The top 10 most common turkey mishaps (and how to fix them)

We asked Every Day with Rachael Ray readers to share their top Thanksgiving troubles-then we turned to our test kitchen food team to help turn around all your big messes into big successes.


1. I forgot to defrost my turkey!
Soak it in a brine solution. Unwrap the turkey, rinse well and place in the sink or a large container, breast side down. For a 16-pounder, dissolve 1½ cups kosher salt in 2 gallons of cold tap water. Change the brine every 30 minutes. This trick should halve your defrosting time to 15 minutes per pound. We tried this in our test kitchen with a 16-pounder-and shaved the thaw time from seven hours to four!
More frozen turkey tips »


2. My turkey breast always turns out dry, every year.
You're probably overcooking your bird. Make sure you use a meat thermometer, and take the turkey from the oven when the temperature reaches 155°. Once out of the oven, the turkey will continue to cook and the temperature will rise to 165°. Remove any stuffing from the cavity immediately, since a stuffed bird retains more heat.
5 goofproof ways to guarantee a juicy turkey this year »


3. Help! My turkey breast came out dry as a bone.
Don't worry: One after-the-fact fix is to soak the breast meat in pan juices as soon as you can or douse it with gravy. Otherwise, save it for dishes that use turkey-day leftovers.
Step by step: Make a three-step gravy »


4. My turkey skin never comes out crispy.
One of our favorite tricks for crisp skin happens well before you turn the oven on: Generously salt the skin of a thawed turkey and let it air-dry overnight in the refrigerator. The other trick we love is to rub the turkey skin with softened butter or extra-virgin olive oil, season well, and then roast it according to your recipe.
Step by step: Make a butter-basted turkey »


5. All that work and my cooked bird doesn't have a classic, golden-glazed hue.
We can't say it enough: Baste, baste, baste. With a brush or bulb baster, coat the turkey evenly all over with pan juices every 15 minutes for the last hour of roasting. If the top is browning too much before the bird is done, just cover with a piece of foil.
The best 4 ways to baste »


6. Yikes! I left the giblet bag inside.
We've all done it once! But the turkey is safe to eat. In fact, you can use the giblets to make gravy. In the future, though, if you rinse your turkey thoroughly inside and out, you'll find that bag before you cook it.
Video: How to rinse and prep a turkey for roasting »


7. I cook a beautiful bird, and then it gets hacked to pieces because no one knows how to carve.
Start with a very sharp knife, and cut off the legs: Slice the band of skin connecting it to the body, then twist the drumstick to pop out the joint and slice through. Next, wiggle the thighbone to find the joint and slice through. For the breast meat, you'll get gorgeously even pieces if you make a deep horizontal cut above the wing joint, then make perpendicular slices. Finally, slice behind the wing joint to remove.
Video: How to carve a turkey »


8. My family gobbles up all the breast meat and sometimes there's not enough to go around.
Easy: Just cook an extra turkey breast alongside your bird.
Video: How to make quick roast turkey parts »


9. I prefer stuffing inside the bird, but I'm worried that it's not cooked through.
To make sure your stuffing is safe to eat, just insert an instant-read thermometer into the stuffing when it comes out of the oven. It should register 160°. And transfer it to an oven safe dish (don't serve it from the bird). You can pop it back in the oven if it needs more cooking.
Video: How to make a stuffing »


10. Going to the homecoming game and roasting a turkey are not compatible activities. Help!
Roast the bird cut into parts, which takes about an hour for a twelve-pound bird. You can break down your whole turkey yourself, or, buy already-cut turkey parts at the supermarket and you can serve exactly what your guests want.
Step by step: Break down a turkey for roasting or grilling »

By Every Day with Rachael Ray staff | Photography by Con Poulos

MORE LIKE THIS:
Thanksgiving recipes »
Thanksgiving menus »
Thanksgiving tips and how-tos »