Holiday Turkey!

I really love turkey with crisp skin and juicy meat.  The problem is that when trying to crisp the skin, it's easy to overcook the turkey resulting in a dry, overdone bird.  The solution is pretty simple.  The night before, I remove the turkey from it's packaging, and leave it in the refrigerator uncovered.  This drys the skin.  To roast, I like to use a sheet pan with a rack.  An uncovered roasting pan works too, but the sides of the pan hinder air circulation around the bottom of the bird.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Yes, 500.  Roast the turkey for 30 minutes.  At this point, turn down the temperature to 300, and cover the breast meat with foil. This will prevent the white breast meat from overcooking, while allowing the darker meat to cook fully.  Check with a meat thermomoter and remove when internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.  Now just cover it and let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes before carving.  Excellent!!!