Turkey methodology

[brokephibroke]

I’m always trying new methods. This year I spatchcocked a 9.25 organic bird. Dry brined it for 24 hours and roasted at 425 with ginger, lime and garlic for 1 hour and 5 minutes.


The breast was perfect. The wife said that the thigh was a bit dry.

Next year I will give the dry brine a tad longer, but spatchcocking and a short high heat roast is the way to go.

[DFW]

1. Our turkey (we THINK it is a turkey) is 17 kilograms. about 37.5 pounds. It may be an ostrich.

It cost us a hefty €170, and they claim they only charged us for 14 kilos (what we ordered).

We figure it should be done if we get the combination of high temp (425°F9 and low temp (325°F) right in five to six hours. We don't want it char-broiled on the outside and raw on the inside. As it is, we either widen the walls of the oven with a sledgehammer, or else saw off the drumsticks and do them separately. Our stuffing arrived from the USA this morning (we do our big dinner on Friday, since it isn't a holiday here, and many of us still work for a living, including me). Pepperidge Faaahm remembahed!

[brokephibroke]

2. Yikes

Never heard of a bird that big! Could be an emo?

[Retrograde]

7. Yikes indeed - the largest I've ever made was 12 kilos

and that was verging on too big to fit in the oven!

[DFW]

8. We just tried. No way. We are amputating the legs, so the oven door can close.

Luckily the neighbor is an experienced psychotic serial killer, and had a saw that could do it.

[DFW]

9. I think an emo is a graduate of a large university in Atlanta.

Did you mean emu?

At any rate, they promised it was an organically grown turkey with no added hormones. On the other hand, I think it had to have been fed on a combination of natural grains, small rodents, tuna filet and steak, and was given dark Belgian beer to drink.

[mike_c]

3. sous vide works beautifully

I cooked a large turkey breast at 148F for three hours, then basted it with herbed butter and a bit of maple syrup, followed by 20 minutes in the oven to crisp the skin. The syrup was just a little bit to accelerate browning. It was perfect, moist and juicy all the way to the bone, with bronzed skin. It was the most relaxed Thanksgiving meal I've ever cooked. I'd need a bigger vacuum sealer to cook a whole bird though unless I break down the carcass first.

[brokephibroke]

4. How did you break it down?

In a single bag?

Woops, you did the breast only…. A whole turkey would be more work.

[mike_c]

5. I didn't break down a full carcass

I just bought a turkey breast and it fit into one bag with a bit of wiggling on the way in. I meant that I'd have to break down a bird to cook a whole one. I might be able to cook the whole bird in one bag with legs and wings separated from the breast, otherwise I'd just bag them separately. Both bags would fit into the water bath together unless the bird was a monster.

[brokephibroke]

6. I've sous vide whole chicken

Spatchcocked first then fit in one bag. Temp at 145 for 3 hours. Works well….

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. A while back, right before Thanksgiving, all of the stores

in my area were out of the aluminum baking pans for turkey. I muttered a bit, and then bought a metal one with a metal rack. Somewhat heavy duty metal. To my surprise, the turkey was ready about an hour earlier than I'd expected. Which makes sense, once you remember that the heavy duty metal will get hotter and retain heat better than the flimsy aluminum ones.

It was the best $70.00 I've ever spent. For one thing, in the years since I probably would have spent a lot more on the aluminum pans, especially as I cook turkey at least four or five times a year. Well, I did when my boys were growing up and still at home. For another, it simply does a better job, in my observation. I've never had the problem of overly dry breast meat, for instance.

[DFW]

11. Well T-Day Germany came and went

We did amputate off most of the legs to get it in the oven. My wife calculated the timing and temperatures PERFECTLY, and it was one of the most perfect turkeys we have had. We had 17 people over (sudden illness felled the last three). We haven‘t even carved the second half of the turkey yet. The tons of incredibly tasty stuffing mostly got eaten. We are recruiting volunteers to come for leftovers. In anticipation of an unannounced visit by the Chinese army, my wife made huge batches of sweet potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, green beans with onions, a sort of cheese Grits, freshly made cranberry sauce, arrugula and pomegranate salad, grated red beet salad, and a few I have forgotten.

After we were all über-full, dessert of strawberry mascarpone (a specialty of one of the guests), and a cinnamon apple crumble (my daughter made that here), mostly went into reserve tummies most of us never knew we even had. Various colors of wines were there for those who drink them (I don‘t). Apple juice, both clear and opaque was there, as well as a newly arrived (from the Wachautal in Austria) case of thick (45% !) apricot nectar.

I think I just gained another two pounds while checking the above for typos.