Why Your Turkey Isn't Golden Brown?

Food stylists use a trick to make their roast turkeys look like Norman Rockwell painted them. I’ll show you how to glam up your turkey, by painting it with bourbon, bitters, and a little-known ingredient for a perfect looking, delicious and juicy roast turkey.
Recipe for Perfect Poultry Potion:
80g Bourbon Whisky
20g Bitters
10g Kitchen Boquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce
2g Liquid soy lecithin
PRODUCT LINKS
Combustion Predictive Thermometer: combustion.inc
Fee Brother’s Cranberry Bitters: amzn.to/46gxNdm
Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce: amzn.to/47wNJcz
NOW brand liquid soy lecithin: amzn.to/3T1aC43
Acaia scale: acaia.co/collections/coffee-s...
FIND ME HERE
Combustion Inc: combustion.inc​
Twitter: / chefchrisyoung
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PAST WORK
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The Fat Duck: thefatduck.co.uk
CREDIT
ChefSteps Turkey Elixir: www.chefsteps.com/activities/...

[@profMitura]

man, there is no one on youtube who matches your scientific method applied to cooking, I love it, please do more

[@joe9743]

Alton Brown is somewhat similar if you like explanations to cooking techniques and science applied to cooking/baking

[@profMitura]

@@joe9743 im suprised I didn't know this one, I will check it out, thanks

[@dave21802180]

Kenji :)

[@Poogoo701]

chefsteps, which is a company he founded

[@dave21802180]

@@Poogoo701 true

[@gretchman]

What the hell did we do to deserve two uploads so close to each other??? It's not even Christmas yet!

[@rickdabagian9100]

It's not even that these videos are so good, it's that they are so much better than the rest. Thank you Chris

[@dacarrico]

This isn't the cooking content we deserve... It's the cooking content we need.

[@kevinjohnston4923]

A very informative video with no padding. I’ll be trying this technique this year. Great stuff!

[@joepancerz8048]

Hey Chris, I just wanted to say thank you. Your content is unlike anything else available to home cooks, great work. I truly hope you continue. Best of luck bringing your second product to market, Ive got one coming as a little Christmas present to myself. Also thanks for making the pot holder reasonably priced for what it is, I believe many others would have over blown and over priced that useful little add on.

[@Jacob-xD]

I found this channel today, and your production quality is crazy. I'm looking forward to your future videos.

[@beclops]

Love all of the new videos

[@kurtpenner2362]

This is exactly the kind of content I really dig. Bringing a big dose of reality into our cooking lives and practical solutions. And I did manage to find most of the paint ingredients locally, much to my surprise.

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@chesraynelson]

This is my favourite channel on KZbin. The Mark Rober of cooking. You combine 2 of my passions: cooking and science. I really need to save up and finally buy the predictive thermometer!

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Thanks for the kind words.

[@sascandave]

I just found this channel today . Your presentation is on point and facts as well . Keep em coming i am hooked . Oh and its refreshing to hear a your tube channel not start out with "hey guys" and then continue to say guys 1000 times there after . Great work

[@BaconNEggzGaming]

I absolutely love your production quality, Chris. You're a joy to watch.

[@jonoleslie]

Terrific content. In Australia we don’t do thanksgiving, but turkey my family’s favourite Christmas meat - will definitely be trying this method at Christmas.

[@Max_Maximus_69]

Great video, thanks. I wont be cooking my turkey at 200 degrees for 5 hours, but i WILL be using the paint idea for sure :)

[@Autodidacct]

What can I say, Chris? Thanks for another informative and well constructed video. I will absolutely be giving that elixir a try sometime.

[@JMizzle]

Damn, your videos are always top notch!!

[@christenzis6237]

Chris, thank you. So clear and straight forward. Could you elaborate on the science of Kitchen Bouquet Browning and Seasoning Sauce?

[@SonOfOdin777]

I love you man! you're soooo underrated!

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Thanks!

