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Scared of Dry Turkey? Katie Lee Biegel’s Got Your Thanksgiving Meal Covered on ‘All on the Table’

November 25, 2025

Image: Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Unsplash

Katie Lee Biegel is basically giving everyone permission to take a deep breath about Thanksgiving. On All on the Table, she makes it clear she doesn’t buy into turkey panic—and she doesn’t think you should either. In her eyes, turkey is “probably like the easiest thing you can make,” because once it’s seasoned and in the oven, “you kind of forget about it for like 3.5 hours.”

From the exact temperature she uses to the hour-long rest period she promises won’t make your turkey cold, Biegel breaks down a dish people love to overcomplicate. Her approach is simple, realistic, and built to keep you out of spiral mode.

Here are all of Biegel’s top turkey tips so you can stop stressing (at least about the bird).

Her dry-brine method makes crispy skin a guarantee

Biegel’s first non-negotiable is a dry brine, and she keeps it ridiculously simple. She lets the turkey sit “24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator uncovered,” which gives the seasoning time to work its way into the meat instead of just sitting on the surface. It also pulls moisture out of the skin—the exact thing that makes it crisp instead of rubbery. “Moisture is the enemy for crispy turkey skin,” she reveals.

One thing she really wants people to stop doing? Rinsing their bird. “Keep the water away, do not rinse it off,” she says. You don’t need to wash the turkey before brining, and you definitely don’t need to wash it after.

It’s all in the temperature

Biegel’s whole approach to a juicy turkey comes down to two things—the right heat and not letting it stay in the oven longer than it needs to. She starts her bird at 425°F and “immediately turn[s] it down to 350,” giving the skin a head start without blasting the meat. After that, she lets the thermometer do the talking.

“My number one tip for keeping a turkey moist and juicy is don’t overcook it,” she says. Instead of guessing, she puts the thermometer in “the thickest part of the thigh,” watching for that target temp of 165 degrees. And she wants people to stop panicking about the rest time, because the turkey isn’t cooling off on the counter. “There’s so much heat in that bird, it’s going to stay hot,” she states about the temperature, so in some cases, she advises to take the turkey out before it actually hits your goal temp.

While it may seem a long time to some people, Biegel recommends letting your turkey rest for a whole hour. That hour is what lets the temperature finish climbing and the juices redistribute so they don’t immediately leak onto the cutting board. It’s the difference between slices that stay juicy and slices that instantly dry out.

Her basting hack

Biegel does not want you to overdo the basting. She lets the turkey go untouched for the first hour to hour and a half, because every time you open the oven, you lose heat and add cooking time. After that, she keeps it simple: “I only baste two or three times throughout the process.”

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Her secret weapon is a little maple syrup in the baste. It helps the skin brown beautifully and gives it that deep, glossy finish everyone thinks only happens in food magazines. Between the dry brine, the oven strategy, and her maple-boosted baste, the bird basically crisps itself—you just give it a few quick brush-downs along the way.

Size matters—and in this case, smaller is better

Biegel says to stop buying giant turkeys. Oversized birds take forever to cook and rarely come out evenly. For her, a big 20-plus-pound turkey “never gets fully cooked appropriately.” So when you’re shopping the next day or so, try to pick a manageable size instead of wrestling a bird the size of a toddler.

Her sweet spot is a 14- to 16-pound turkey for a classic Thanksgiving table. It cooks faster, more evenly, and doesn’t leave you guessing which part is done and which part is still hanging on for dear life. And if you’re feeding a big group? She says to skip the monster turkey and tag in extra white meat. She prefers adding a separate turkey breast rather than sizing up, noting that it keeps the cooking process stress-free and the results consistent.

Don’t panic

Even with all her tips, Biegel knows Thanksgiving isn’t immune to chaos. Maybe the turkey stayed in the oven a little too long because you got sidetracked chopping veggies. Maybe you checked the thermometer too late because your kids pulled you away to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Maybe you simply sneezed and somehow lost 15 minutes. Whatever the reason, she doesn’t want anyone spiraling over a slightly dry bird. Her fix is classic, cheap, and simple: gravy. As she puts it, “gravy covers up a multitude of sins.”