We've all had at least one turkey-gone-wrong experience, whether it was undercooked, overcooked, or roasted with inedible items accidentally left inside. While it's common for many first-time Thanksgiving dinner warriors, and even seasoned cooks, to make mistakes, a few big ones are avoidable. To find out what not to do, Daily Meal turned to the expertise of Jessie-Sierra Ross, a former ballerina turned cooking and home entertaining author of " Seasons Around the Table; Effortless Entertaining with Floral Tablescapes & Seasonal Recipes .
" Jessie-Sierra said that one of the biggest mistakes everyone makes when cooking Thanksgiving turkey is not brining the bird first . Soaking it in a salt solution imparts flavor, keeps the meat moist, and makes the skin crispy as it cooks. "The salt brine acts in two ways: It draws out some of the extra injected liquids that commercially raised turkeys are subjected to, and it flavors the meat," she explained.
You can make the brine with cold water, salt, and spices, or purchase a prepackaged mixture. Jessie-Sierra soaks her thawed turkey in a large sealed stock pot or brining bag that she places in an ice-filled cooler for at least 24 hours while maintaining a decent ice level for the duration. On the other hand, you could get the new Butterball cook-from-frozen turkey , which implements innovative technology so that you don't have to thaw, brine, season, or baste.
Even then, there are a couple of other big mistakes that Jessie-Sierra says c.