Well....dark meat is always juicy....it's the white meat that gets dry, which is perhaps why you only eat dark meat.
overnight cooking is not recommended any more since so much of the poultry we eat has endemic salmonella and has been bred for fast growth and dipped into a hot bath of fecal soup to remove every last pinfeather.
High heat is the best way to go. Roast your bird, un covered and un stuffed at 475 for about 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 160 degrees, Tent with foil and let it rest for 30 minutes while you make the gravy and mash the potatoes. Don't baste, only salt and pepper on the inside for seasoning, or perhaps a stalk of celery half an onion and a few sage leaves which you will discard after cooking. Easy....and lots better and safer than cooking all night.

Oh, dear. This was an argument I had with my otherwise lovely SIL the first couple of times she volunteered to host a holiday meal. Her mother had always slow cooked the turkey overnight, but her Mother's reasoning was leaving her only single oven free for other things the day of dinner.

325F is the lowest recommended setting for safe roasting a turkey. I was even willing to sparingly eat of her bird myself, and as the gravy maker, I would boil the heck out of the pan juices before preparing her gravy. I was not willing to let my mother eat a low, slow roasted bird at her increasing age and frailty though, and put my foot down on SILs turkey cooking temp.

Linda dark meat is the best! I cannot remember the last time I had white turkey meat. I like the 325 temp not to mention that I sleep really heavy so I'll never wake up to check on the bird. I planned on getting up at 5 am to get stuff started so that leaves me plenty of time

IMO, low and slow works for fatty cuts of meat like brisket, pork shoulder and ribs. Lean cuts like poultry (even dark meat), steaks and tenderloins work best roasted or grilled over higher heat. I wouldn't go lower than 325. Even at the higher heat, the drippings will be fine for the gravy base. The liquid will reduce, but not totally evaporate. If you're worried about that, just throw some root veggies in the pan to add moisture or add stock as you roast.

First of all remain calm. Then let the oven do the rest. You will do fine your bird will be delicious. Enjoy yourself. If it doesn't work out the way you expected everyone will still enjoy the day and meal. Hopefully the pie will be perfection.

For a 12-lb. bird, I'd be tempted to spatchcock and cook at 425.

I learned from my mother to cook a turkey completely enclosed in aluminum foil at 450 degrees. I even eventually found "official" directions for this in an old Redbook Cookbook. A 12 lb. turkey would cook at 450 for 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours then uncover and cook for another 30 minutes to brown the top. Turkeys done this way are always juicy and the breast is never dry. I line a disposable foil roaster with a long strip of heavy duty foil placed length and crosswise in the pan. Place the turkey (stuffed if you like) on the foil fold the strips up and over but keep the foil sort of standing above the bird. You don't want to press it down around it. When you open it the juices will be in the bottom--sometimes they run out into the pan but often they don't. You can put a few pats of butter on the top of the breast and thighs before sealing it up if you want to. I don't buy a Butterball, but even the store brand birds have a salt solution injected into them so I don't add salt. You can salt the gravy when you make it if needed.

Good luck! and Happy Thanksgiving.

If you cook a 12 pound turkey all night at 325 it will be waaay over cooked...simply greasy bits and pieces. You say you have never cooked a turkey....trust us who have!
Put that bird, that has been out of the refrigerator since 10:30 AM, into a 475 degree oven at 11:30 AM.....and check the temperature with an instant read thermometer at 1:00 PM....and if it's not 165 in the thigh, close the oven and let it cook until 1:30 when it should be 160....remove from oven and tent with foil while you mash your potatoes. No need to do anything with the turkey until you remove it from the refrig at 10:30 in the morning. Your bird doesn't cook overnight....it goes into the oven 2 1/2 hours before you want to serve dinner. that gives you time to let it rest to reabsorb the juices and for you to carve it.
If you don't overcook your turkey, you might like the white meat.

That has been my similar method for years. Allow 3 hours for a 8-10lb. 4 hours for a 10-12lb. All ovens cook differently so just need to watch it a bit if it is the first time or a new oven. (first thing i do with a new oven is roast a small chicken)...lets me know its quirks.

With my home oven i start the bird in a 450 oven and turn it down to 350 after 20-30 minutes. etc, etc....165 in the thigh...

Even though this will be probably my 25th turkey, i always read through many methods every year...for fun. Like the NYTimes list...scroll down to the list of turkey recipes...i skimmed them all.

NYTimes Thanksgiving

A couple years ago the rack went missing so i cut two large onions, cut side down into the roasting pan for 'raised feet' and to flavor the juices...something i had read.

