21 Thanksgiving Cooking Tips Our Readers Actually Swear By

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We asked the BuzzFeed Community for their most uesful Thanksgiving cooking tips and tricks — here are some of our favorites!

1. Decide how you want to prepare your turkey well in advance. You can dry brine it...

2. ...Rub bacon+butter or plain mayo under the skin and in the cavity...

Process raw bacon and softened butter until smooth and smear it under the turkey skin. Adds moisture and smokiness.—kef12482My go to this year is what I was advised to do last year: smother the turkey inside and out with mayonnaise. It makes the meat moist, the skin crispy, and no mayo flavor (which is great because my husband hates mayonnaise).—kristam471336bb1You can also dry brine it, *then* rub it down with butter/mayo/butter-and-bacon.

3. ...or just straight up wrap the whole thing in bacon.

4. Then decide how you're going to cook your turkey. You can go ~traditional~ and cook it in your oven, in a roasting pan, with no fancy stuff.

Use a two-tiered pan to cook your turkey!! My grandma’s pan (that I use now) has a top layer with holes in it for the turkey, and a bottom part that catches all the delicious drippings, without essentially soaking the turkey in them.—waspxiiiHere's how to dry brine and cook a basic roast turkey.

5. Or, you can ask your butcher to spatchcock your turkey if you hate waiting ages for the whole thing to cook.

Spatchcock the turkey. The butcher can do this for you. It makes it so easy and fast to cook. —honeybaileySPATCHCOCK THE TURKEY! It's essentially butterflying: you cut out the spine, and flatten it a bit. You have a perfectly moist, crispy-skinned turkey in about 2 hours. Totally changed my turkey game! And you can use that cut out spine for good gravy.—l455ded38bHere's a recipe for roast spatchcocked turkey.

6. OR, you can cover your entire turkey with a roasting bag.

If you cook your turkey in the oven, place it in a roasting bag, then put the bird breast side down in the pan. It doesn’t look “presentable”, but we carve it before bringing it to the table, and the important thing is the taste. This makes the turkey super juicy. Everyone I’ve ever shared leftovers with has told me that it’s the best turkey they’ve ever had.—maxinet40dd5f0b8Use Reynolds oven bags, and cook the turkey upside down. Turkey will be done in about 3 hours, no basting, sooo easy!—erikaschrothecGet a recipe for roasting bag turkey here. You can probably find the bags at your grocery store, or get a pack of 8 on Amazon for $11.98.

7. You can even opt for an electric roaster, and free up more valuable oven real estate.

Invest in an electric roaster if you have limited kitchen space/small oven. I bought one for about $30 during Amazon’s lightning deals, and it cooks the turkey really well (refrain from opening the lid and checking on it). I actually set it up on a small table in the living room and it helps immensely with space in my tiny kitchen.—jillianb4d44f726fUse a roaster for the turkey. No need to take up precious oven space. And stop wasting time basting the turkey. Rub it with butter, put it in the roaster, then cover it with tinfoil halfway through cooking. Done.—fredzestyGet this electric roaster on Amazon for $37.75.

8. For a very low-stress turkey, buy one that you can take directly out of the freezer and pop in the oven.

9. If you dare, start by roasting your turkey breast-side down, then flip it part way through.

Cook your turkey breast side DOWN for the first half. Halfway through, flip it to be breast side up. I swear by this trick and cook all poultry this way!! My coworker (who is the queen of soul food btw) told me this and I’ve never looked back.—littlebits27This lets the meatiest part of the turkey cook closer to all the juices so it's actually jucier, but still gives you picture-perfect golden brown skin. Fine Cooking has a few tips if you want to try this at home.

10. Monitor your turkey's temp with an in-oven thermometer that'll beep at you the moment the it's actually done.

11. Let your turkey rest for at least 20 minutes after you pull it out of the oven.

WAIT. Let that bird rest at least 20 minutes. Move it to a new pan so you can use the one it cooked in for the gravy. Cover it once it is out with foil and then lay dish towels over the foil to keep it super warm. If you cut it without letting it rest long enough, your bird will suck. Plain and simple. —Ellery Macbeth, FacebookFWIW, Cook's Illustrated says you *shouldn't* cover your turkey while it rests, because it'll make the skin soggy. But they still recommend resting — for 45 minutes. Learn how to carve a turkey here.

12. Add a little bit of mayo to mashed potatoes to make them extra creamy.

13. And enlist your slow cooker for no-stress mashed potatoes.

14. Or, use your slow cooker to make a quick stuffing that you can set and forget.

15. Whether you make your stuffing in the oven or in the slow cooker, toast your bread (or let it sit out overnight) before mixing it with everything else.

16. Or, make your stuffing using your favorite bagels, which won't get mushy even when they're fresh.

Use bagels for stuffing. Doesn’t turn to mush like bread does.—kylees418af755cGet the recipe for Everything Bagel Stuffing here.

17. Bake your desserts one or even two days beforehand, so you don't have to worry about making the time or the oven space.

This might be common knowledge, but bake your desserts the day before to save oven space.—giav41cc6e5b0

18. And consider starting your sides one day beforehand, too.

My timeline is pies, candies, and cakes two days before, and sides the day before. I make the mac the night before, but wait to bake it until Thanksgiving Day, so it's not dried out.—sarahh4bff3abdbGet a 17 make-ahead Thanksgiving recipes here.

19. Break up your grocery shopping trips to avoid the lines: one a couple weeks before the big day, and one at the beginning of the week.

Make a shopping list and get all nonperishables at least 2 weeks before Thanksgiving to save your sanity—ain’t nobody got time for those lines. Make a plan for the week of Thanksgiving, prepping whatever can be made in advance in the days before. It sounds like a lot of work, but it takes so much stress off of the actual day!—arielm4e4b6e3c1

20. To take some of the stress and pressure off, turn Thanksgiving into a potluck, and ask guests to bring appetizers, desserts, and sides.

Have your guests each bring one side dish. You'll end up with just about zero work! :)—sarahkata

21. Chill out about it all; whatever happens, have confidence you can solve whatever problems arise and enjoy turkey day!

I have been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 8-12 people for about 7 years now. My one true piece of advice is, chill the fuck out. It's a just a holiday. Everything will get done and everything will be fine. Enjoy the day. Enjoy your guests. CHILL THE FUCK OUT and have a Happy Thanksgiving.—sarahmcelroyv

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