The Best Way to Baste a Turkey, According to Our Test Kitchen

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The number one Thanksgiving turkey tip promoted every year is basting. You know it, you’ve seen it, or you’ve personally done it—tediously standing in front of an open oven radiating heat while trying to navigate a basting tip into the rich pan juices of the turkey, and then somehow getting those juices on top of the turkey without splashing yourself or burning yourself on the hot edges of the pan and the oven. The internet consensus is that this is the number one way to end up with a moist, juicy Thanksgiving turkey.

I’m going to be super transparent with you (and this may have already been apparent): I don’t do this, and neither does most of the Food52 Test Kitchen. But, if this is a method you want to try, or you love tradition, read on for how to do it and how often to baste; our best tips for if you must baste; and also why we don’t—and what you can do instead.

What is basting?

Simply, it's a process that involves coating a protein—or other item—in its own juices, or in a prepared sauce or melted fat, which is designed to promote the retention of moisture and even cooking. By routinely, usually in a timed cadence, coating a roasting protein in its own fat, the moisture is locked into the meat, the flavors are evenly distributed, and everything turns out nice and golden brown.

How Do You Baste a Turkey?

First, what you need is a (hot) liquid with a good amount of fat. Using a lean sauce here isn’t as effective, as water will dry out the skin of the bird. Fats and lipids are more likely to permeate and cling to the skin, sealing it with a protective barrier against the heat. This can assist with browning of the turkey skin—without burning—and also imbuing lost flavor from the juices shedding into the roasting pan.

Second, you need the right tools, and a bit of technique. Anna Billingskog, Senior Food Stylist and our only hold-out, still bastes her turkey, but in her own way. “I think basting with butter or pan juices (as long as there's a good amount of fat) is helpful for a bird like a turkey.” She elaborates: “I mean… I’ll baste a turkey…I just don’t use a baster itself.” As a typical basting tool only holds ¼ cup of liquid (and not to mention immediately starts leaking the liquid the second it’s slurped up), Anna’s right that a bulb baster isn’t your best, or most effective, tool here.

Some cooks lean towards a large spoon (think: serving size), but we prefer a ladle or a small glass measuring cup. Additionally, instead of keeping the oven open trying to chase the liquid around the pan needed to top the turkey, try heating a separate pot on the stove of chicken stock, duck fat, butter, or a combination of the three to ladle over the turkey—this saves you time (the faster in and out of the oven, the less your oven has to work, and the more consistent the temperature can try to stay), and lessens the chance that you’ll burn yourself in the process.

How Often Should You Baste?

The best practice for basting is no more than once an hour. Any more won't add any extra moisture or flavor—in fact, it'll do the opposite in the long-term (see below)—and opening the oven excessively will wildly fluctuate its temperature for most of the cooking time.

Simply put, no. Here’s my holiday ethos: cooking doesn’t have to be difficult. The late fall/winter season is already filled with so much stress, from taking work projects through the Q4 finish line, to attempting to mitigate hosting famil(ies), to managing holiday break for kids, to traffic jams and traveling. The last place you need more stress is in your home kitchen. And for me, basting = Big Stress. Additionally, it’s a task that keeps you confined to the kitchen, when you could be spending your time catching up with loved ones, relaxing, and enjoying the holiday.

Allison Buford, our Test Kitchen Director, says it best: “It’s messy and sometimes even dangerous (hot oven, large, unwieldy bird, and usually with lots more activity/distractions in the kitchen).”

The act of basting, and therefore opening up your oven numerous times throughout the lengthy cooking process, does a disservice to the turkey in multiple ways. One, by opening up the oven so often, you’re deregulating the temperature, not only causing sharp drops in temperature, which will then increase your overall cook time as the oven struggles to come back to temp, but because basting is surface-level, you’re adding a lot of extra moisture to the skin, so it stays soggy, pale, and chewy instead of getting nicely brown and crispy. The fluctuating temperature will also contribute to having that less-than-ideal exterior, as a lower temperature (below 450°F) doesn’t provide the high blast of heat needed to create that photo-ready turkey, and you’ll end up leaving the turkey in the oven even longer, drying it out, trying to chase that golden-brown result.

And this change happens quickly, too. In our Test Kitchen, just 30 seconds of an open oven resulted in a 25-degree drop. Typically, basting is a few minute process, which could result in a triple digit drop—hugely detrimental to your Thanksgiving day.

Above all else, a lot of cooks don’t notice a huge beneficial outcome when basting. “I usually don't baste because it's just extra effort when I feel like the beauty of roasting a bird or any piece of meat is that it's hands off,” says César Pérez, Test Kitchen Assistant and pro cook. “The times I have chosen to baste, I didn't feel like the end result was much different or that much better.” Basically, any benefit you can gain from basting is lost in the process of opening the oven every hour.

Though the idea of simply leaving your turkey unsupervised feels counterintuitive and scary, here are some of our best tips if you’re ready to try a more hands-off turkey roasting this Thanksgiving.

Try spatchcocking

A spatchcocked turkey is essentially a turkey that has had a few cuts made down its center, making it easy for the turkey to lay flat in the roasting pan. This does a few things: it opens up the surface area, allowing heat to directly impact more of the turkey (instead of the inner cavity being hidden and also usually stuffed, which only makes things take longer), cuts the roasting time essentially in half, and makes the carving process easier, as you're not dealing with an unstable surface anymore.

Make a compound butter

As basting is all about distributing fat and flavor to be locked into the turkey, a compound butter—rubbed under the skin before transferring into the oven—is a super easy and delicious way to imbue the stuff that’s going to keep the meat super juicy, and also impart delicious, herby aromas (sage butter is a great idea, just sayin’).

Use a Dutch oven

If your bird is on the smaller side (think: 5 to 6 pounds), or you’re doing just turkey legs or breasts, then a large Dutch oven may be your best tool. The dappled top of a Dutch oven lid (like this Le Creuset 9.5-quart) is designed to collect moisture that’s circulating, then drip it back down onto the surface in an even way throughout the cooking process, no interfering necessary.

Deep fry your turkey

I personally don’t have any tips for you, but I do recommend reading our guide to deep frying your turkey, then going on YouTube and looking up “fire safety turkey frying.” You’ll be rewarded with a bounty of local fire departments explosively demonstrating how NOT to fry your turkeys. Which leads me to my next tip…

Make sure the turkey is fully defrosted

You should be doing this regardless of if you’re basting or not, but a partially-frozen turkey is only going to struggle in the oven, resulting in an over-cooked, dry bird. The USDA recommends defrosting your turkey in the refrigerator (food safety, folks!). A large bird (12 to 16 pounds) will take up to 4 days to defrost, while a smaller 6 to 8 pound bird will take about 2 days. The general timing rule for defrosting is about 1 day of thawing per 4 pounds of turkey.

Take cover

When in doubt, tent aluminum foil over the roasting rack. This will naturally lock in moisture while roasting (while also maintaining even heat distribution), and then in the last half hour of cooking, remove the foil, increase the heat 25 to 50 degrees, and let the turkey roast uncovered to get that perfectly crisp skin.

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To baste or not to baste... let us know in the comments below!