Basting Quotes

My mother very rarely skipped a Thanksgiving turkey. And yet, none of them ever tasted quite the same, landing somewhere on a sliding scale of succulence. She'd try new methods.

Often we eat squid fried, so it's fun to grill it for a change. To grill squid, slice the cleaned bodies open into two flat pieces and thread them, along with the tentacles, onto skewers, then grill quickly over a direct fire with the coals as close as possible to the grate, turning the squid several times.

One of the greatest birds I've ever had is called a 'Turducken.' A chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey. That's one that I love. I've done it a couple times.

It's not color, it's like pouring 40 tablespoons of sugar water over a roast.

Don't make a big to-do about the turkey; brine it, put it in the oven, and don't think about it again.

Most turkeys taste better the day after, my mother's tasted better the day before.

Basting is evil. Basting does nothing for the meat. Why? Skin. Skin is designed to keep stuff out of the bird, so basting just lets heat out of the oven. That means the turkey will take longer to cook... so don't touch that door!

We don't yet call it 'Thxgvng,' because any holiday whose centerpiece sits in an oven for four to six hours, after having sat out for as long to reach room temperature, must be spelled all the way out. Cook a turkey. You'll see. This is to say that you're not just roasting a turkey, obviously.

I always buy the smaller turkeys. On the pre-baste put pats of butter on the meat under the skin, put the skin back on, put a bunch of seasoning on the top, call it a day, put it in the oven. With a 10 - 12 pound turkey you are done in a couple of hours.

I just grill chicken and make very simple cuisine.

Manage the heat, let the meat cook, and you'll get fantastic results.

That's the ultimate goal of most turkey recipes: to create a great skin and stuffing to hide the fact that turkey meat, in its cooked state, is dry and flavorless. Does it have to be that way? No. We just have to focus on what the turkey is and what the turkey needs.

The most important thing with turkey is to let it rest - most people don't let it rest long enough. It will get juicier the longer you let it rest.

A week before Thanksgiving, my mother bought the turkey, frozen. Then she froze it some more. Then she let it thaw and cleaned it - and I mean really cleaned it, because nobody wanted a 'dirty bird.' She salt-and-peppered the turkey, buttered, paprika-ed, and nominally stuffed it.

My sense of humor is a turkey, and I pull it out of the oven and baste it in reality.

In deference to American traditions, my family put our oven to rare use at Thanksgiving during my childhood, with odd roast-turkey experiments involving sticky-rice stuffing or newfangled basting techniques that we read about in magazines.

When you roast a chicken perfectly, there's nothing more delicious.

It's all about technique. Rotisserie sounds simple, but to really do it the right way is important so you can get really great products and let them stand on their own.

I think over-seasoning it is something I tend to do. If it's a good steak, salt, pepper, and butter are the three key ingredients. But just try not to overcook it, and you'll be happy.

One thing that happens when you're pregnant is that as your stomach starts to stretch. It itches! So I have to keep my belly really lubricated. Every morning, there's a buttering ceremony after I get out of the shower. It's really like basting a turkey with body butter.

I love watching a single pork chop seasoned with garlic and shallots cook and see the fat bubble around it.

Cooking turkey every year doesn't have to be monotonous - I want people to always mix it up using different spices and preparations.

I love to cook a meal for the so-called holidays. You always need the turkey. I like making a good BBQ brisket as well.

You can do anything with beer that you can do with wine. Beer is great for basting or marinating meat and fish.

I've roasted a somewhat frozen turkey, and it's come out just fine.