Roast Turkey and Ultimate Roast Chicken

aaron.c.schroeder

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DiggingDogFarm_65362

Yeah, it works fairly well with conventional home equipment.

At first I tried spatchcocking the bird and browning it under the broiler but browning and crisping wasn't very even.

What worked best was cranking the oven up as high as possible....standing the bird up on a poultry stand (breast down) and placing the bird in the back corner of the oven with the oven walls just a few inches away.....rotate frequently.

The heat radiating from both walls browned the bird nicely.

This is only practical with a very small turkey....in my situation anyway.

I recommend practicing with a roaster chicken or two.

~Martin

DiggingDogFarm_65362

The Spanek stand is what I have.

Very stable compared to other stands.

grant

I have tried so many ways to cook a turkey and I am convinced of a few things:

-Cheap turkeys are far more tender than the expensive ones(I know this is a broad statement). I know they are taboo but butterballs are really tender and juicy.

-If you cook heat most turkey breasts to more than about 63c it will always be dry.

-Salt brine is your friend.

-Stuffing is your friend.

Cooking in a giant pot of oil for 24 hours with an immersion circulator(or very low over an open flame-youll need to wrap the pot with insulation) heating the water to around 62C. Then removing the bird and cranking the temp up over a big burner for frying. I have basically given up on whole turkey, yes they are romantic but you can never get the entire thing cooked perfectly. Most people I tend to meet would rather have the meat smothered in gravy anyways. Even if the breast is tender. Its really a funny topic, there is just no one way to make a turkey perfect.

Summery, cook it whole(because sexy always wins over logical). Cook it slow, and don't worry about that skin not being so crispy, try bread crumbs on it at the table;)

aaron.c.schroeder

Ryan_Stonecipher_15370

Following Aaron's plans (which are quite similar to my own), I'd like to add some smoke to the turkey before cooking it. Is cold smoking the way to go to get a little extra flavor in the bird? Or, is there another/better way?

Chris_Young_80640

I prefer hot smoking and a bit of pastrami rub on the skin myself.

Ryan_Stonecipher_15370

Chris, thanks for the reply.

I have a fairly traditional crew coming, and I think a completely smoked turkey might give some a heart-attack (though this southern boy would be just fine with it.) So, short of smoking the whole bird until it's done, would you recommend a little cold smoke for what I'm going for?

Chris_Young_80640

Sure, a little bit of cold smoke will add some clove and peaty aromas that, if not overdone, could make the flavor special.

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Chris - how would you go about that? Maybe a large "brining bag" with the washed and dried bird in it and a Smoking Gun? Put the hose into the bag and twist it tight to close. Which wood and for how long? While I probably won't do it next week, I think this might be a fun technique for quail, chicken, turkey and maybe duck in the future. Gracias and Happy Thanksgiving to you and all of the CS team!

Chris_Young_80640

So I used a smoker last year, and controlled the temperature to hold the surface temperature of the turkey to my desired cooking temperature. I placed large blocks of ice into the smoker to keep it from getting too hot, except at the very end where I briefly allowed the temperature to get hot enough deepen the color a bit. Turkey was rubbed with ChefSteps pastrami rub. The turkey was not brined in this case. Here are some of the photos (sorry, shot these on my iPhone, not up to Ryan's standard):

Chris_Young_80640

Photos.

Brendan_Lee_56950

The bird is very ladylike. This "smoker" you are using @chris what are the components? I think I see a flux capacitor in there somewhere.

Samuel_68313

I've never been that into roast turkey, think I had one too many crappy ones growing up.

For Christmas this year I am just completely breaking down the bird. Sous vide breast, confit legs, wings deboned, stuffed with foie gras and chestnut stuffing and deep fried, and the skin removed in one piece sewn to a rack and roasted.