[@johnbruce2868]

First class. A really good and useful video but for those of us who are not Yankees... Bouquet Browning Sauce = (UK) Sarson's Gravy Browning (lots of alternatives on line, check for low salt) or make you own from recipes. Bourbon is readily available but there are thousands of interesting alternatives with very different taste variations amongst the five regional types of Scottish whisky (not whiskey with an /e/) and Irish whiskey (with an /e/), even Welsh whisky (no /e/) etc., Cranberry bitters are available online. Thanks fort the inspiration. I'll be trying this out - with a Highland malt (whisky).

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

I think a proper whisky would be an excellent choice. Personally I'd use a blended one since the cranberry bitters will overwhelm the nuance of the Scotch.

[@tempest9232]

I was sleeping on your channel. I’m sorry. I love your knowledge, editing, and vibe!!!!

[@kylelindstrom1916]

The graphics/visualization of food cooking on this channel is amazing! Great Job to all involved

[@SimonDickerman]

Love your videos Chris, keep up the great work

[@mitchblyumin6499]

Chris Young KILLING it yet again. Keep em coming, man.

[@smerbothefleeb5699]

Instructions unclear: drank too much of the magical elixir and attempted to mate with the turkey.

[@snoosh101]

Excuse me wha

[@smoath]

Excellent.

[@rnparimore09]

Great video, got a new subscriber

[@alecio000]

I caught turkey duty this year and already decided I was going to try low and slow. There’s surprisingly little guidance out there. Glad to know I’m not the first!

[@benandstinky]

Amazing video as always, Chris. I'm curious to know if you have any tips on the best way to get great mashed potatoes? My usual methods are 1. yukon golds boiled skin on if I'm going for something quick and rustic or 2 the same potatos but baked, peeled hot, and riced. Then either version i do hot (not simmering) cream and butter with a bit of nutmeg. Anything you do differently or recommend trying for a great mash?

[@johnblachaniec8856]

Cranberry Bitters! Who knew! Interesting! My T-Day Old Fashion! 🥃🥃🥃🥃

[@GrownManGames]

Paint it to make it look like its done. Got it, thanks

[@_SurferGeek_]

Definitely going to try this... love the color you get. Have you found any benefit to brining a turkey? I've brined chickens and it always seems to be hit or miss as to the results.

[@paint4pain]

You didn't cut any appliance in half but you did build a whole glass oven out of a ninja air frier and aluminium extrusion for a 40 second shot, gotta give props for that.

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

That's actually the third version of that oven. First two eventually failed from design flaws. This one's working pretty well. Needs a few upgrades so that I can use it for future videos.

[@tomgio1]

Haven’t even finished watching, but feel compelled to lol at “no tan lines” on your turkey

[@TheEnd227]

Amazing

[@N24revision12]

The effort on these videos is insane ❤

[@02b6a4]

Super cool. For some reason this bird reminds me of Seinfeld's Kramer turkey head.

[@anon_y_mousse]

I just may try this since I'll be alone this year. And that is one beautiful bird.

[@Matthew-lm6yc]

I've achieved that color before. 24-hour dry brine with baking powder and then coated with butter. It basically deep fried in the oven lol I was pretty impressed with myself

[@largegroupofmales]

I have to say i was getting very skeptical of this method when the cranberry bitters turned my turkey pink for about 3 hours of the cook but by the time it was done it was mostly brown. Slathered down in compound butter and finished at 500°for a few minutes it came out pretty much perfect. Had to make a couple substitutions, swapped out browning sauce for molasses and lecithin for dijon mustard.

[@sluggishnu]

Have said it a few times already, but this guy is going to be at a million subs in no time. Incredible videos. Please keep it up, Chris!

[@boatnerhowell9760]

Chris, thank you for this video. I think I'll add yet one more gadget to my collection with your predictive thermometer. Now my question: I'll be cooking my spatchcocked turkey in my pellet grill with a "smoking tube" (metal screened tube with pellets and lit to provide additional smoke). Will that be enough for color? Would your bourbon paint need the browning mixture? Thanks and, Happy Thanksgiving

[@pablogonzalez4567]

really nice cooking videos, and i appreciate no there are Celsius readings too !.

