Did you check the internal temperature of the legs and thighs? They might have been cooked. It isn't uncommon to find "pink" in perfectly cooked turkey, especially close to the bone.

~Ann

As Ann said, turkey legs and thighs often have pink in, next to the bone.
You sure don't want blood of course, or pink juices, but I find that turkey and chicken nowadays have more pink in than they used to, even though they are cooked.

The Best Ever turkey recipe I have used is Pam Anderson's one. It involves flipping the bird several times, and basting to get the deep brown, which it does beautifully. Anyway, for me, it works great, looks gorgeous, and is tasty. ( no pink juices anywhere)

I agree on the pinkness. You can also get a pinky tinge depending on what the bird has been eating. If the texture is smooth and soft and glossy, it's under done. If it's cooked turkey texture, it's cooked. :)

I can't deal with all the turkey gymnastics that other people put their birds through. The whole point for me is that it starts early and doesn't need any fussing. Mine goes on a short, silicone covered rack in my "goosepot", which is basically a 15 qt. Le Creuset oval dutch oven. I should say that I always start with a top quality, free range bird, usually about 22 lbs. in the Spring, which means it has defrosted for a few days in the fridge, there being no fresh turkeys that size at Passover time.

Recently, I gave up on stuffing, which also shortens the cooking time so I may go back. Without stuffing, I put a lemon and a broken up tarragon branch in the cavity, and a blend of dried herbs and maybe garlic pepper, shaken all around. I don't know that it makes a difference, but it feels like cooking. :) A bottle of cheap (palatable) white table wine in the bottom of the pot. My birds are always too big for the pot lid, so I do the loose tent of heavy duty Reynolds Wrap. Just a sheet of foil, dangling loosely.

Then I put it in the oven for the proper amount of time for the size of the bird, take it out, let it rest, and get one of the guys to carve because I'm way too busy at that point to care what happens to it. But it is always gloriously, beautifully brown and juicy. Not crispy skinned. We don't eat the skin, but it is appetizing looking.

Because I have a tight fit in the roaster, and the wine in the bottom, people will tell you I'm steaming, rather than roasting the turkey. Fine by me. It tastes good. :) And one year I did six turkey breasts and thighs in the steam oven because I needed more turkey and the big oven for something else. :)

I know you know how to cook. Maybe the trick is to not try so hard?

There is a difference between pink juices and pink meat. Pink juices indicates it needs to be cooked longer. But turkey that has been cooked to the proper internal temperature, but is still pink is perfectly safe to eat. It doesn't matter what roasting method is use.

~Ann

Here is a link that might be useful: Pink Turkey

We all have a different way of doing things. I like to read about the different methods others use to roast their turkeys.

Some like to brine, I prefer to presalt. Some like to roast on low , others do a combination of starting on high and finishing on low. I like high heat from start to finish. Simple and quick and a beautiful well roasted turkey every time.

I prefer no liquid added, because I think the drippings make for a richer flavoured gravy without the addition of liquids. But my neighbour adds liquid to the bottom of his pan and I'm happy to eat his turkey and gravy.

In the past I have tried various other methods including the cheese cloth soaked in butter. And the deconstructed turkey with the boned and stuffed legs. But I haven't found any method that I like better than the method I'm using now.

I roasted a turkey on Thursday and it was just a little 12.5 pounder, presalted on Tuesday and it was roasted at 500ð F. Was out of the oven in about 90 minutes without any fussing.

Very, very interesting. We did not test the temperature of the meat anywhere but the breast. But, the juices were not pink, the meat was, and only slightly.

I think we will slice it and reheat it in leftover gravy... certainly it will cook enough then. But good to know for the future. Thanks for the link, Ann T.

The biggest challenge in cooking a turkey is that the taste and texture of dark meat benefits from cooking to a higher temperature (175-185ð F) while the breast only needs to reach 165ð F. In terms of food safety, any pathogens are killed at 165ð F for either white or dark meat.

One method is to cover the breast with a double layer of aluminium foil in a triangular shape to slow the cooking of the breast meat so that the dark meat can reach the desired temperature.

If you're really fussy, you might consider two probes - one into the thickest part of the breast and one into the thickest part of the thigh. You may need to compromise a bit.

You know, I knew that, which is why I went to the "light side" ie, all breast, years ago. But when cooking for a crowd I wanted to be more traditional and do a whole bird.

I followed the instruction on the bird and Martha Stewart's Turkey 101 and both of them only mention checking the breast meat temperature ...

Ah well, lesson learned.

Another factor that I think can be huge, is if your thermometer is also reading accurately. From experience, I think kitchen thermometers do not read anywhere near accurately and don't last that long. Ideally, you should calibrate your thermometer before using it. I have had thermometers that screw me up in both the meat and jam/jelly department. And for the record, I would prefer to use boiling water to calibrate, since that is closer to the temperature you will be testing meat at. It's not that difficult, just a rolling boil, which means bubbles that break the surface. My meat thermometer doesn't even start measuring below 100.

Place distilled water in a container and heat. (Knock yourself out on that one, you can get in the ballpark with tap water)

After the water in the container has reached a complete âÂÂrollingâ boil, insert the instrument to the appropriate immersion depth. (You don't want steam influencing the reading, so immerse it but not too deep) (Where is Evil Jessy when you need her!)

Be sure there is at least a two-inch clearance between the stem or sensing element and the bottom and sides of the container.

If your thermometer is not accurate within +/- 2ðF of 212ðF., adjust thermometer accordingly. The boiling point method permits calibration to within 1.0ðF.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to calibrate a cooking thermometer

Thanks, but the breast (both the whole breast and the breast meat from the bird) were perfect, and the thermometer was a brand new expensive one I had just bought to leave at our second home.

One interesting thing, when I cooked just the breast, the instructions said to take it out when the temp hit 165. I thought it was odd that,the next day, the instructions on the bird (which I followed) said to take it out when the breast was 173; sounds almost like an average between the white and dark recommendations ...