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Don’t sleep on this turkey hack.
Using a “pillowcase” to cook your Thanksgiving turkey is the key to a perfectly cooked bird.
The internet-famous recipe shared by TODAY food contributor and chef Elizabeth Heiskell involves putting a whole turkey in a pillowcase.
Pillowcase turkey is made by slathering the bird in butter and then wrapping it in bacon, and, lastly, a clean cotton pillowcase that’s been soaked with a mixture of butter, wine and chicken broth to make sure the bird stays moist.
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After roasting and basting the pillowcase-wrapped turkey, remove the pillowcase and finish it up in a hot oven to get the bacon and skin nice and crispy.
You could also use a cheesecloth instead of a pillowcase if you prefer to stick with kitchen items rather than bedroom items.
Heiskell explained in the recipe on Williams Sonoma that it was actually her grandmother’s recipe, and back in the 1920s, there was no way for her to buy a cheesecloth.
Her grandmother was a “perfectionist” and it “it drove her crazy that her turkey would get too brown before the bird was done.”
“Being a resourceful woman, she took a clean, white pillowcase, tore it in two, wrapped it around the turkey, and then soaked it in sherry, white wine and melted butter. Right before the turkey was done, she removed the pillowcase, then put the bird back in the oven to brown,” she said. “Not even a Norman Rockwell painting was prettier than my grandmother’s turkey.”
Better Homes & Gardens put the recipe to the test and said it was “the best turkey I’ve ever tasted.” Their Test Kitchen director Lynn Blanchard called it “worth the effort.”
The test kitchen at BH&G tried both the cheesecloth and pillowcase methods, and the pillowcase turkey came out on top.
“Until we actually tried the pillowcase vs. the cheesecloth, I never would have guessed there would have been that much difference. The pillowcase method gets a thumbs up for certain,” Blanchard said.
Culinary Specialist Emily Nienhaus agreed, saying, “Since it is a complicated recipe, I would say the pillowcase version is worth the effort and the cheesecloth version is not.”
Directions to make a pillowcase turkey:
Prep the turkey: Rinse the turkey, remove the giblets and neck, then stuff the cavity with onion, celery and lemon. Pat the turkey dry. Rub the butter over the skin and season with salt and pepper.
Wrap the turkey: After wrapping the turkey in bacon, wrap it in either a cotton pillowcase or large cheesecloth. Place it in the roasting dish breast side down. Completely saturate the pillowcase/cheesecloth and turkey with the wine, broth and melted butter. Be sure it’s completely soaked so it doesn’t dry out or catch fire while cooking.
Roast the turkey: Roast the covered turkey until fully cooked through, basting it every hour with the pan juices and make sure the pillowcase remains saturated. If the pan dries out, pour in equal parts wine and broth.
Remove the turkey: Remove the turkey from the oven and unwrap it from the pillowcase. Flip it over so it’s now breast-side up. Brush the breast with remaining butter and continue roasting until the skin is crisp and browned, about 10 minutes.
Let rest and finish: Transfer the turkey to a carving board and let rest at least 20 minutes before carving. Use the juices in the roasting pan to make the gravy.