[@artcanhelp]

love your videos! can you talk about dutch ovens and braising? Is a dutch oven better than a stock pot? Should they be in an oven or on the stove. What about coals and a fire pit?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Interesting idea. That's a whole video in itself. I think the key difference will come down to covered or not covered. Stove top versus oven versus coals won't make much of a difference other than temperature control and fluctuation, but covered versus not covered can make a pretty big difference depending on what else you do (like putting coals on the lid)

[@leeedwards3783]

Exciting times. Will give this a try before the big crimbo just to make sure I can get it right. You do make it look very tasty. Thanks for the video.

[@ShadowOfNos]

I used the low and slow method for duck yesterday and it was amazing 😊 removed water with paper towel, then rubbed with salt and a little 5spice powder. started with 100° to dry out, then 120 for most of the time and finished with 160 over about 3 hours. It came out golden brown , crispy and juicy. Plus, there was 0 smoke or a mess in the oven. I put a tin below the duck and gathered all the rendered fat. Just awesome 🤤

[@kkhorimoto]

Man, this is my new favorite channel on youtube. Awesome videos, keep 'em coming!

[@SuiSibi]

Hey Chris, great video! Just curious if you have any favorite uses for liquid lecithin apart from turkey tanning lotion. I'm down to pick up a bottle, but I'd like to have some other applications so that I can play around with the ingredient a bit more.

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Use it for things like emulsified sauces that won’t split when heated too hot, or chilled and reheated. Modernist Cuisine is filled with recipes, and there are quite a few up at ChefSteps too.

[@ralphknowsfood]

Another Awesome video. I am going to have to try this on our holiday turkey. You've already convinced me on the benefits of aging poultry, I've never had skin so crispy.

[@ninnusridhar]

Im sorry but if a youtuber doesnt have a borosilicate oven from now on, i can no longer trust what they say. Holy shit, that thing is cool!

[@peterl.104]

I never thought of focusing the cooking technique on one part of the turkey (probably b/c I only cooked whole turkey once) then finishing off the other part later. Turkey came out amazing but legs were undercooked. Will try next time if there is a next time.

[@PhilipLemoine]

I need that thermometer

[@CoolJay77]

That looks phenomenal. I take it Sunflower Lecithin as in the video works just as good as soy lecithin? 1:20 I am digging the surface temperature on the predictive thermometer. It is a game changer. I did not focus on the surface temperature till I've heard you talk about it in your previous video..

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Yes, these are interchangeable

[@bif24701]

NIce tips

[@ShadowOfNos]

I've never used Lecithin before. Could you make a video about products like these and how to apply them in cooking? That'd be awesome. Love your cooking videos !

[@sleezeadd]

Excellent video. Is this magical paint compatible with techniques such as deep frying the whole turkey? It tends to come out looking decent color, but it's not exactly that mahogany beauty you have here. But that approach is very compatible with the dry brine and air dry (I actually now blast it in the over for a few minutes before the deep fry to dry the last of the surface water).

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Yup, works great with deep-frying

[@TKNinja007]

Have you ever done taste tests on gravy, specifically things like roasting the bones before making the stock or even using store bought stock vs making your own?

[@matthewclark5879]

Hi Chris, love your incredible content and have really enjoyed my Predictive Thermometer so far! I’m curious about trying a wet brine this Thanksgiving. I’ve done several dry-brined meats and have overall been happy with the technique; however, a few times it went too long and became overly cured (possibly user error). In the spirit of experimentation, I’m wondering if I could do a 5% gradient brine, then air-dry the turkey for a few days to dehydrate the skin for better crispiness and browning? Would wet-brining, then letting air dry for three days potentially cause the texture to become hammy? I appreciate your insight!

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Yup, should work fine. I’d generally suggest increasing the temps a bit though. I tend to prefer bribed meats cooked a bit more done. 155 or 160F for the core.

[@matthewclark5879]

@@ChrisYoungCooksexcellent; thank you, Chris!

[@Fleshy]

Hey Chris, I usually rub butter (or duck fat if I can source it) mixed with herbs all over the turkey and under the skin; after dry brining and before cooking. Would you skip this altogether or do it before or after "painting" it. I'm a little worried that the flavors won't really jive or it will ruin the chemistry that's happening.

