How to handle fresh turkey

[Doodad]

I was able to get in on some free range special turkeys here and am looking forward to it. I plan on brining at least several hours and cooking on the traditional day. It is a 10-14 pound turkey.

That said, the turkeys are being slaughtered this week and will arrive Thursday. I pick up on Friday. What to do in the meantime? I have never had or cooked fresh turkey.

I am thinking that I should put it in the freezer Friday night and remove Monday morning. By Tuesday it will be mostly thawed and brine can be done on Wed with an air dry. What do you think?

Do I have to freeze? That is my biggest worry.

Thanks.

[Dave Hatfield]

Would not bother with brining; a few hours ain't going to do much. Besides with a 'real' turkey brining is redundant.

Do you have a cold place (less than 45 degrees) where you can hang the bird? If so so that as a few days aging won't hurt the bird at all.

If not keep it in the fridge, I wouldn't t freeze it.

I'm lucky, I'm picking mine up from the vineyard on Tuesday.

I do, however, have to start brining my fresh ham.

[Doodad]

Would not bother with brining; a few hours ain't going to do much. Besides with a 'real' turkey brining is redundant.

Do you have a cold place (less than 45 degrees) where you can hang the bird? If so so that as a few days aging won't hurt the bird at all.

If not keep it in the fridge, I wouldn't t freeze it.

I'm lucky, I'm picking mine up from the vineyard on Tuesday.

I do, however, have to start brining my fresh ham.

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Thanks for the reply. I have a spare fridge with a thermocouple controller that I can set. (My lagering fridge). What temp should I hold at and how to hang?

Really no brining for flavor? I was going to do cider and junipers and such. I was thinking for about 8 hours if possible, but don't want to waste time or good food.

[tim]

Doodad,

You should hold the bird at 37 degrees or a little lower.

I would definitely brine a free-range turkey, not for flavor but to increase moisture in the breast and protect the breast meat from drying out during your roast. I would also roast breast down for the first hour for the same reason.

Good luck,

Tim

[plk]

I brine the fresh turkey we get every year. It sits in the brine for about 8 hours, then gets washed off, patted dry, and air-dried in the fridge for 24 hours. So if you wanted to do something like that, your timing would be great if you picked up the turkey on Tuesday.

[Doodad]

I brine the fresh turkey we get every year. It sits in the brine for about 8 hours, then gets washed off, patted dry, and air-dried in the fridge for 24 hours. So if you wanted to do something like that, your timing would be great if you picked up the turkey on Tuesday.

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I have to get it Friday.

[Dave Hatfield]

Chaque un a son goût. As they say in France. Brine by all means if you like. My preference is otherwise, but ..... to each his own taste.

I would highly recommend deconstructing your turkey. Julia Child gives recipes in several of her books.

I did find this link which I don't think is a very good description, but sort of gives the idea.

here it is.

I also usually buy a couple of extra leg - thighs as we never seem to have enough dark meat. I bone stuff these.

If I have time I'll do a photo recipe for my blog on this. Too late for TG, but maybe useful for x-mas.

[Doodad]

Chaque un a son goût. As they say in France. Brine by all means if you like. My preference is otherwise, but ..... to each his own taste.

I would highly recommend deconstructing your turkey. Julia Child gives recipes in several of her books.

I did find this link which I don't think is a very good description, but sort of gives the idea.

here it is.

I also usually buy a couple of extra leg - thighs as we never seem to have enough dark meat. I bone stuff these.

If I have time I'll do a photo recipe for my blog on this. Too late for TG, but maybe useful for x-mas.

←

I don't have a son and my daughter does not have gout either.

I am torn. I wanted to brine and felt I should as an added measure in keeping it so long before cooking. But, the other part of me wants to have the bird unadulterated as I have never had fresh. Decisions decisions.

Maybe deconstruction is the way to go. I don't stuff so I could do both ways and compare. I will read the how to you provided, thanks.

[KitchenMom]

I had a similar question, if you dn't mind my piggybacking. I am getting my fresh turkey Wednesday evening before T-day. I was wondering if it was worth brining overnight and drying it off in the morning.

