How to Roast; NOT BRAISE; A Christmas Turkey

While, if you are wanting a good quantity of gravy; there is nothing wrong with braising a turkey; most of the turkey that is available in supermarkets; or in  poultry stores is now "self basting"; so you don't really have to be much concerned about your turkey drying out; quite the opposite  many cooks now complain about too much fat and they really have no use for the extra turkey stock . There is often a huge difference in flavour, and texture between a braised and a roasted bird; and as you can see from the image below; proper roasting will produce a richer browner coloured bird rather than the greyish colour, so common with braising.

Above image public domain

However, if you've never done it before, roasting a turkey may at first seem like a daunting task, but by using a pre-processed (modern day)bird and a little  of my know how  you will discover that it is really very simple.

Choose Your Bird

You should plan on 1 to 11/2 lbs. per person. The next suggestions may provoke some controversy: many cooks will say that if your feeding a big crowd that you should consider cooking two medium –sized birds instead of one giant one, suggesting that the turkey stays moister, takes less time to cook, and you will have more legs to go around. I basically disagree with all of this. Aside from the fact that most Canadians braise rather than roast their turkey; which is, possibly, the best method for the  legs and other dark meat;  I suggest that while you might indeed want to break, or have, a large bird broken down;  the breast portion of  a larger bird will actually retain the most more moisture if it is roasted  properly.

Especially if you intend to use a fresh turkey; it is always best to order your bird ahead of time to ensure you get the size you need; but most markets do carry a full range of frozen birds in the 8-to 20-lb. range.

Fresh Vs. Frozen

Frozen: Frozen turkeys will keep up to a year in your home freezer, but, with the new marketing laws some previously frozen birds are allowed to be labelled as “fresh” if they have been thawed and recently chilled. Pre-stuffed birds (you can never be sure of how well the bird was dressed out) should go straight from the freezer to the oven, so you can skip the defrosting, which admittedly can be a bit of a chore. Never, never, never, thaw a bird at room temperature; and never, never, never, never; thaw a pre-stuffed bird. The thawing process which may be done in the fridge, or in a Baine-marie water bath requires time and don’t use a microwave which provides uneven, unpalatable and usually very dangerous results.

Fresh: If you’re planning to buy an unfrozen, fresh bird, don’t get it more than two days ahead of time and remember it will take up a lot of room in your fridge. Except that you do avoid the defrosting processes; they are also more expensive and hardly worth it.

Brining

If you've adventurous and have the room, and time, try brining your turkey before roasting. While again there is some debate to the safety and actual effectiveness, soaking the bird in salt water (Use Sea, Kosher, or pickling salt at a rate of 1 cup salt to 3 quarts liquid) for several hours is said to result in a moist and juicy well-seasoned turkey. For a whole turkey, soak for 6 hours minimum; 12 to 24 hours is optimal.  Rinse turkey thoroughly before roasting. Do not attempt this with one of the SELF BASTING supermarket birds.

Roasting Prep

If  you know for sure that your turkey was well drawn and washed and otherwise prepared before freezing; unless you intend to stuff it; thawing is not really necessary (never thaw a pre-stuffed bird if using), Preheat your oven to 325 and move the rack to the lowest level. A little trick I learned from the chefs and meat cutters in some of the larger hotel kitchens: instead of roasting a whole fresh turkey; first cut through the skin an either side of the turkey breast-next to the thigh. Then give the wing and breast section a  sharp pull; upward; while pushing down on the back, leg, and wing, section; thus breaking the backbone; and giving two separate sections-one breast (white meat); the other the back, legs, and wings, (dark meat). The thighs and legs may then be de-boned, rolled, and tied; making a perfect cut for braising and later slicing and serving. The bone-in breast portion is first roasted; then easily de-boned; ready for slicing, portioning and serving. Large hotel restaurants and dining rooms are not much concerned about the wings which usually go to staff meals or soups.

Final Preparation

Brush the skin with melted butter, margarine, oil, or other mild fat to prevent the turkey from drying out and to lend a lovely golden brown colour to the finished presentation. Fold the wings under and tie the legs; truss the bird for compactness, if desired.

Picking a Roasting Pan

The roasting pan is intended only to catch juices; but because  you may also use it when preparing gravy, make sure that it is about 2 inches deep- not much more. It should be lined with a mirepoix, and/or lifting- roasting rack, to keep the bird above the drippings thus preventing  any braising or stewing of the meat.

Roasting Rules

Some cooks swear their birds are better thanks to near- religious basting rituals and they are undoubtedly right. But with the modern self-basting supermarket turkeys, basting is not REALLY ESSENTIAL and it does take longer to cook the turkey. My method: I still baste  the bird with pan drippings, every 30 minutes or so.

 Do not use a pan cover but about two-thirds of the way through, or when the skin starts to reach a light golden brown colour, loosely cover the breast and thighs with foil or oiled cheese cloth to prevent over cooking.  Remove the foil or cheese cloth for the final 45 minutes;  brush with butter to finish and  turn the skin a lovely caramel brown.

Begin checking for doneness about three-quarters of the way through the roasting process

 Don’t’ count on pop-up thermometers-use a proper meat thermometer turkey is done when meat thermometer inserted in the inner thigh reads 180 for a stuffed turkey (check stuffing temperature too it should reach 165 F. or 170 F for an unstuffed turkey. Lift turkey out of roasting pan and on to a platter or cutting board. Remove all stuffing to a serving dish, and then let the turkey rest for 20 minutes (it has been working hard) to allow the juices to redistribute through the meat. Use this time to finish up any side dishes and to make the gravy.

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D Girvan, 2012. All rights reserved.