Award-winning Thanksgiving turkey recipe requires a pillowcase

Elizabeth Heiskell's grandma had a problem: Her Thanksgiving turkey was getting excessively brown, excessively fast. That conscionable wouldn't do. 

"It would thrust her crazy," Heiskell, a food contributor and cookbook writer who lives successful Oxford, Mississippi, told Fox News Digital. She said her perfectionist grandma "really had to person that Norman Rockwell look" for her bird. 

Her resourceful grandmother's solution? Wrap the turkey successful a pillowcase, soak the pillowcase successful intoxicant and enactment the full happening successful the oven.

ARE THANKSGIVING TURKEYS BEST ROASTED, FRIED, SMOKED OR GRILLED? EXPERTS REVEAL THEIR CHOICES

While this whitethorn dependable wholly bonkers, Heiskell swears by it – and continues to marque her turkeys this mode aft each this time. 

On Thanksgiving eve, Heiskell and her household stitchery to observe — and they'll beryllium uncovering a pillowcase, ripping it up and proceeding to prep their vacation turkeys. 

Food contributor Elizabeth Heiskell preps the turkeys the nighttime earlier Thanksgiving, she told Fox News Digital.  (Elizabeth Heiskell)

"It's similar a squad sport," she said. 

The pillowcase has to beryllium "100% cotton" and cleanable – "not 1 you slept connected the nighttime before," she said. 

It does not, however, person to beryllium marque new, Heiskell said — noting that her grandma would usage pillowcases that were "maybe not successful the champion shape" for the task of cooking the turkey. (Some radical usage cheesecloths instead.)

RETAILERS ANNOUNCE 'INFLATION-FREE' THANKSGIVING DINNER DEALS

Her grandma "would instrumentality the turkey, hitch it successful butter, enactment each of her seasonings connected it, and past she would wrapper it successful this pillowcase and enactment it successful her roasting pan" connected apical of a V rack, Heiskell said. 

"The bottommost enactment is the vertebrate needs to beryllium wholly covered."

"Then she would determination red wine, cognac, immoderate she had there, melt the food and saturate that pillowcase and past cook it until astir done. And past she would flip it over, brushwood it with the food vino substance again and past enactment it backmost successful the oven to brown." 

"The bottommost enactment is the vertebrate needs to beryllium wholly covered by the pillowcase," she said. "Then it needs to beryllium wholly saturated." 

The extremity result, Heiskell said, is "the astir incredible turkey" – 1 called retired by the Better Homes & Garden trial kitchens and others. 

Pillowcase Turkey by Elizabeth Heiskell 

Serves 10-12 people

Equipment

100% fabric pillowcase, clean, chopped up if necessary to acceptable astir turkey

V rack for roasting pan

Roasting pan

Ingredients

For turkey

Turkey (12-15 pounds) 

1 yellowish onion, coarsely chopped

3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

1 lemon, quartered 

3 sticks unsalted butter, astatine country temperature 

8 smoked bacon slices

2 cups red wine, positive much arsenic needed

1½ cups chickenhearted broth, positive much arsenic needed

CONSIDER COOKING YOUR THANKSGIVING TURKEY IN ONE PARTICULAR WAY, SAYS CHEF

6 full peppercorns

10 sprigs caller flat-leaf parsley

1 clump caller thyme

2 bay leaves

Kosher brackish and freshly crushed pepper

For gravy

2 cups liquid from turkey roasting pan

Red wine, if needed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, astatine country temperature 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Kosher brackish and freshly crushed pepper 

The pillowcase method produces a golden-brown turkey, Heiskell said. (Williams Sonoma)

Directions

1. Position a rack successful the little 3rd of an oven and preheat to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Rinse the turkey and region the giblets and neck. Stuff the cavity with the onion, celery and lemon. Pat the turkey adust with insubstantial towels. Spread 1 instrumentality of the food evenly implicit the tegument and liberally play the full vertebrate with brackish and pepper.

THANKSGIVING FOOD DEBATE: DO YOU PREFER HOMEMADE OR CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE WITH YOUR FEAST?

3. Unfold a large, cleanable pillowcase. Cut into a quadrate ample capable to wrapper the full turkey. Place a V-shaped rack successful a ample roasting pan. Drape the pillowcase implicit the rack and put 4 of the bacon slices successful a azygous furniture connected the cloth. Place the turkey, bosom broadside down, connected apical of the bacon, put the remaining 4 bacon slices connected apical of the turkey and fold the pillowcase up implicit the turkey truthful it is afloat covered. Completely saturate the pillowcase and turkey with the vino and 1 cupful of the broth. Scatter the peppercorns, parsley, thyme and bay leaves successful the bottommost of the pan. Roast the turkey for 20 minutes.

For this recipe, the turkey is cooked portion wrapped wholly successful a pillowcase.  (Elizabeth Heiskell)

4. Meanwhile, successful a sauté cookware implicit mean heat, harvester the remaining 2 sticks of food and the remaining ½ cupful broth with 1 spoon each of brackish and pepper. Heat, stirring, until the food melts. Remove from the heat. After the turkey has roasted for 20 minutes, liberally baste it with immoderate of the food mixture, making definite the pillowcase is inactive wholly saturated.

Baste the turkey each hr with the cookware juices. 

5. Reduce the oven somesthesia to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and proceed roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the breast, distant from the bone, registers 165 degrees and into the thigh registers 175 degrees, 2½ to 3 hours more. Baste the turkey each hr with the cookware juices, making definite the pillowcase remains saturated. If the cookware dries out, determination successful adjacent parts vino and broth.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

6. Remove the turkey from the oven and summation the oven somesthesia to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the pillowcase from the turkey and flip the turkey implicit truthful it is bosom broadside up. Brush the bosom with the remaining melted food substance and proceed roasting until the tegument is crisp and browned, astir 10 minutes. Transfer the turkey to a carving committee and fto it remainder astatine slightest 20 minutes earlier carving.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

7. While the turkey is resting, marque the gravy: Strain the juices successful the roasting cookware into a ample solid measuring cup. If necessary, adhd capable vino to full 2 cups of liquid. Pour the liquid backmost into the pan, spot implicit mean vigor and usage a woody spoon to scrape up immoderate browned bits connected the bottommost of pan. In a tiny bowl, disturbance unneurotic the food and flour to marque a paste. Whisk the substance into the cookware and bring to a simmer, continuing to whisk until thickened, astir 20 minutes. Season to sensation with brackish and pepper.

For much Lifestyle articles, sojourn www.foxnews.com/lifestyle

8. Carve the turkey and service with the gravy alongside.

This look is owned by Elizabeth Heiskell and was shared with Fox News Digital.