I always do my personal favorite sides that are now tradition, but always add something new i've come across...

Don't be nervous Jake, there is little to this meal you won't find easy. The turkey basically cooks itself once in the oven. If you have time the day or two or evening before, you can prep vegetables, make dressing and chill it, set your table, lots of little things you can do to get a jump on the day.

Just keep smiling, enjoy your family. Your dinner will be wonderful and if there is a glitch, it will just be added to the 'turkey day' stories I think every family has. I dropped mine one year, cooked. It went sliding across the kitchen towards the dining room like it couldn't wait to be on the table ;)

I'll be one more to suggest using an oven roasting bag. Just follow the instructions in the box for how-to and time. After the bag is dusted with flour (I'm gluten-free and I use rice flour), I put coarsely chopped onion, celery, carrot, salt/pepper and sage (fresh or dried) or poultry seasoning in the bottom of the bag before placing turkey on the top. This will flavor all the lovely juices you get from the bird to use for gravy or stock (and you will get between 2-4 cups of juice). The oven bags are very forgiving and easy to use. If you have to wait serving because guests are running late, you won't get a dry bird. The oven bags roast turkey so well, I've given up all the other methods I've tried in the past - and there have been many (LOL) as this thread has shown.

I never would use a low and slow method due to potential for bacteria growth. A small bird, as Linda pointed out, is going to be the wrong choice for this method.

-Grainlady

I would suggest watching the episode "Romancing The Bird" that was part of Alton Brown's Good Eats series on the Food Network. While it is relatively old, I'm sure that there will be multiple reruns this season. Alton is a bit quirky and can take a bit of getting used to but he presents lots of good information along with the science behind what he does.

I would so suggest investing in a probe type thermometer and cooking to a temperature rather than by time alone. Probe thermometers are useful when cooking any large "chunk" of meat. Turkey meat needs to reach an internal temperature of 165° F to safe from harmful bacteria. Breast meat doesn't really benefit from being cooked to a higher temperature but dark meat does, so that typically means covering the breast at some point in the cooking to slow the rate at which is cooks.

Here is my ultimate advice for cooking turkey: The first thing you do after you bought your turkey is to throw away that silly plastic pop up thing.

Get a good probe thermometer. That's the only way to be sure that your turkey will not be overcooked, or worst, under cooked.

A few simple things to keep in mind, whichever method you choose, low & slow, hot & fast:

Water cannot be hotter than 212 F. Therefore once the skin of your turkey gets to 212F, it will make no difference how hot the oven temperature is. The higher the temperature, the quicker the skin gets browned. The meat will be cooked at no higher than 212F, no matter what.

The law of thermal conductivity is a constant and cannot be change. What it means is this: once the exterior of the turkey gets to 212F, the heat will travel to the interior of the meat at exactly the same speed, regardless of how hot the outside temperature is above 212F.

dcarch

Thank you for all your advice. I'm actually leaning toward a roasting bag but does the skin get crispy?

In my experience it's a good method, browned skin but not crispy though.

Our choice is the breast. Used a dry brine last year and was really pleased with the result.

Bought a Honeysuckle White fresh breast. Minimal solution added (I think it was 3%). Did a dry brine (pre-salt) a couple days before then air-dried in the fridge the last 24 hours. Made a compound butter with fresh thyme, parsley, and lemon zest to put under the skin. Roasted at 425 for 30 minutes then 325 for another hour or so until 165 degrees.

No crispy skin in the roasting bag. But a delicious, perfectly cooked bird!

Yikes, a roasting bag? ...so many methods...no need for tricks. Not difficult. Or use what makes sense for you. I've done so many over the years...wet buttered cheese cloth drapped and touching into the pan juices, etc. Simple is best. Cook it high, drop the temp, leave it alone...take the thigh temp...done.

I gave up on all the methods because I just want a roasted bird, and all the rest is too much fussing with food for me. I don't enjoy that part. If you do, try whatever method catches your fancy. If you don't, just roast it. You can do it high and then med (350) , high all the time, or med. all the time. Depends on how much time you need to do other things and your oven situation, etc. The only other thing I do is tent the bird towards the end if it looks like it is over browning. The thermometer will be the key though, because the reason for badly cooked turkey is over or under cooking and a reliable thermometer can help you avoid those pitfalls.

