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Reheating/re-serving whole turkey


Obese-Wan Kenobi

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Hi,

These holidays, we had so much food I didn't know what to do. Then the kicker, a whole turkey as a gift! I should be grateful and I am, but I don't know what to do with it.

It's been in the fridge since Jan 4, it's cooked. I plan to serve it Jan 11. How do you suggest I prepare/reheat it without it being dry as paper and/or as hard as a rock? :)

Best regards and Happy New Year!

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I tried to save time one holiday by reheating a turkey I had cooked ahead of time. It must not have saved much time because I never did it again. Anyway, I used one of those cook-in oven bags. Keeps the moisture in and the turkey ended up nice and moist. I probably used about 300-325 degrees for the oven temp. Since it's already cooked, I'd go more for 'taking the chill off' the turkey, or getting it fairly warm, rather than trying to get it piping hot.

"Fat is money." (Per a cracklings maker shown on Dirty Jobs.)
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Hi,

These holidays, we had so much food I didn't know what to do.  Then the kicker, a whole turkey as a gift!  I should be grateful and I am, but I don't know what to do with it.

It's been in the fridge since Jan 4, it's cooked.  I plan to serve it Jan 11.  How do you suggest I prepare/reheat it without it being dry as paper and/or as hard as a rock? :)

Best regards and Happy New Year!

Is it stuffed?

If so you may have to toss it. I'd be a little leary of serving it anyway. 8 days is a long time for fowl to be sitting around.

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Let's say there was no safety issue - it was cooked yesterday and you wanted to serve it tomorrow - this is what I would do:

Carve the bird. Slice it up and place the slices in a pan, covered with either the natural juices or some turkey of chicken stock if there are no juices. Cover with foil, and warm in a 300-325 oven until hot. Keeps it nice and moist.

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Its cooked, its chilled. I'd eat it if I felt it had been promptly stored after cooking.

Although you might not want to serve any portions in direct contact with a metal surface. That's plenty of time for amino acids to eat the metal and make a funny tasting mouthful.

You could warm it gently for a short time to bring the surface temp up to ~ room temp, then serve it cold. As its sliced, the new surface will warm up a bit. Since the center will be cold longest, not much is gonna grow.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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Carve the bird.  Slice it up and place the slices in a pan, covered with either the natural juices or some turkey of chicken stock if there are no juices.  Cover with foil, and warm in a 300-325 oven until hot.  Keeps it nice and moist.

Would also suggest using a few small pans, rather than one large one. The heating time will be faster, and so therefore less risk of drying out.

But if the bird was stuffed and stored that way... I wouldn't serve it. The chances of the inside having cooles fast enough, especially in a home fridge, are remote.

Karen Dar Woon

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Yeah, I think it's been hanging around too long. My re-heating suggestion is for a turkey that's been cooked a day or 2 in advance. A week in the fridge is a long time. If it was frozen, that would be a different story.

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lcdm: how was it wrapped? If it's gas-flushed and or/cryovaked it would have a longer shelf-life than one cooked in a home.

Especially if it's filled with nitrites.

I don't know how it's wrapped - the outer layer is foil w/netting. I'm assuming it's cryovaced under the foil (similar to a spiral cut ham).

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So, is it from a source like Hickory Farms, Neuske's, etc. or from a friend's kitchen? If it's from a consumer source, it should have a USE BY date on it, in which case, that's what you should use as your guide.

If, however, a friend cooked it in a home kitchen, I wouldn't be eating it more than 2 or 3 days after it was cooked.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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Yeah, I think it's been hanging around too long.  My re-heating suggestion is for a turkey that's been cooked a day or 2 in advance. A week in the fridge is a long time.  If it was frozen, that would be a different story.

Well, here's a report: :)

It turned out so well. It was a potluck party and it was the first dish that was finished in 60 minutes!

I carved it up from the frig. And reheated it with fat trimmings from my rib roast and bacon. Served it with hot gravy.

The crowd loved it! Thanks! Phew!...

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