How to Make a 'Turkey Triangle' for Roasting in the Oven + Video - The 'How to Cook' Blog

Posted By Kimberly Turner on Oct 14, 2013 in Chicken, Christmas, Cooking How-To Videos, Cooking Shows, Cooking Tips & Tricks, Cooking with Kimberly, Featured, Holidays & Events, How To Cook, Main Dishes, Thanksgiving, Turkey | 0 comments

If you have never heard of a Turkey Triangle before, you’re in the right spot.

If you have heard of one, and it sounded like the “Circle of Truth” for turkeys, keep reading…

The “turkey triangle” comes into play when you’re roasting poultry. I suppose, it could be called the “poultry triangle,” since I use it for chicken & any other poultry that is in need of its protection.

A turkey triangle is made of a piece of aluminum foil, large enough to cover the bird in the oven.

Now, when you were little, or maybe even as an adult, you remember how to make a paper plane, by folding both corners of one end of your material towards the center, and making a triangular point at one end.

That triangular portion will cover the head-end of the bird, and the remainder will act like a tent that shelters it from the harsh heat, keeping your bird from getting too browned or burnt on the outside while it’s roasting in a very hot oven to reach a proper internal temperature. It will look sort of like a cape on the bird.

This foil triangle goes on top of the bird after the initial browning in the oven occurs.

When I roast poultry, depending upon the spices I put on the outside of it, I put the heat of my oven almost on the highest setting possible – into the deep 400s or low 500s degrees F, for about 7-10 minutes.

* Tip: A brined turkey can take longer to brown.

This nicely browns the turkey, kick starts the cooking process, and then I turn down my oven to a lower heat to finish the roasting, usually around 350 degrees F, with the use of the turkey triangle to keep that skin from roasting too far.

* Tip: When using such high temperatures in the oven, I shy away from using onion & garlic powder. They tend to burn more easily, and when they burn, they become bitter.

The turkey triangle allows heat to circulate underneath it, but it’s not burning the bird’s skin to a crisp.

I tend to keep the shiniest part of the aluminum foil on the side that faces the bird.

It’s important to coat the aluminum foil with non-stick spray or otherwise grease it up, because it has a tendency to stick to the gorgeously roasted skin of the bird and upon removal, will also remove the skin. That’s not what you want.

Use your turkey triangle with confidence the next time you roast.

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I hope you enjoy this Turkey post on Cooking with Kimberly. Until next time…

Be a Champion in Your Kitchen & Eat Deliciously!