat cooks more rapidly than the dark meat. There may also be an issue of the underside of the turkey sitting in the pan and not getting as much heat.
To deal with this, several solutions have been tried over the years including placing the turkey breast side down in the pan. 
But the one that yields the best results is “tenting”…Tenting is a procedure of placing a “tent” of aluminum foil over the turkey breast at an intermediate point in the cooking process. The foil reflects the heat like a heat shield (which it is) so the heat to the breasts is reduced while the dark meat is getting it’s full dose.
Now what about the underdone dark meat? Well, the solution to this problem is to cook the bird longer…Yes, cook the bird about 30 minutes longer than usual and don’t worry about the breasts since they are protected with the aluminum foil. Trust me on this one.
OK, what about basting…a waste of time, a feel good thing or maybe a useful thing if you’re cooking the turkey over an open fire while spinning it on a stick/ rotisserie thing. All you need to do is to rinse the bird well with water, pat it dry with some paper towels and rub the outside of the skin with some olive oil. And that’s it. Keep the oven closed so that it stays hot and mind your side-dishes & guests (actually basting may be one of the reasons for the undercooked dark meat).
Our recipe for Organic Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey can be downloaded here and will work for Organic as well as ”Conventional” Turkey (Recipe for Organic or “Conventional” Roasted Turkey ). Now since Thanksgiving is a few weeks away you might want to think about trying this now so you are more comfortable for the holiday. Get a small bird and see how easy it is. Don’t worry about everyone becoming turkey’d-out. It’s still enough of an unusually delicious meal that everyone will want more come Thanksgiving. You actually might like the change from chicken. Mix things up, practice your cooking skills and live naturally.