Is a Pillowcase the Secret to Your Best Thanksgiving Turkey? We Think So

I was immediately intrigued when I stumbled upon Elizabeth Heiskell's recipe for pillowcase turkey. Elizabeth shared her grandmother's technique for roasting a whole turkey in a wine- and butter-soaked cotton pillowcase. Reviewers called the finished turkey "incredibly moist" and "juicy." With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I had to give the recipe a try.

What Is Pillowcase Turkey?

Pillowcase turkey is made by slathering a whole turkey with butter and then wrapping the bird with bacon and a clean cotton pillowcase. You can also use cheesecloth to wrap the turkey. The pillowcase or cheesecloth is soaked with a mixture of butter, wine, and chicken broth to ensure the turkey stays moist. After roasting and basting the wrapped turkey, you remove the pillowcase and finish the bird in a hot oven to crisp up the bacon and skin.

How to Make Pillowcase Turkey

Here's a breakdown of how we made the pillowcase turkey recipe in our Test Kitchen. We tried the recipe with both cheesecloth and a 100% cotton pillowcase.

1. Prep the Turkey: Pat the turkey dry and stuff the cavity with a mixture of herbs, onion wedges, and lemon. Rub butter under the skin and season with salt and pepper.
2. Wrap the Bird: Wrap the turkey with bacon and then a soaked pillowcase. Place in the roasting dish breast side down. Fold the pillowcase around the bird and drench with wine, broth, and melted butter. Be sure the pillowcase is completely soaked to ensure it doesn't dry out or catch fire during cooking.
3. Roast: Roast the covered bird until cooked through, basting often. Once the turkey has reached the proper temperature, unwrap and broil with the breast side up to crisp the bacon and skin.
4. Let Rest and Finish: Let the bird rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Use the pan juices to make a rich turkey gravy.
   

What Does the Pillowcase Turkey Recipe Taste Like?

We were blown away by how moist, juicy, and flavorful this turkey recipe was. To be honest, it was the best turkey I've ever tasted (and I thought nothing could top my father-in-law's deep-fried turkey). Our Test Kitchen director Lynn Blanchard called it "worth the effort." Culinary Specialist Emily Nienhaus says "it tastes and feels like it's been sous vide in butter." All of our recipe tasters gave the finished turkey 5 stars.

Tips for Making Pillowcase Turkey

Here are a few things our recipe testers discovered while making the recipe.

• We highly recommend using a pillowcase instead of cheesecloth. As Blanchard puts it, "until we actually tried the pillowcase vs. the cheesecloth, I never would have guessed there would have been that much difference. The pillowcase method gets a thumbs up for certain." Nienhaus agrees, "Since it is a complicated recipe, I would say the pillowcase version is worth the effort and the cheesecloth version is not."
• Be sure the pillowcase is completely moistened to help prevent burning or fire while cooking.
• There was quite a bit of fat in the drippings (thanks to all the butter used). We recommend skimming some of this before making homemade gravy.
• For one test, we removed the bacon completely before browning. Some of our testers preferred this variation. It had a slightly milder bacon flavor, and the skin crisped all over.
  

The Verdict on Pillowcase Turkey

Pillowcase turkey is a total home run. We were blown away by how good it was. The meat was tender, juicy, and almost buttery. The wine and herbs infused each bite with flavor. But this is a very involved roast turkey recipe. It requires quite a few steps (and a lot of monitoring). It is more hands-on than simply putting the bird in the oven. If you have the time and desire to tackle a cooking project on Thanksgiving, then give this turkey recipe a try.