How To Roast a Turkey Upside Down

Roasting a large turkey for Thanksgiving can be a challenge for even the most seasoned home cooks. Beyond the logistics of storing and thawing a 10-plus-pound orb of frozen poultry and figuring out the per-pound per-person math, you’re also battling two types of meat. The light, tender breast meat is prone to overcooking, while dark meat portions of the bird needs extra time.

A simple solution is to flip the bird over and roast the turkey upside down. This technique protects the white meat from drying out, and cooks the thigh meat faster. The best part is that roasting a turkey upside down is just as simple as it sounds.

• Say goodbye to dry meat! Roasting a turkey upside down guarantees moist and tender white and dark meat every time since the breast is protected from the oven’s heat.
• It’s faster and easier than you think. Simply flipping the turkey upside down on the roasting rack cooks the thighs faster while basting the breast meat with its juices.

If the biggest complaint on Thanksgiving day is that the turkey is too dry, why not flip the narrative (literally).

• Faster roasting. The dark meat on top cooks faster in this exposed position.
• White meat that doesn’t dry out. By roasting turkey upside down, the breast meat is protected from the oven’s searing heat by the rest of the bird.
• No basting required. While the turkey roasts, the rendered fat and juices drip down onto the breast meat, slow-basting the bird to juicy perfection.

Roasting a turkey upside down isn’t all that different from your classic roasted turkey recipe.

1. Thaw and prep the turkey. Make sure the turkey is completely thawed the day of roasting. Remove the neck and giblets and liberally salt the turkey. Stuff the turkey with an onion, an apple, and some fresh herbs if you’d like, but these are purely for the way they perfume the kitchen while roasting.
2. Flip upside-down on a roasting rack. Place the turkey breast-side down in a roasting rack. Place the rack in a roasting pan.
3. Roast the turkey. Start the turkey in a hot oven, 400°F, for 30 minutes to encourage browning, then lower the temperature to 325°F for the duration of the cooking time.Plan on 13 minutes of roasting for every pound of turkey.
4. Take the turkey’s temperature. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the turkey’s temperature in both the breast and the thigh. (Make sure to avoid touching the bone.) When the thermometer hits 165°F, take the turkey out of the oven.
5. Rest the turkey. Rest the turkey for 20 to 25 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.
6. Broil. Just before carving, flip the turkey breast-side up and broil to crisp and brown the skin.

Rather than turning the turkey over in the last 30 minutes of roasting, turn to the broiler. Once the turkey has finished cooking and rested, flip the turkey breast-side up and broil until the skin is crisp and browned.

Remove the roasting rack to a cutting board or baking sheet to rest while you make gravy with the drippings. If your turkey is still upside down in the rack, remove the thighs first, then flip to remove the drumsticks and breasts. If the turkey is turned breast-side up and broiled, carve the turkey as you normally would.