Seasoning and Basting

Appears in
Professional Cooking
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2014

  • About
  1. Seasonings and, if desired, a little mirepoix or a bouquet garni should be placed inside the cavity. When roasting whole birds, you need to season the skin only if it is to be served and eaten, as the seasonings will not penetrate the skin.

  2. Oil the skin before roasting to help in browning and to protect against drying. The skin may be basted with fat during roasting, but this is unnecessary if the bird is roasted breast down (and turned breast up just at the end of the roasting period to brown).

    Basting is beneficial for large turkeys, which must be subjected to dry heat for several hours. If you baste large poultry during roasting, do it every 20–30 minutes. More frequent basting results in the loss of a great deal of heat from the oven because the door is opened so often.

  3. Basting is unnecessary for duck and goose, which have a great deal of fat under the skin. These birds are usually roasted breast up for that reason.