Raw meat obviously does not meet USDA cooking recommendations. My point is that one needs to balance USDA recommendations against what you know about the source of your meat and the way it was handled. I also remind you that many aspects of our daily life involve risk-taking — driving kills over 40, Americans per year and injures millions — and yet virtually all adult Americans drives. Eating is not risk-free — and I cannot assure you that my recipe is risk free.
I can assure you, however, that a heritage turkey cooked to F in a fast oven will remain moist and delicious, while cooking the turkey to F is problementatic in terms of the final culinary results. I will be roasting a 9. How long should I allow it to cook before checking the internal temp?
Like Like. Apologies for having let this blog slide so I am answering too late for this! The answer always is to pay attention to the cooking. When it lovely and brown and looks done you can taste. I will say, regarding temperatures, that if your bird was at room temperature when you started than it will cook quickly and as long as the bird itself was handles safely — not left in a warm car for five hours, etc. I am impressed that you were able to purchase such a small turkey.
I personally prefer them small. Historically, even smaller birds were eaten at other times of year. Hello Mr. Rubel, We have just started raising heritage turkeys this year.
Bourbon Reds. I also have 2 Royal Palm hens. I am seeking permission to add this article to my packet of info that I want to include when I sell my birds next month.
I only have to sell this year. I have purchased Narragansett turkeys the last 2 years for Thanksgiving and want to improve the information I received about how to cook them for my customers. I really appreciate the detail in this article! Thank you for this! I am roating a Heritage Turkey for Thanksgiving, I cannot risk using the high temp method this time, but I will try it with my next bird.
As you say I have to do what is comfortable. But I appreciate your advice. I would never cook anything to the excessive govt recommended temps as they exist to cover up extreme sloppy and dangerous slaughter conditions. My heritage turkey came from a local in state farmer who grows a year just for my food coop.
Thanks for the article. Thanks for the advice! I have a very large bronze turkey that I raised over the summer. He dressed out at 32 pounds.
What do you think would be the best temperature to cook him. It is currently aging in the fridge for next week. Enjoyed your article! Regarding stuffing, I want to cook it in the bird so that is will absorb juices as it cooks. Another idea is, if you have the time 24hrs. You will have to change the water every mins. Thanks for the tips. This will be my first Heritage and am looking forward to the big day.
I have brined before and love it. Will try the dry brine. We are raising some heritage turkeys and plan to slaughter 2 of them for Thanksgiving this year and I found this article very helpful.
As we have never slaughtered before, how many days should we allow between slaughter and cooking, or how long should we let it age in the refrigerator? I have been behind these last weeks. Apologies for not responding until it is too late for this year. I have done some experimenting with aging heritage turkeys.
One week to ten days in the refrigerator, uncovered, turned often, makes for a more tender bird — and for better flavor. My refrigerator is just a small under counter refrigerator. No fan. If yours is a more modern refrigerator, as I would assume it will be, with a fan that might dry it out you will just need to monitor for dryness.
What is crucial is that the bird not be wrapped in plastic! If you could control to actually hang the turkey inside your refrigerator, that would be ideal.
Like Liked by 1 person. Apologizes for the the last minute reply. The absolute first rule, the single most important issue here, is that the turkey be a room temperature before you start roasting it. If need be, warm it in a bowl of warm water. You absolutely must have the interior temperature up to room temperature. Next, you should string it up so that you can flip it from time to time for even cooking.
If you need verbal help with this call me at For the fire. You need a very strong fire. That said, for the first hour, anyway, you want to think of yourself as warming up the turkey more than roasting it.
Get the turkey to start increasing in temperature but not browning. I am assuming that the bird is turning on a string that clears the mantle by an inch or two so that when it turns it turns on the edge between the firebox and the hearth extension. In an emergency situation, you can speed up the cooking by putting aluminum foil behind the bird to make a reflector oven.
Not wrapped around the bird. But foil held up on the inside of the fire screen, for example. Reduce temperature to degrees and roast 30 minutes more. Remove cheesecloth. Continue roasting with a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of the thigh avoiding bone until it registers to degrees, about 1 hour 30 minutes more, adding water to pan as needed to prevent scorching if bird is browning too quickly, tent with foil.
Transfer turkey to a platter; let stand 45 minutes. Reserve pan with drippings for gravy. Such a great guide! Love learning about the craft. As with industrial turkeys, chefs and home cooks alike fiercely debate the proper roasting temperature for heritage birds. As epicurious explains, the smaller, longer, leaner-breasted heritage breeds should either roast quickly at a higher temperature or more slowly at a lower temperature.
Fine Cooking suggests that the birds can be brined or you can cook the breast and legs separately, perhaps roasting the breast and then braising the legs. An alternative is a technique called barding — wrapping the breast in bacon or pancetta, oil soaked paper, or spreading butter under the skin to prevent the meat from drying out. Foodprint suggests roasting the turkey legs bone in or braising them.
The key is to not overcook the meat. Speaking of tender, other options include braising in stock, beer, or wine, frying, or sequencing your meat — starting the legs first for a long slow roast in the oven, which is what Cooks Illustrated suggests, then adding the breast to the oven later.
Instead, try inserting sturdy vegetables like carrots or onions into the turkey neck. Heritage Foods , which preserves endangered species of livestock and was founded by Patrick Martins, one of the leaders of Slow Food, has cooking instructions, videos, and recipe blogs in abundance.
Finally, I leave you with a thought-provoking essay by Brian Barth for Modern Farmer about the long history and heritage of turkeys in America and why eating them is an act of celebration.
This in-depth story makes the case for heritage birds and features gorgeous portraits of the different breeds. Good, clean and fair food news sent to your inbox once a month, plus special announcements.
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