As Americans across the country are busy preparing for their big Thanksgiving dinner, one woman's hack for achieving the "best looking turkey" has gone viral on TikTok.
The tip was shared by @cy.nnthia and has amassed 8 million views since it was first posted on November 15.
A caption shared with the post simply says: "throwback to last year Thanksgiving."
The footage shows a person peeling back a crusty skin-like coating on a moist-looking turkey sitting in its juices in a foil pan. A note overlaid on the video reads: "removing the cheesecloth from the turkey."
The viral post comes as the average cost of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people this year has gone down from last year to $58.08, which amounts to around $5.80 per person, according to the latest survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).
The drop in the price of turkey helped bring the overall cost of the meal down. The average price of a 16-pound turkey was reported to be $25.67, which amounts to $1.60 per pound, a six percent drop from last year, the Farm Bureau survey found.
Six other items decreased in price this year, including sweet potatoes, frozen peas, a vegetable tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie mix, pie crusts and whole milk. The price of dinner rolls, fresh cranberries, whipping cream and cubed stuffing all went up, according to the survey.
What Is the 'Cheesecloth Method'?
The woman's use of a cheesecloth for cooking her turkey has been praised by users on TikTok. But why and how does it work?
According to official website for Martha Stewart, the use of the cheesecloth—"a signature Martha method"—makes for "the most perfect golden brown skin" on your turkey.
The method entails draping a cheesecloth soaked in butter and wine over the bird to keep it moist but also to protect the skin from the direct heat of the oven.
The Martha Stewart website explains: "The cheesecloth has direct contact with the turkey's skin the whole time, so it slowly absorbs the butter mixture and slowly crisps up the skin."
This "old-school, retro" method for getting a "deeply flavored" turkey is also useful for keeping the wine and drippings in place as you baste the turkey, explains the Taste of Home cooking magazine.
"When you baste a turkey, the juices ordinarily run off, but covering the bird with cheesecloth holds the juices in place," Taste of Home explains.
'Best Looking Turkey'
Viewers on TikTok were intrigued and impressed by the cheesecloth method in the viral clip.
User @mich5658 said: "Someone explain please you just place it on top? No turkey bag? Cover foil? I'm making my 2nd bird ever this year..."
"What cooking trick is this? Bc [because] damn that turkey look BUSSIN!" said boss.e.
Vickey-B asked: "What is cheese cloth??? Nice turkey well done and broiled with out falling apart how did you do share recipe please."
Jello noted: "I thought that was that good burnt crust."
Brooke Hart said: "That's the best looking turkey I've ever seeeen," and The IZA wrote: "That cheesecloth looks splendid."
Elisattttt said: "Cheesecloth technique for the last 8 years and never looking back."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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