4 replies to this topic

[melkor]

There are limited options when it comes to the humble thanksgiving turkey - one which never comes up is confit. Is it possible to safely confit a turkey? Obviously you would need an almost absurd quantity of poultry fat, but I suspect a few gallons of duck fat wouldn't do the old bird any harm. I'm less concerned with the stupidity of this concept from a culinary standpoint than I am with the potential food safety issues. It would take quite a long time for the bird to reach 140*F and I'm not all that excited about poisoning the people we are sharing our thanksgiving dinner with. Are we safe to attempt this? Is there anything specific we should be worried about with a bird this size?

[mike_r]

oddly enough this is something i was thinking about for thanksgiving as well ...exactly because no one ever mentions it. i would assume that you could cook it long enough to reach 140, but would the amount of time that would take damage the bones? or impart a strange flavor to the meat? ...

(sorry to bust in on your question, melkor! )

[Harold McGee]

Interesting idea! I think your safety concerns are important. You don’t want the meat surface and its bacteria to spend a lot of time at warm bacteria-friendly temperatures. I would modify the procedure to surface-pasteurize the turkey quickly at the beginning, so that you can then cook it through in the usual gentle way. One way would be to preheat the oil alone, or heat oil and turkey very quickly, to 180 or higher; then take the pot off the heat and either ice it or add cool oil to bring the temperature back down, and proceed with gradual heating.

If you try it, please let us know how it turns out!

[melkor]

Thanks much. We will likely give it a try, I'll report back after thanksgiving.

[bleachboy]

I am intrigued as well! Please do report back! What could me more delicious over the holidays than roast turkey? Why, turkey preserved in four gallons of duck fat, of course!!