What are the considerations in deciding which way up to roast a bird?

kernel_kate

This question is partially prompted by this question and the two "how to cook turkey" links therein. The question and the links seem to implicitly assume you cook your turkey on its back, with the breast upwards. I rarely cook whole turkeys, but I quite frequently cook whole chickens and sometimes pheasant. As I really dislike dry breast meat I always cook them breast down, so the breast is sitting in the juices and so does not dry out. From the...

Originally asked by User65535 on Stack Exchange (cooking) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

uphilltech

Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:

It's easier to cook a chicken or turkey with the back down for two major reasons: The back is flat, so the bird isn't going to tip one way or the other Having the breasts up means you can easily check the temperature of the breast and thigh, if it's breast down it's going to be challenging to get a temperature probe in I don't see any advantage in cooking the turkey breast down, sitting in the juices won't really make the breast juicier, although it may appear that way. Dry meat is the result of overcooking, the best thing you can do is monitor the temperature closely and take it out as soon as the thickest part of the breast reaches 165°F / 73°C. I use a digital thermometer system with 3...

Full answer by GdD: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/125870 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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