Another "turkey day" has come and gone in the USA. It was my best juiciest turkey ever, and I forgot to take a picture.
Darn it.
I can describe it, at least. I used a new (for me) cooking method this year: hot zap at 500 degree F (whoa!) followed by cooking at 325 degrees F until done. The general cooking method was taken from Fly Lady's website.
I buy free-range amish turkeys with no antbiotics. I would love to try a heritage turkey, but since I usually need a 20lb turkey, they're out of my price range at this time.
I prepared the turkey as I usually do: I washed and picked it over for the few quills that always get left behind. Then I let it warm up for an hour or two. (Refrigerator cold birds take longer to cook.) I then slid my hands under the skin to loosen it around the breast and some of the legs too. I took softened butter mashed with coasely ground black pepper, red peppercorns, and a bit of sugar and smeared it up under the skin everywhere I can reach, then over the outside of the turkey too. I sprinkled the inside with some salt, black pepper, and tyme. I filled the cavity with a quartered apple, quartered onion, a chopped carrot and stalk of celery, then loosely tied the legs together.
Cooking: I pre-heated the oven to 500 degrees F. I put the turkey breast up on a small metal rack placed within a broiling pan. The small rack lifts the turkey up so the juices pool under the turkey instead of around it. I have a big oven, so to center the turkey in it, I only need to put it on the second to lowest rack. Then came the scary part: letting the turkey cook for 30 minutes at 500 degrees F undisturbed.
It wasn't long before all sorts of zapping and hissing noises were coming from my oven. The high heat was rendering the fat and butter right out of the turkey. But when the smoke started coming out of the oven, I became terrified that I was ruining dinner. At 15 minutes I looked in — the turkey was browning beautifully. Still, I was nervous. I put a canola oil-coated cheese cloth over the top of the breast to protect it. At 20 minutes I looked again and thought, "Hmm... Those spots are getting rather dark. Is it going to burn?" At 30 minutes, I had a few small burnt spots, the size of dime or smaller, but the rest of the turkey was a gorgeous bronze.
At this point, I pulled the cheese cloth off and put a very loose foil tent over the top. I lowered the temp to 325 degrees F and let it cook without basting. (Another scary new thing for me.) The trick, I'm told, is to not look in, because everytime you open the oven, you lower the temp, and every time you lower the oven temp, you extend the cooking time, and the more time means the drier the meat.
Well, this 20lb turkey oven cooked in record time. I would have calculated about 4:40 for the whole bird at my previous method (5 hours if still refrigerator cold), but this one was done in about 4 hours. (maybe less, but I can't remember the exact time) I had the bird out and resting before my guests even arrived! It got to rest a full hour, which didn't hurt it at all, which gave me plenty of time to finish the gravy and dinner rolls.
That turkey sure was moist and flavorful, and my mother did a beautiful job of carving it.
I think next year I'll try a 23 minute hot zap and see how that goes.
But darn it, I wish I had a picture.
Comments