[@mikelevin2565]

Thx Chris! Just ordered my combustion thermometers :) Few questions: -I've got a heritage turkey. What, if any changes might be needed? Your low and slow seems like it already solves it. -How much salt to weight for the dry brine? -Most call for dry brine for 12-36hrs. Should I air dry skin in fridge for a few days and then add salt, or can I say salt the bird on Monday and leave uncovered in the fridge until Thanksgiving? For this sort of recipe, giving a timing punch list or what have you would be really cool. Like remove bird to temper from fridge at 8AM, 9AM bird in oven, 2PM remove, 3PM crank at 500, etc etc. Thanks again!

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

I wouldn't necessarily make any changes because it's a heritage breed. I would give thought to what temperature you prefer, my target of 150 °F is my preference, but a lot of folks will prefer 155 °F to 160°F for the light meat. Just keep that in mind so you're not disappointed. For brining, I would salt brine at 3% for 12 hours, then air dry in the fridge for at least two days to let the salt diffuse and even out, and for the skin to air dry. On the day of, I recommend cooking the bird early so that you're not surprised if it takes a very long time-the actual time will depend on the size of your bird, but at low-and-slow temps 4 to 6 hours is normal. It's totally okay to let the bird rest a couple of hours. You can always reheat it for 20 or 30 minutes to bring the meat back up to temperature before the final sear if you're worried about it being too cold. Remember, as long as it got to your target doneness once, the texture will be fine and so it doesn't matter if the serving temp of the meat is a bit cooler.

[@bccommuter]

Loving all your videos. ATK recommends salting under the skin for crispier skin and better seasoning. Do you think this worth the extra effort?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

I haven't done a careful side-by-side, but doing this only makes sense to me if you are in a rush and don't have a couple days to let the salt diffuse and equilibrate. If you put it under the skin, plenty of salt will still diffuse into the skin, you're just giving it a slightly faster path into the meat too.

[@bccommuter]

@@ChrisYoungCooks thanks Chris

[@noahm1379badazz]

Hey Chris, Can you do a video testing how long it actually takes to reach desired temperature using a sous vide circulator using your thermometers?

[@jennwaldmann4340]

Chris, great video. Question for you, what’s ur opinion of using a pizza pan in the oven to speed up cooking process of the dark meat? I saw kenji use this technique, and I’m thinking of trying it this year in order to keep the turkey whole for the presentation factor. Thanks!

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

I'm not sure I follow how this would work. If the meat is spatchcocked and the dark meat is somehow pressed against the metal, it will help heat up the dark meat faster initially, but I'm not convinced it would make a big enough difference to matter. But I haven't tried it to know.

[@djponchus95]

I love the Good Eats Alton/Brown style oven shots. Great info and exceptional quality!

[@cjr1382]

may the algorithm Gods bless you with a lot of watch time, what a beautiful bird

[@eriktaylor9643]

@ChrisYoungCooks, I think you mentioned that you dry brine the turkey before cooking. Can you share your method? If using Diamond Kosher is there a weight to salt ratio I should aim for? On your 12lb bird how many days?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

If I have at least 3 days to let the salt diffuse and equilibrate, I'll use about 2% of the bird's weight (expecting some to fall off ). I'll season it inside and out and then let it air-dry raised on a rack in the fridge. If I don't have that much time, then I'll just season it about as heavily inside and out-this is probably closer to 0.5% of the bird's weight.

[@ZakharovProkhor]

I'd love to know how you sourced your borosilicate.

[@mako1134]

I’d love you to do the science of a truely good Yorkshire pudding

[@Face_Meat]

Two videos in a week? What wonderful things have we done to deserve this?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

That’s why I needed that cocktail. This one was a fast turn around.

[@tatianaes3354]

@@ChrisYoungCooksthanks. Did you do holes deep in your turkey’s meat to put garlic and other spices? Because flavours from skin do not go deep, so the meat inside would taste bland.

