Thanksgiving Turkey

LaurieLovesLearning
LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,604 admin
edited November 2020 in General Recipes

This is a recipe from a small poultry farmer. It resulted in the best turkey we've ever tasted.

Some tips that I have heard are slipping bacon under the skin over the breast, and give it a shot of heat to shrink the skin & seal in the juices before cooking low & slow. This is especially important with heritage breeds of chicken & turkey.

20201116_113436.jpg

*Just a note about the first sentence. The bird should be refrigerated/kept properly cool in that time.

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  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,604 admin

    Slow food is usually best.

    Now, I need to let you know that the first turkey we got was never frozen.

    The second one was frozen because butchering time did not fit our feasting timeline. It was not as good as the rigor would have still been in it when it had been frozen...like most birds that are butchered today.

    What we did with that one was put it into the brine to thaw it. We didn't want it taking up lots of room in our already full fridge for so many days! This didn't work quite as we had expected, however, due to some of the brine freezing inside the turkey! Perhaps if we had let it thaw a day first then put it in the brine, that would have been better.

    We choose a milk pail as we don't want to store our food in plastic if there is another option. The pail worked well. It helps if you don't have a tapered one and/or you can fully immerse the bird anyway.

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  • Gail H
    Gail H Posts: 359 ✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning Thank you for the wonderful recipe! It turned out well; it wasn't a bit dry.

    Now off to make broth from the remains. :o)

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  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,498 admin

    Well, I just seasoned mine with salt, pepper, sage and thyme.. and smoked it over hickory and oak coals for 8 hours.

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  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,604 admin
    edited November 2020

    @Gail H I'm glad to hear that. I hope you had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving.

    That sounds very good, @judsoncarroll4!

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  • Melissa Burford
    Melissa Burford Posts: 69 ✭✭✭

    My mom has always thawed it a day then thawed it in brine. Rarely had issues.

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  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,153 ✭✭✭✭✭

    When we butcher chickens we always rest them in an big ice chest with ice for 2-3 days before freezing to let rigor pass as well. They seem to come out more tender that way no matter how they are prepared or cooked.

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  • water2world
    water2world Posts: 1,186 ✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning OK I'm learning a lot! I am 70 and never had heard of brining a turkey! Needless to say, I have eaten a lot of turkeys. lol I just called my sister and she had never heard of it either.

    This recipe will definitely be tried! Can't wait to see (taste) the difference! Thanks for the recipe!

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  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,604 admin

    Excellent! Let us know how it goes!

    I know that for our family, no bird tastes as good as that. I liked it better than a deep fried bird (and that was quite tasty). I have to say however, that I have not tried @judsoncarroll4's method, so I can't say if his would beat it. It does sound tasty.

    Trying something new can be quite rewarding. :)

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  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,498 admin
    https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/882447#Comment_882447

    The leftovers make excellent stock, soup and pot pies!

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