I cooked my Turkey in the Weber charcoal kettle for a dozen or more years. Always came out deliciously moist, with a nice crispy skin, in addition to freeing up my single oven in the house for other dishes. Often times I would brine overnight in an apple cider/salt and orange peel solution, but dry rubs worked well also. Cook indirectly, with coals off to the sides with Mesquite, Apple, or Hickory wood chips mixed in to add a nice smokey aroma. Put the lid on, open the vents, and a 12-14 lb. bird would be done in 1-1/2 to 2 hrs.

Fried turkey cooks pretty fast, but you need the whole set up. A friend always invited us to his place in the country every year. He'd fry a couple birds and guests would furnish the sides & desserts. Was a great way to share Thanksgiving. I miss Andy!

Fried turkey is awesome.....and fast!! One year my son volunteered to fry turkeys for 4 of his friends...in addition to the ones for our own meal for 24!!
Thik how delighted those wives were to send hubby out with the bird in a plastic bag and have him return with a couple of beers under his belt and a perfectly cooked turkey on a tray! He earned a lot of brownie points that year....but not so much with his own wife!

I'm not sure why "Yikes a roasting bag"? It is a great way to cook a turkey with an awesome result. I've cooked and roasted turkeys every possible way; I've boned and reshaped them around stuffing, I've boned and made a roulade, I inject and deep fry them often. And, yes, even though I've never cooked anything else in a roasting bag, I tried it and it really is a great result. Very moist and flavorful and EZ. No basting, no nothing!

Oh, and if you ever deep fry, Emeril's recipe for deep fried turkey is simply the best possible!

Emeril's deep fried turkey recipe

Lots of great ideas for you, Jake. Just wanted to let you know that we've used the oven roasting bag with consistently good results.

Disclosure to make you feel confident sharing what I did my first year. My mother said she would buy the turkey (in addition to bringing the celery and olive plate and her requisite cranberry/celery salad:). When she dropped it off I noted that it was in a plastic bag; and, yep, in my naivete, I ASSUMED she had already put in the oven roasting bag ready to go for me, dear woman that she is:) Laughed then and now.

Have fun -- most importantly, enjoy the day, your guests and the opportunity to create some wonderful memories.

Cathy in SWPA

I totally agree with Cathy, as far as advice to newbies. Many methods will give you a great turkey with no problems, so pick a method you feel like doing, what will work for you. execute it with confidence, and enjoy! I say this as someone who has been there and done that In fact, I joined CF in 2004 due to extreme nervousness over cooking my first turkey for the family!

I got this recipe 5 or more years ago and it's a breeze! I hope you like it. I cook my turkey several weeks ahead and freeze in the broth. To serve place in a 325 oven until thawed.

OVERNIGHT - FIX N FORGET IT TURKEY
... If you don't want to carve the
turkey, this is YOUR plan ...

Prepare the turkey as usual, wash it well, and remove the neck and
giblets. Dry turkey with paper towels, salt the cavity, stuff with
celery,
lemons, and onions as desired. Rub the outside well with pure olive oil.
Put the turkey breast down (this bastes itself, making the white meat very
moist). I generally do a 10-12 lb. turkey, so I can use the Stoneware
Rectangular Lid/Bowl as my pan. I cover with the Rectangular Baker
or
aluminum foil. Remember, this method produces a lot of juice.
Preheat
your oven to 375° or 400° and bake turkey for 1 hour. Without opening the

oven, adjust temperature to 200° for any size turkey. The first hour
destroys bacteria on the surface of the turkey and begins the slow-cooking
process. Bake overnight. A good rule for timing your turkey
is to allow
about 3 times longer than moderate-temperature roasting. A 10-12 lb.
turkey
might take 11 hours. A larger turkey may take 15 hours to bake with this
method. While this seems startling at first, the meat is amazingly
delicious, juicy, and tender. The turkey cannot burn, so it needs no
watching, and once it is done, it will not overcook. You can leave the
turkey in an additional 3-6 hours and it will still be perfect. Thus,
your
oven is available for other dishes. The turkey simply falls off the bones

and produces enough drippings for lots of gravy! TRY IT!
I usually bake
my turkey a few days early as we are heading to the cabin for our
celebration. I freeze the baked turkey and then warm in a crock pot or in

the oven (in Stoneware, of course), with plenty of the turkey juices.
Tastes like it was freshly roasted, without the mess at the cabin.

ENJOY!

Probably at 400 for an hour, it's safe for a 9 or 10 pound bird....but it's not safe for a large bird. and it isn't lack of moisture that makes breast meat dry, it's the leanness that does. You can simmer a turkey breast in broth for days and it will only get more stringy and tough. And juice in the pan? Where do you suppose all that came from? Why the meat of the turkey of course>
400 for an hour may kill bacteria on the surface of the bird, but how about the cavity?
With a small bird, it may be safe....but not a 12 to1 6 pound bird.

