There’s nothing worse at Thanksgiving dinner than biting into a dry piece of turkey after a long day of cooking a holiday meal for your family and friends. Luckily, there are ways to mitigate this cooking issue by planning ahead and utilizing these helpful tips below.
How to Keep a Turkey Moist
While there are a few ways to keep your turkey moist after you’ve cooked it, one of the best ways to help lock in moisture is to do the right kind of prep work before you’ve cooked your Thanksgiving turkey. For starters, using a brine (whether it’s a wet brine or a dry brine) is always a good idea. Salt (the primary ingredient in a brine) helps draw in water and moisture when you are cooking the bird, creating an overall juicier turkey once it’s finished cooking. And making sure that your turkey isn’t overcooked and soaks in a brine beforehand, is hands down one of the best ways to keep turkey moist even after it’s cooked.
Now, onto the tips for keeping a turkey moist after cooking. Once you’ve taken the turkey out of the oven and let it sit for a moment, it’s a good idea to carve the turkey completely. Take all of the meat off the bone and move it to a platter. After the turkey is plated, cover the remaining meat with plastic wrap, making sure that there are no gaps where air can get in on the sides. Press the plastic wrap down onto plate, so that you also get rid of any air bubbles that might pop up. Then, cover the plate in a layer of foil. This will help lock in the moisture so that turkey leftovers will last longer and stay fresher.
This method will also work well if you plan to cook and carve the turkey earlier in the day, which is a great way to ease some of the stress of hosting a Thanksgiving celebration for your family. But we want to hear what you think. How do you keep your Thanksgiving turkey from drying out? Share your holiday prep and cooking tips with us in the comments below!