[@DanielRBW]

@@tatianaes3354 It's turkey, it's always going to taste bland. It's too big a bird. Best bet is to take the drippings and make really good gravy and use that to flavour the meat. Use the meat as a gravy scoop. Edit: I find it's always better to have bland and juicy meat with great gravy than semi-dry, semi-tasty meat with shit gravy because it's started to burn. There isn't really an inbetween. Unless you're an alien with a literally perfect oven and perfect understanding of how your specific turkey and it's specific weight and shape is going to cook.

[@kevinb8754]

This is awesome! Do you let that sucker rest before separating wings and thighs?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

You mean after the final sear? No, not really, there isn't much of a temperature gradient built up after the brief final sear, so I just start the carving and throw the hind quarters back into the oven while I plate up the crown.

[@Johninsactown]

Nick is a genius

[@matakos22]

Would have loved to see how the turkey looks from inside

[@elijahevans1191]

Love this stuff! You and J. Kenji Lopez Alt are doing wonders for the cooking community

[@tiacho2893]

The science nerd in me has been following Lopez-Alt since his ATK days and Chris' time working for Heston Blumenthal. At the time, I was cooking to put myself through school. Check out Blumenthal's "In Search of Perfection" series, if you want to see a baby faced Chris doing recipe testing.

[@TrogdorBurnin8or]

You could also just fry it, depending on your whether you have time to thaw and a fireproof area to fry. I've never had cosmetic results like the one time I fried 6 birds in three fryers for a large cookout, and only caused a single fire.

[@floxbr9350]

Great video - and good advice for family peace! ;) What kitchen scale is that around 1:10?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

The scale is an Acaia Pearl

[@floxbr9350]

@@ChrisYoungCooks Thanks! Looks very interesting, I'll keep that in mind if I need a new one or want to "upgrade" at some point.

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

It's spendy, but it's fast and accurate and nice to work with. I wish it had a bit more capacity though.

[@RYN988]

Thanks for this. Is there a non-alcoholic way of making this elixir?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

The alcohol plays an important role of acting as a solvent for the color pigments. But all of the alcohol is going to be entirely evaporated during the cooking.

[@RYN988]

@@ChrisYoungCooks thanks so much for your reply. I’ll have to look for alternatives to alcohol as I live in a dry country. Much love from the other side of the world!

[@NickBottom]

How would you go about roasting a smaller, more delicate bird such as capon (around 5 lbs)?

[@lateralexrex]

Love these videos Chris. I'm dying to find a probe thermometer like yours that also can jump on my wifi and share the live temps to my phone. Is that something you are considering in the future? This would be the perfect device to use for long smoking sessions when I find myself wanting to run errands during a smoke, but don't want to go completely blind on progress for 4-6 hours. The other devices on the market that do this seem otherwise clunky and overly complicated for my needs.

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

We're a couple of weeks away from a feature that allows a second mobile device to route the data to the cloud so you can monitor from anywhere. We know that folks want WiFi options and this is the first one we can offer.

[@lateralexrex]

@@ChrisYoungCooks cool! Glad you are working towards it!

[@wealth1ness]

Could you explain the science of what the browning sauce is doing? Is the mechanism sugar caramelization, changing the pH, pigments, maillard reaction, etc?

[@Nova-ts8fx]

Hey Chris, great video! I was reading through some of your comment replies and I'm still unsure what % salt you recommend for a dry-brine? 1% or 3%? Also, you mentioned you like 150-155F white meat for unbrined turkey, would you suggest going higher (165F+) for brined turkey?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Sorry, I could have been more clear about that. If you only have a day or so for dry-brining, I strongly recommend staying around 1% by weight applied inside and out. If you have longer you can increase the salt a bit, rinse of the excess, and then allow air-drying to equilibrate the sale more evenly. I've found that I usually need to weight out about 2 to 3% of the birds weight in salt before applying it, because about half the salt falls off while seasoning it. Let me know if this is still unclear?

[@Nova-ts8fx]

Oh okay, thanks! And would you recommend cooking the breasts to 165F+ for a brined bird?