What is the difference between low and slow in an oven and low and slow in a smoker? Isn't low and slow the same for both? But smoking a turkey is okay but it is dangerous to do it in an oven? What's the difference?

"What is the difference between low and slow in an oven and low and slow in a smoker? Isn't low and slow the same for both? But smoking a turkey is okay but it is dangerous to do it in an oven? What's the difference?"

Smoke has some antimicrobial properties. Smokers also has better heat convection than many ovens (except convection ovens) .

dcarch

You need to set your smoker higher than 200 degrees. The problem with slow cooking...and smoking, is minimizing the amount of time the meat is between the temperatures of 40 and 140. After it's warmer than 40 degrees, the bacteria grows like mad until it reaches the temperature of 140. If it doesn't get to 140 in 4 hours, I wouldn't be eating it.

Last year was the first year we tried a brined turkey. We got one from Trader Joes and it turned out great! Also, I agree - use a probe!

I agree that it would worry me that it was bacteria filled at low and slow with a larger bird.

Alternate suggestion: Here's a link on how some of us have done it in the past. I will say, this has become my go-to method. It's fast (70-80 minutes total) and stays moist.

For food safety, please read up on two items:

1. Thawing a frozen turkey - especially thawing in the refrigerator for many days.

"23% of the fridges had an average
temperature -
either a mean or a median - above the safe level of 40F,
although for many it was still very close to the threshold. But 9% had an
average above 43F. Food in these fridges
might become warm enough for long enough to allow harmful bacteria to
grow.

18% of the fridges had at least one
period where the temperature stayed above recommended levels for 2 hours or more. Of special
concern: 4% stayed above proper temperatures for the whole time they were monitored."

Check your refrigerator temperature!

2. Be very careful if you stuff your bird.

dcarch

Just thought I'd give everyone an update. On Wednesday I sprinkled the bird inside and out with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stuffed carrots, onion, celery, parsley and garlic inside and put it in the fridge uncovered. Thursday morning I gave it a butter massage and covered it tightly in foil and roasted it at 325 for almost 3 and a half hours. When I took off the foil the pan had about 8 cups of broth and the bird was literally falling apart! I checked its temp and it was 170 in the breast and over 180 in the thigh. I called my mom in a panic and said the turkey was done....at 10:30 am. I let it rest loosely covered for an hour and just decided to carve it and soak it in the broth in a baking pan. I use the term carve loosely as a spoon separated the breast from the bone! I don't know what I did but everyone loved the white meat.

Thanks to everyone here for the advice and getting me through my first Turkey Day :)

So glad everyone enjoyed it! Next year you can do the same thing but just put it in the oven a little later.

Sounds like a great meal and a great time despite the apprehension and last minute panic! I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it. I'm a white meat fan and have to dispel this ongoing myth that "white meat is dry". So much misinformation and people who don't know how to cook a turkey! It's only dry when you overcook it! One of the ongoing problems is cooking a whole turkey and getting the greasy dark meat up to 180+° is almost always going to overcook the tender, tasty white meat, then people complain it's "always dry". Many ways around it. Electric roaster helps, cooking bag helps, butterflying or "spatchcocking" helps. Cooking the bird with the breast down helps. The method that really caught my eye was on America's Test Kitchen where they cut up the bird and cooked it. Cooks faster and, like butterflying, puts the dark meat around the white meat so the dark cooks faster and supposedly they cook evenly.

I don't do whole turkeys, but I use the electric roaster and a turkey breast. A probe alarm thermometer gets stuck in it and I start it going for a couple hours and the alarm is set for 150°. When it goes off, I turn off the roaster, get things together and it probably up to about 155° by then. Take it out and let it rest while getting other things ready and it settles down on about 160°-163°. It's going to be moist. Frankly, before I started using the probe and alarm (and happened to doze off a bit) it got up to 175°-180°. But out of the roaster it was still surprisingly moist. I've also butterflied and oven roasted a turkey breast. Was great. Another advantage of butterflying is you can put the breast or whole bird if you're doing one on a rack over the stuffing and get the bird juices into the stuffing, save labor and as a benefit, not risk the bacteria issues of stuffing a bird.

So did you try any of the white meat? Your guests loved it, you might be surprised yourself. Kudos for thinking on your feet and making it a success. Cooking a turkey really isn't as complicated or scary as many think. Congrats for taking the reins and the labor this year. I'm sure your mother appreciated it.