Can you do the beer reduction in advance? If yes, how early?

Hi Mary - I think you can make this ahead. I would say no more than a couple of days. Since the reduction and solids (don't forget to reserve these!) are meant to still be warm when they are added I would reheat gently on the stovetop before adding them.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

This is a great basting idea. I replaced the fish sauce with a shiitake dashi from the Vedge cookbook because one of our guests can't have fish sauce.
What do you think about using it on salmon? or as a tempeh or tofu marinade?

I made this for Thanksgiving. The gravy was exceptional. I learned to take the turkey out at 155 and letting it sit. Perfect!

This was amazing. Best turkey I’ve ever had. I added some fresh herbs and an onion and a small amount of salt into the cavity of the bird as well. Can’t rave enough. Followed directions completely and it was perfect.

This recipe is perfect!! My husband followed it exactly as stated. The turkey browned beautifully, the meat was so tender and the drippings created a delicious gravy. Thank you Milk Street!!

First, let me say this was a tasty and visually stunning way to make a turkey. The recipe was super easy and low stress, and the turkey was delicious. The only negative is the overwhelming fish sauce smell. My 9 year old (who loves fish) kept coming in and asking "Why does it smell like cat food?" He was not wrong, and eventually the other smells overwhelmed, but it did make for a good laugh. Had I been hosting a large group, I'm not sure everyone would be so open-minded. Next time I might try doctoring this up and subbing marmite for fish sauce.

This is my go to turkey now. The gravy is fantastic-my family said they'd just drink it from a cup...lol.

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Made this today. A 12# turkey roasted to perfection per this recipe. The gravy though...absolutely delicious! It made this the best turkey meal I've ever roasted. The fish sauce turns out, is a perfect touch and I found I spent less time in the kitchen basting.

I made this today for Thanksgiving. I wondered if the 1/4 cup of fish sauce was a mistake. I wish I had trusted my instincts. I can still taste the fish sauce hours later. The house smelled absolutely horrible while it was cooking and it didn’t taste good. I’m not sure I’ll make this again but if I do I certainly won’t use 1/4 cup fish sauce!

I made this before thanksgiving as a test using a four pounds chicken. It was very good. The gravy is delicious. Then we made a Turkey for thanksgiving using this recipe (19lb). Also, amazing. I am now making it again with the chicken.

Hi!

I have a question, I've read through the recipe and only see 1/2 tsp of salt used for seasoning the basting liquid..could you clarify if the turkey should be seasoned all over and in the cavity?

Or is there a reason for not salting the turkey prior to cooking?

Thank you

I make this Turkey every year. I have since this recipe first came out. It’s easy. I do cook it in my electric cooker instead of the oven. I use my oven for the stuffing recipe that came out in the same issue as this Turkey recipe. Together they are amazing. I save all the juices from the turkey and use it to make the gravy. Oh my gosh! Then I use the left over turkey to make turkey pot pie the next day. I use the gravy as the filler.

I just roasted a turkey this weekend using this recipe and it was DE-LICIOUS! Our turkey was nearly 20 lbs, so I thought that I needed to slightly increase the ingredients. So, I think that affected the taste of the gravy in the end (a bit too salty and a strange aftertaste) and the family wasn't a fan. Next time I will follow the recipe exactly. I have always been terrified of ending up with a raw turkey, but a digital thermometer in the breast takes the guess work out of it. I was surprised that the turkey was done in 2:30 hours, considering how big it was. It had beautiful brown skin and even the breast was so juicy!