Would you do it, or leave it as is?

Thanks!

[Doodad]

I had a similar question, if you dn't mind my piggybacking.  I am getting my fresh turkey Wednesday evening before T-day.  I was wondering if it was worth brining overnight and drying it off in the morning.

Would you do it, or leave it as is?

Thanks!

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C'mon in Mom. More the merrier.

[plk]

I had a similar question, if you dn't mind my piggybacking.  I am getting my fresh turkey Wednesday evening before T-day.  I was wondering if it was worth brining overnight and drying it off in the morning.

Would you do it, or leave it as is?

Thanks!

←

I've heard of people short on time even drying out the turkey skin with a hair dryer, so you could certainly try it. I'd personally prioritize the moistness of the meat (in favor of brining) over the crispiness of the skin anyway, but I think it comes down to preference in the end. The skin will certainly dry out in the oven no matter what, or at least that's been my experience.

[budrichard]

My turkey will be slaughtered and processed while I wait the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Turkey's require no 'hanging' and unless you have the experience and facility for this sort of thing, you could get some unwanted pathogens. Anyway totally not needed even for a wild turkey.

Fresh turkeys also don't need to be brined as they have not been frozen and subjected to chemical adulteration.

Keep it simple, just cook the thing!-Dick

[sammifloater]

i am going to try brining this year-is overnight sufficient?

also re: liquids..

cider sounds good... i dont like citrus....lemons ok, oranges no...

any suggestions?

thank you

Edited November 18, 2007 by sammifloater (log)

[annecros]

Overnight is fine. I think you will be pleased with the results - it does do something very nice for the flesh. I'm not big on citrus either, so I go with cider, ginger and onion. Thyme and Sage.

I'm a skin person, so the only time I brine is for smoked turkey. Roast Turkey I presalt and leave open in the fridge overnight, then go cheesecloth and butter the first two or three hours.

[karen m]

I also picked up a free range 11 pound turkey from a farm in Indiana.

I rinsed it and double bagged and it's in a cold spot in the fridge.

The turkey is not fat. I plan on brining the night before then air dry it.

I saw Martha Stewart place a butter soaked cheese cloth on top of her turkey. While cooking. I may do that too.

My BIG question is ... this turkey still has some dark spots under the skin.

they are Quill tips. Looks like I will need to needle and tweezer these specks out.

I tried to squeeze out, and a black mucky stuff comes out. I hope the brining will bleach out some of these speck.

Any body out there ever have such a fresh farm turkey still with quill tips?

Any suggestions?

[sammifloater]

Overnight is fine. I think you will be pleased with the results - it does do something very nice for the flesh. I'm not big on citrus either, so I go with cider, ginger and onion. Thyme and Sage.

I'm a skin person, so the only time I brine is for smoked turkey. Roast Turkey I presalt and leave open in the fridge overnight, then go cheesecloth and butter the first two or three hours.

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hi anne

you mean presalt in and out? kosher salt or does it matter

do you put butter under the skin or put cheesecloth over the top brushed with butter?

i am roasting so may i shouldnt brine

thanks for the answers e1

s

[sammifloater]

Any body out there ever have such a fresh farm turkey still with quill tips?

Any suggestions?

←

no but i have had turkeys with feathers still stuck in the wings etc

from an old farmin gbook (i used to love to read them) singe the spots with a match or lighter

if they stay that is part of the charm of having a "REAL" turkey

s

[Abra]

karenm, does your turkey look like this? The spottiness of mine is weird, but I don't think it's directly related to quills. I've brined tor so many years that it seems weird not to, but I think this time I'm going to use a ton of herb butter, and/or maybe lay some bacon strips over the breast. My turkey seems to have very little fat as well, although the breast feels tender and nice.

[Dave Hatfield]

karenm, does your turkey look like this? The spottiness of mine is weird, but I don't think it's directly related to quills.  I've brined tor so many years that it seems weird not to, but I think this time I'm going to use a ton of herb butter, and/or maybe lay some bacon strips over the breast.  My turkey seems to have very little fat as well, although the breast feels tender and nice.

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Yes, that's a pretty typical looking French free range turkey.