[@dannyboyNS752]

So when are you going to I vent the directed high intensity energy iven so we can cool light and dark meats at different Temps I'm the same oven?

[@BlackCatastrophe999]

Alright… no more freeloading. I have subscribed.

[@zalibecquerel3463]

Can you suggest an alternative for "Bouquet Browning Sauce" for those of us outside the USA? I'm wondering if dark soy sauce, kecap manis or even straight molasses might have a good effect.

[@johnmaher7078]

It’s called “Gravy Browning” in Ireland and the UK - this may be available from English/Irish supermarkets/online specialty stores globally.

[@FamilyManMoving]

The ingredient list for the sauce is: "CARAMEL COLOR (SULFITES), WATER, VEGETABLE BASE (WATER, CARROTS, CELERY, CABBAGE, ONION, PARSLEY, TURNIPS, PARSNIPS), LESS THAN 2% OF: SPICES, SALT, SODIUM BENZOATE AS A PRESERVATIVE." Sorry, the all caps came from the website and I didn't want to retype. I think the best DIY approximation would be: Molasses, vegetable stock, salt+spices. Probably better than the store thing. I'd also just use the Turkey stock I made from the carcass (I spatch-cock the bird and roast/make stock from the back the day before).

[@zalibecquerel3463]

@@FamilyManMoving Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

[@ryanbramich6951]

Hi Chris! What temp did the dark meat come up to on this cook before popping it back in the oven to reach 170?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

All of the meat (including legs and thighs) were around 145F when pulled from the oven, and reached 150F during resting. So the hind-quarters needed another 20 to 25F of heating to be succulent and tender.

[@xipalips]

Any kind of time range on how long it took that bird to get up to temp? Just to try to work out what the Game Day Schedule on this would be like. Tons of variables going on of course.

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

About 4 hours for a 12lbs bird. You can speed things along by starting the oven hotter (400F) then dropping the temp once the surface gets up to temp. And if you allow a bit more of a temp gradient by bringing the surface up to 165F you’ll shorten cooking time quite a bit. I’d error on the side of finishing it early and letting it rest longer (up to 2 hrs) so you have more wiggle room.

[@hokietoner]

Do you have a target % of salt you're using in the dry brine? I assume you aren't washing it off since that would negate the purpose of drying the skin. Any thoughts on equilibrium wet brining?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Dry brine is pretty haphazard, but typically I’ll use around 3% of the weight of the bird known about half of it will fall off. And I’ll only use this much if I have several days to allow it to diffuse into the meat. In a rush I just salt it pretty aggressively and call it good. For turkey I like the slight cured texture you get near the surface with a dry brine, but it’s a preference thing. If I don’t want that texture, I’ll switch to a 3 to 5% wet brine (the longer I brine the less salt I’ll use), which never creates a cured texture. As for equilibrium brining, I find I rarely do it because I takes a couple of weeks for something the size of a turkey.

[@whencani]

Amazing, thank you. Some room treatment to reduce the reverb in your studio kitchen would be a subtle but meaningful upgrade to your already outstanding videos.

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Yeah, I forgot to hang the sound curtain.

[@user-ej3ny3xw6u]

Hi Chris, Thank you for all of your amazing videos! I have a question regarding crisping skin (chicken, salmon, turkey, etc). I used the technique of refrigerating it for a few days and then cooking it in the oven. However, I found that while the finished product was perfectly dry, it turned out very tough, almost leathery. Upon researching, I came across a passage in the book "Food Lab" by Kenji Lopez. He mentions, "If you cook your chicken at too low a temperature or let the skin dry too much (for instance, by allowing it to rest for several days uncovered in the fridge), you'll end up driving off the moisture required for collagen to turn into gelatin. The skin becomes papery or leathery instead of crisp." Have you experienced or understood this phenomenon similarly? If so, what temperature range does the collagen turn into gelatin? My goal is to achieve a crispy skin with rendered fat underneath while ensuring the meat reaches a high temperature of 150 Fahrenheit. One method I observed Heston use on an episode of "In Search of Perfection" was to dip the chicken in boiling water a few times. However, I worry that the meat might also get cooked using this method. Additionally, another challenge I faced while drying the skin in the fridge was how to manage if the meat needed to be marinated as well. I'm eager to hear your thoughts on these challenges! Thanks again! Oh, and I absolutely love the Combustion Inc thermometer!

