Turkey Tips
The biggest problem with turkey is keeping the lean breast moist. The breast, which cooks at a different rate from the tough thighs and drumsticks, is ready when a thermometer inserted into the thickest spot away from the bone registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and the dark meat isn't tender until it reaches at least 175 degrees. Some cooks have embraced brining as the best way to ensure moist white meat. But a brine also adds unnecessary sodium to the meal, and not everyone likes the taste of a brined bird. A better solution is to shield the turkey breast with aluminum foil to deflect the heat away from the area and slow the cooking. Before the turkey goes into the oven, cover the entire breast area with aluminum foil. During the last hour of the estimated roasting time, remove the foil so the breast skin can brown.
Basting a turkey is a waste of time. It may glaze the skin, but the drippings will not penetrate and moisten the flesh. And every time the oven door is opened, heat is released, which causes temperature fluctuations that make estimating the roasting time accurately impossible. So, if you like to baste (and it does let you check and see how -the turkey is progressing), go ahead, but keep the frequency down to once an hour.
Courtesy "Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook," by Sur La Table with Rick Rodgers/Andrews McMeel Publishing (November, 2009)