Doesn't need brining or much of everything else.

You might want to look at deconstructing, works a treat with French (well, all) turkeys. Will help with your pan problem as well.

Illustrated instructions on my blog. Address below.Happy Thanksgiving.

[Jmahl]

For the last few years I have been brining - 2 cups kosher salt overnight - rinsed well and allowed to drain and dry. As mentioned above, I have followed Martha Stewart's recipe for Turkey 101. Covering with cheesecloth soaked in white wine and butter. for the first 2-3 hrs. Works great - some years we did not have cheesecloth so an old T-Shirt was sacrificed for the bird. I hope Martha is not offended - but we call it Marth's T-Shirt Turkey.

My experience is that brining works. I started brining in 1999 when you never heard about it. It is hot now - and it works.

Happy Turkey to all,

Jmahl

[Dave Hatfield]

For the last few years I have been brining - 2 cups kosher salt overnight - rinsed well and allowed to drain and dry.  As mentioned above, I have followed Martha Stewart's recipe for Turkey 101.  Covering with cheesecloth soaked in white wine and butter.  for the first 2-3 hrs. Works great - some years we did not have cheesecloth so an old T-Shirt was sacrificed for the bird.  I hope Martha is not offended - but we call it Marth's T-Shirt Turkey.

My experience is that brining works.  I started brining in 1999 when you never heard about it.  It is hot now - and it works.

Happy Turkey to all,

Jmahl

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I have nothing against brining and brining is not incompatible with deconstruction. Its just that my experience with a really good true free range turkey (I guess in the states these days they would be called 'heritage' or 'heirloom' turkeys) is that brining is just not necessary. Why complicate life with an extra step.

As you'll see on my blog later today when I post deconstructing has a triple advantage.

- You cook the white meat & the dark meat for their appropriate times so that each is done perfectly.

- You shorten the roasting time. My bird yesterday was 2 hours & 15 minutes start to finish. And that was starting from cold as I forgot to take the bird out of the fridge a couple of hours before putting it in the oven.

- Carving is much easier. Yesterday several people asked how I got the perfect little fillets of dark meat. It was easy because without a bone the leg/thigh just slices easily. Taking the whole breast off the carcass then carving also makes it easy to get nice white meat slices. Carving up the whole bird (including the two extra leg/thighs) for 16 people only took 10 minutes.

Christmas is coming! Try it.

[annecros]

Overnight is fine. I think you will be pleased with the results - it does do something very nice for the flesh. I'm not big on citrus either, so I go with cider, ginger and onion. Thyme and Sage.

I'm a skin person, so the only time I brine is for smoked turkey. Roast Turkey I presalt and leave open in the fridge overnight, then go cheesecloth and butter the first two or three hours.

←

hi anne

you mean presalt in and out? kosher salt or does it matter

do you put butter under the skin or put cheesecloth over the top brushed with butter?

i am roasting so may i shouldnt brine

thanks for the answers e1

s

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Sorry I am getting to this so late. It was a big day here, and I am still a bit shell shocked!

I use Kosher salt regularly anymore. Once we got used to it, the Iodized table salt bothered my husband and myself. Just a light rubbing, then when you prepare the turkey for roasting, be sure to wipe of the excess.

I also use the Martha Stewart method of melting the butter, then soaking up the melted butter with the cheesecloth then laying it on the top of the turkey covering anything on top that is exposed. Keep it moist with basting, pull it to brown the skin for the last hour. The wine goes into me, not the turkey, but I do add turkey stock if I need more liquid. I also chop fresh herbs that get laid on the breast before the cheesecloth goes down.

Hope everything came out well for you, be sure to report back!

[Doodad]

Guys and gals,

The turkey was a huge success. I will never cook a frozen bird again if I can help it. It was the most tender and flavorful I have ever had. I made stock all day yesterday from the remains after deboning the bird. Thanks to all of you for holding my hand through the process.

And I made green bean casserole completely from scratch including the "cream of mushroom soup" and fried onions. But, I forgot to write it down I was too busy multitasking and had made it up on the spot. I don't know if I can recreate it or not.