Wow, I think you were just lucky. Years ago, I switched to fresh turkeys from the grocery store meat department, and I place the order a week in advance. Those have been the moistest turkeys at our house. Sometimes they do cook a little more quickly than expected. Good luck this year. I too stuff the bird just before putting it in the oven, and it is always delicious. What a smart wife you have to marry a man who cooks!!!!

I dunno...I guess I just have turkey dumb luck. I'm no turkey expert but mine always come out great. My own trick is to start with a really good bird and a bottle of cheap (but palatable) wine. In my experience (of others' turkeys), dry turkey is what you get when you don't let it rest long enough (I always end up letting it rest longer that I even intended because of kitchen chaos). Unless it's tiny, the bird needs a good long time. My theory is that the time spent in the cooling oven give the temperature in the meat a chance to even out and finish any interior cooking while also letting the juices settle down (i.e., rest). I'm no expert, as I said, but I'm guessing that the bird got a good long rest while being kept from going cold.

Dry breast meat is over cooked......it may not always be "dry" but always stringy.
I suspect your bird was not as over cooked as the temperature probes said...and I will second the words....let it rest!!

Thanks sheilajoyce, I was a chemist and cooking is in the same field, sort of ;-}

plllog and lindac: I hadn't realized that Extended Rest was common, but with your encouragement, I think I will attempt a repeat of at least a substantial resting period with the cooling oven next time. Turkey is nice this time of year even if we won't be cooking on Thanksgiving.

I am just now realizing that the unusual or unique feature of my event was the resting In The Cooling Oven. At least in my family, these events include Organized 'potluck' dishes that require continued baking or reheating until dinner. Therefore, a cooling oven is never available.

I am having a hard time imagining that I didn't give it a few minutes of reheat at the last moment, but I actually wrote the complete event down the next week and I believe I would have remembered and included it. I tried to post the event here at that time but couldn't get the copied text posted.

"Resting" is just a non-scientific name for "thermal conduction time".

Resting is less critical for a "low & slow" cooking method. As a matter of fact, in sous vide cooking, resting is totally unnecessary.

dcarch

How long a resting period is preferred when cooking just the turkey breast?

The consensus seems to be about 20 minutes, but it depends on the size (weight).

What consensus?
The reason for allowing a turkey to rest is 2 fold. First to allow the temperature to equalize. If you cook it until the deepest center of the thigh measures 165, the outside of the bird will be much hotter and over cooked. If you under cook the bird and allow it to rest the temperature from the outside will be conducted to the inside and you will have a turkey that won't be over cooked.
The second reason to rest a turkey is to allow the muscle fibers to cool slightly and relax and re absorb the juice.
"They say"....people like the NY Times and professional cooks to let a turkey rest from 30 to 40 minutes, some say to let it rest for a time equal to 1/3 of the cooking time....and I have let a turkey rest for 2 hours ( not planned...but that's another story!). some people advocate leaving the turkey in a 150 degree oven for 2 hours.
Cover it well so it stays warm....but as you found out....a longer rest makes for a moister, more tender bird.

Ideally, I like a 16 to 18 pound bird. I stuff it and put it into a 450 oven uncovered for 20 minutes, place the lid on the roaster ( or tent with foil if your lid won't fit) and when the oven temp comes back to 450, turn the oven temp down to 275 and roast ( without basting or opening the oven door) until you suspect the internal temp might be nearing 155 to 160 at the center of the thigh. Then remove from the oven, put the turkey onto a platter or carving board, cover with foil and pile on some bath towels to keep it warm> Leave it that way for easily an hour while you mash the potatoes, prep and cook the veggies, cook the rolls and make the gravy.
I have 7 grandchildren, born within 10 years. There were at least 8 holidays when there were 2 or more toddlers running around. One Christmas,while we were opening gifts, one toddler turned the oven which had been at 450 and was now at 275, down to 100....as low as the oven would go. When I fugured the turkey should be about done....it was pale and way under cooked. So I cranked the temp to 450, poured the wine and dinner was only an hour late. Another time the oven got turned to 500....but luckily we smelled hot turkey so it wasn't burned, but that year it was tented for 2 hours.
Resting is good....as for how long, let your thermometer be your guide. Carve it and get it on the table if the internal temp sinks below 110.

There is no need to guess resting time when a thermometer can be bought for as low as $10.

With really "low & slow" roasting, the resting time is almost 0.

dcarch

lindac: Thanks for the extra detail on various resting/cooling methods. I was certainly curious to hear more about various approaches. But regarding consensus, I think plllog was probably responding to the interjection about roasting a turkey breast, not a whole turkey.

Yes, the 20 minutes was for a half breast, or small whole, and the consensus was of a dozen sources I checked to make sure I remembered right since it's been awhile. I couldn't find a good time per pound formula for a breast, which has different needs than a whole bird. More recently, I've done them sous vide, which doesn't require resting and everybody says how good it is.

The second reason to rest a turkey is to allow the muscle fibers to cool slightly and relax and re absorb the juice.

This is the more important part for this discussion of juicy birds. I learned it the hard way the first time I used a vertical chicken stand. I had an oven that was like using a poorly designed wood fired oven--it got hot but there was no telling what temperature it would deliver at any particular moment. I had up to 3 thermometers in there, in different locations with different temperarures, and checked at different times and there was never any particular temperature (or identifiable range of temperatures over time). So I was worried about this chicken. and, not thinking about the ramifications, stuck a meat thermometer in the thigh, like you're supposed to. And watched all the juice run out of the little ittle hole, gravity being what it is, and the bird standing straight up. Nasty, dry chicken. Saved with a sauce, but totally preventable if one considers consequences. :)

The fact of the matter is that you want the bird, or part of bird, or any kind of roast, really, to stay warm enough to be a pleasant meal, but cool enough to equalize the temperature and reabsorb the juices before cutting and letting them out. How long that takes varies. I can look at it and tell, often enough. You can kind of see when it has relaxed. Usually, I just figure it's ready when I'm done with everything else, and it is.