Why Butter Is The Key For Crispy Turkey Skin

When it comes to roasting a turkey, preparation is key. Turkey meat tends to be dryer and more bland than other meat types, so if you can give it a moisture boost and enhance its flavor, it will make the meat more palatable. Beyond the meat, there is also turkey skin, which, when nice and crispy, is the best part of the whole bird. If you want the crispiest skin possible — as well as a turkey that's not too dry or flavorless — then you have to add some butter into the mix.

Butter makes everything better. In the turkey's case, the fat from the butter helps to crisp up that turkey skin while the bird cooks, similarly to how hot oil helps fried foods get a crispy coating. Next time you're planning to cook a turkey, don't be shy with the butter. Lather softened butter all over the turkey's skin, as well as underneath it. The butter under the skin is what will be absorbed by the meat, while the top layer of butter creates that skin's crispy texture. It's truly a do-it-all ingredient.

Salted butter is best here only because it has more flavor than unsalted butter (unless you used a lot of brine and your goal is to avoid adding any more salt.) For the richest flavor, use traditional butter rather than a lower-fat alternative. Instead of just rubbing the turkey with plain old butter, enhance the butter with various herbs and ingredients that will infuse into the turkey meat as it cooks. Freshly chopped parsley, some minced garlic, and even lemon zest are all great add-ons to softened butter. Just make sure anything you add into the butter also complements the other flavors cooked with the turkey, including if you've placed anything inside the bird's cavity.

It's also smart to flavor the butter because as the turkey cooks, some butter will melt and roll off into the bottom of the pan with the turkey drippings. Then, when you baste the turkey during cooking, that flavored butter will end up infusing flavor into the basting liquid and even into the turkey gravy later on.