Best Way to Cook A Turkey


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I just heard of a new method to cook a turkey:  SPATCHCOCKING.  I hope I spelled that right.  Apparently, it is a tried and true method of cooking fowl.  But I only recently heard about it being applied to turkey.  And it isn't widely used because the presentation of the classic "legs up" turkey is so Norman Rockwell iconic, that people don't think of using a method that precludes that presentation.

One reason it is not done as often with turkey is that it is a much bigger bird.  Once you lay it out, it takes up even more space.  And not many people have a big enough pan for the bird to fit into when spread out like that.

I decided to try it out this year to see if it would really make a difference.  And the answer is, yes.  Notice, not capital letters.  So, having seen the results, I decided to report the results to the forum.  If you feel so inclined, you may want to try it for Christmas dinner.  Here are the bullet points.

  • Although it made a positive result, don't expect miraculous changes like you hear online.  It was noticeably better than other methods I've tried -- enough to write up this post.  But it wasn't like I just found the "turkey Nazi."  I should also note that I didn't buy a high end bird.  I just got the store brand at the local market.  So, it may not have had the best ingredients in the package.  It may not have had the best feed during farming.
  • It tended to balance out the moisture levels of the dark meat and the white meat.
  • #1 best benefit -- if you like eating the slightly crispy skin.:  More skin is browned because the back skin gets just as much exposure to browning as the breast skin.
  • It didn't take very long to cook.
    • I had a 22 lb turkey and it only took about 2 hrs to cook (less than 6 min/lb) at 350 deg.  Compare that to 20 to 25 minutes for standard method.  For a big bird, that's HOURS of savings.
    • Others online gave varying ranges (between 6 to 10 min/lb) for smaller birds.
    • Still others didn't bother to offer a timeframe.  Just check the temperature.
    • Since timing of the bird coming out of the oven is an integral part of the serving of the turkey, this is a pretty important fact to know.

You also have to figure out how to cut out the backbone.  I've seen several videos on how to do this.  And it simply wasn't all that easy for me.  Perhaps I used inferior tools.  Maybe I'm just a whimp.  I don't know.  But you have to cut through the ribs of a turkey.  That's BONE.  Bird bone, but still bone.  I cut my finger on the bones that protruded.

One more thing: the method requires that you "perform CPR" sufficient to break the rib cage on the front of the bird as well.  This allows the bird to spread out for sufficient contact with the drippings during cooking time.  Since I was so weak, I couldn't quite crack the ribs.  So, it didn't sit very deep in the juices.  And that may have been a good thing too.  I often forget to properly drain the bird before putting it in the pan.  As a result the drippings almost filled the 2" deep pan I had it in.  So, if it were sitting down properly, it may have overflowed.  At the same time, if it had sat in the juices the entire time, it may have actually been heavenly.  But it didn't, so I don't know.

Overall, the turkey tasted like turkey.  I did a nice brine with some mild seasonings.  Then I laid it on top of a bed of celery and onions which had been sauteed with shawarma seasonings.  NICE.

Bon appetit.

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Guest Godless

I saw a couple of people talking about this on Twitter yesterday, and I think I may give it a try next year. I'm not a big fan of turkey, but my wife loves it, so I'm always looking for new ways to optimize it.

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We didn't have the entire family over this year and I didn't really want to worry about cooling the turkey (dad's responsibility in our house...aka...mine) so I got a nice boneless turkey breast and sliced into nicely cut slices and heated it up that way.  Took less time, far easier, and much cleaner in the end.

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So, the last few days I've been making Turkey Sandwiches for lunches (from leftover Turkey from Thanksgiving).  My wonderful wife who many times makes lunches has been more than happy to allow me to make lunches...because...I'm supposed to be the one who handles the Turkey. 

This year, however, I had no idea where any of my normal supplies were, so I had to ask here where the cheese and tomatoes were...etc.  I have to admit, I don't follow the Word of Wisdom, or the Old Testament very well when I make Turkey Sandwiches.  One of the key ingredients is Bacon (beyond Turkey...of course).  Mixing of different animal meets, OR conserving on eating meat (it's not really a time of famine for us right now).

I ready the Bacon and after it is cooked, slice up tomatoes and cheese slices.  Normally I also like to dice up some lettuce, but that is the one ingredient my wife did not have in the fridge this year.  I lather on mayonnaise on both slices of the bread (I know this is a heavily contested item between those in the West and those in the East sometimes, the West seems to prefer Miracle Whip while those like me prefer Mayonnaise), for a good base, then add in Turkey on the first slice.  On top of that normally goes the cheese, tomato (and the the Lettuce if I had it) and finally on top of all that is the Bacon (Two slices, broken into four pieces to fit better). 

Then, if I want to make it supreme, I add another slice of cheese on top of all that, some more turkey to fit on the other side for the other slice...and we are done.  Of course, that one lunch turns into several meals for several days of Turkey Sandwiches...so just finished off the last of it this evening.

 

PS: Because it was Turkey breast it actually made it far easier to slice into good sandwich size pieces.  In times past, sometimes the Turkey was uneven in sizes at times.

Edited by JohnsonJones
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