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Thanks for the question! I generally agree with Kenji: Excessive air drying does tend to cause problems with getting the collagen to denature and turn into gelatin, and the end result is a harder skin that you wouldn't describe as crispy (more crunchy). This said, I find that a high-temperature searing step at the end usually helps overcome the worst effects and gets you a reasonably crispy skin that resists getting soggy. Conversely, if I don't air dry it, I find the skin gets very crispy, but also becomes soggy quickly. So there is a balance to be struck. And, yes, I developed that recipe for the Perfection series, and the balancing of the skin does convert a lot of the skin to gelatin. If you follow that with a long-cold drying process you can get very good skin. I'm actually revisiting crispy skin with some experiments right now, because I think it's worthy of a full video at some point.

[@user-ej3ny3xw6u]

​@@ChrisYoungCooks Thanks, Chris! I’ll definitely try first dipping it in boiling water a few times, then letting it undergo the long, cold drying process in the fridge, followed by applying a high-heat sear. Regarding revisiting crispy skin, I’d love to watch that video! In terms of the experiments you are conducting, I’m sure you have covered most variables and scenarios, but here are some questions and ideas I am pondering that might help (which could be potential ideas for your experiments and/or videos): • How does boiling compare to using a searzall (which I personally use as it does not reach as high a delta T, unlike a direct blowtorch) or broiling in terms of creating gelatin? • For those three methods, what about rendering the fat layer below? As I’ve achieved a brown crispy layer, but there is still a fat layer below. This especially applies to pork and duck. • What temperatures are needed to create gelatin and additionally render the fat while still avoiding cooking the meat above 150°F? The key question is: Is there a temperature and/or time window (as they are related) when it comes to the process of breaking down collagen, rendering fat, and minimizing moisture loss (212°F)? Based on that, it could determine the optimal approach. • Is it better to create the gelatin first and then dry, or vice versa? • Is there a method of achieving perfect crispy skin and perfect doneness for the meat that won’t have to involve a large pot of boiling water or oil (although it may not be possible)? Given the clean-up both the water and oil require. • I’ve also seen a method of puncturing the skin multiple times to help render out the fat. What difference does that make? • What impact does applying baking powder on the top of the skin have? As this technique been done by others • When cooking the meat, should it be finished with sous vide or low oven temperature cooking to reach 150°F (after carryover), or should the meat be cooked and then seared afterward? If searing afterward, what is the risk of moisture coming out of the meat, potentially causing the skin to become soggy again? • What is the impact of a marinade (especially in between the skin)? Should the marinade be dried as well before applying it, or will that prevent the marinade from penetrating the meat? I’ll definitely be trying out some of these experiments myself whenever I get some time. If only I could spend at least half my time on these cooking experiments and the other half on my job! Especially since I feel like I have a million more questions the deeper I dive into any cooking technique or food science! Anyways, I hope you (and everyone reading this comment who is celebrating) have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family! Best wishes, Gautam

[@ArdFarkable]

CHRIS! I seared a steak yesterday much slower and cooler, and IT WAS AWESOME! THANKS!!!!! Great food science! Screaming hot pan not necessary!

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Fantastic! Glad you liked the technique.

[@christophermark]

What temperature would you set your thermometer for, to have dark meat carry over to 170F?

[@Quazia]

What temp and timing should I use using this technique and a predictive thermometer with a spatchcocked turkey? Can this technique be combined as a finishing technique for a bird that was started with a baking powder rub?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

You can follow this technique for a spatchcocked turkey. The cooking time will just be shorter. I’m a bit less sure about the baking powder, the Bouquet browning sauce may interact with it a bit. Don’t think it will be a big problem, but it might negate the effects of the baking powder a bit.

[@CharlieG407]

Food Question, how do you make stuffing that is not too dry but not super wet? Texture is similar to a well done bread pudding?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

The most important thing, IMO, is to use stale bread (not just bread that's been dried). The stalling process crystalizes the starch in the breadcrumb so that it will hold its structure better when you load it in plenty of liquid. Once you do this, you can add quite a bit of liquid so that I will be plenty moist, but not seem soggy.

[@GerryLewis]

How is best to compensate for carry-over cooking? Should you pull the turkey approx 10F under desired temp?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

It's a tricky thing to anticipate (me and a team of mathematicians and physicists are actually working on training the Predictive Thermometer to be able to do this). When cooking with a low temperature difference between the surface and the core (like I do in this video) the carry over is very modest and you can estimate it just by assuming the final core will be at the average of these two temps. At more traditional roasting temps (350 to 400F) I would assume at least 20F, but it can vary a lot depending on lots of details. 30F can happen! In these cases, if resting is going to overcook the turkey, start carving it to stop carry over cooking in its tracks.

[@GerryLewis]

@@ChrisYoungCooks thank you for your reply. It is particularly tricky to get right. I had not thought about carving to stop carry-over, that is a great idea. Thank you for your help, love the content.

[@CH-pp5py]

I just read within your thermometer instructions: "Contrary to tradition, science shows that resting your meat doesn’t improve juiciness. It mainly results in cooler food and less crusty crust." Yet you mention resting the Turkey here. I would love one of your in depth videos on this topic. Which meats should I rest and for how long? Which cooking methods call for one and which don't? Thanks Chris! Love the thermometer.

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

There will be a video on resting next year. It’s going to take a bit of planning to really cover this one.

[@yumfoodproject]

So I spatchcocked my turkey and did this in convection, which seemed to accelerate the cook time. But I think the lack of low and slow cooking was a detriment (it came to temp in only 2 hours 25 minutes). It tasted fine, but definitely not as moist and tender compared to the sous vide turkey I’ve done the past couple of years.

[@marcusboehler]

Was surprised to hear 150 was ok to eat. I’m always playing this game of taking it out to heat to exactly 165. But I use the Alton Brown foil method so that the dark meat is more done. 165 has created really juicy Turkey that the whole family loves. But now I’m like 🤔🤔 encouraged to go lower temp for more juicy!

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

The 165 °F guidance is a simplification by the USDA of their actual food safety recommendations. At lower temperatures (all the way down to 136 °F for poultry and 130 °F for other meats) you can achieve the same level of food safety (a 99.9999995% reduction in any salmonella bacteria) with a longer holding time at that temperature. At 150 °F you only need a few minutes, and the time spent heating up and resting will easily achieve this. We're actually about to release a feature for the Predictive Thermometer that automatically calculates this on the fly.

[@codyjnelson]

I just received your predictive thermometer in the mail - looks great! Take turkey for example - Does the thermometer neutralize the oven quality? Meaning would a “low quality oven” produce the same as a “high quality oven” assuming you are watching the temperature closely?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

An oven is mostly a box that gets hot. The Predictive Thermometer will give you a lot more information about the temperature around the food so that you can adjust for your ovens inconsistencies. So in that way, I think it can help a lot.

[@mikesweeney2324]

Any thoughts on how this glaze will change the flavor of the drippings?

[@ChrisYoungCooks]

Fairly minimal, maybe a bit of the cranberry flavor. BUT the more important thing to keep in mind is that when cooking at low temperature like I suggest in this video, you get very little juice loss, so there are almost no drippings. If you want drippings, you'll need to cook the bird at a higher temperature and aim for at least 160 °F in my experience.

[@NicvB]

Do you know of a method to get good results with stuffing cooking inside the turkey? I really miss the flavor and texture you get from that, but I have heard that to have the turkey cooked properly you have the heat up the stuffing first then put it in hot. To me it feels like something hard to do safely, and having the extra source of heat inside throws off the cooking rate and timing.

[@user-yl3vf4ho7i]

nice tips... usually mix up an aioli I spread on turkey before roasting, does really well... think I'll use some of these ingredients in that spread to see how it turns out, thanks

[@danielstarr9037]

Is there any way you could lay out or link to a sous vide Turkey?