Comments on: Turkey – A Vehicle for Bacon http://bacontarian.com/?p=49 bacontarian - a person who supplements an otherwise normal diet with large amounts of pork! Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:43:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Mark http://bacontarian.com/?p=49&cpage=1#comment-255 Mark Tue, 03 Jan 2006 18:21:27 +0000 http://bacontarian.com/?p=49#comment-255 <p>Nice looking bird!</p> <p>I've never heard of brining a turkey before cooking it, though and I've been eating Christmas turkey for 40 years, and cooking them myself for the past 10 years. Even my Mother-in-Law asks me advice on the subject now, though I had one cock-up when we moved to a new house and I didn't give the bird a chance to come to room temperature overnight, so we didn't eat until about 6pm.</p> <p>Here's what I do now, after combining advice from Delia Smith and Nick Rhodes: Make sure the bird is cleaned out, dry and at room temperature early on the morning of cooking (ie, sort it out the evening before and leave it covered in the kitchen. Lay two large strips of foil in an cross on the roasting tin and place the bird on top. The next bit's not for the squeamish, but can be oddly satisfying. ;-) Force your fingers up under the skin of the breasts, going in from the flap where the neck was. The skin will come away from the meat, but be careful not to break through (it's pretty tough, so no need to be too gentle). Into this space use your fingers to spread a load of room temperature butter so that it covers the breasts. This butter will help keep the meat moist for serving. If you're going to put stuffing inside the cavity, now's the time to do it, and you can also put some under the flap of skin at the neck end (not too tightly packed, to allow room for expansion). Spread a load more butter over the exposed skin, including the legs. Coat the whole bird in a pattern of overlapping streaky bacon as you've done, allowing that the bacon will shrink. This stops the skin from burning while it cooks and gives more fat to aid moistness. Seal up the foil so it's not touching the turkey and bang it in the pre-heated oven. Cook at about 200 degrees for 30 mins to get it up to temperature, then drop it to 170 degrees for 3-4 hours depending on size. Uncover and cook at 200 for 45 mins, basting every 10 min until the skin's nicely crisp and brown (take the bacon to one side for this). Allow the bird to rest for 30 mins before serving, giving you time to take off the fat and use the juices for gravy.</p> <p>You want the recipe for chestnut and bacon stuffing? Ask nicely. ;-)</p> <p>cheers, Mark, loving bacon since birth.</p> Nice looking bird!

I’ve never heard of brining a turkey before cooking it, though and I’ve been eating Christmas turkey for 40 years, and cooking them myself for the past 10 years. Even my Mother-in-Law asks me advice on the subject now, though I had one cock-up when we moved to a new house and I didn’t give the bird a chance to come to room temperature overnight, so we didn’t eat until about 6pm.

Here’s what I do now, after combining advice from Delia Smith and Nick Rhodes: Make sure the bird is cleaned out, dry and at room temperature early on the morning of cooking (ie, sort it out the evening before and leave it covered in the kitchen. Lay two large strips of foil in an cross on the roasting tin and place the bird on top. The next bit’s not for the squeamish, but can be oddly satisfying. ;-) Force your fingers up under the skin of the breasts, going in from the flap where the neck was. The skin will come away from the meat, but be careful not to break through (it’s pretty tough, so no need to be too gentle). Into this space use your fingers to spread a load of room temperature butter so that it covers the breasts. This butter will help keep the meat moist for serving. If you’re going to put stuffing inside the cavity, now’s the time to do it, and you can also put some under the flap of skin at the neck end (not too tightly packed, to allow room for expansion). Spread a load more butter over the exposed skin, including the legs. Coat the whole bird in a pattern of overlapping streaky bacon as you’ve done, allowing that the bacon will shrink. This stops the skin from burning while it cooks and gives more fat to aid moistness. Seal up the foil so it’s not touching the turkey and bang it in the pre-heated oven. Cook at about 200 degrees for 30 mins to get it up to temperature, then drop it to 170 degrees for 3-4 hours depending on size. Uncover and cook at 200 for 45 mins, basting every 10 min until the skin’s nicely crisp and brown (take the bacon to one side for this). Allow the bird to rest for 30 mins before serving, giving you time to take off the fat and use the juices for gravy.

You want the recipe for chestnut and bacon stuffing? Ask nicely. ;-)

cheers, Mark, loving bacon since birth.

]]> By: dug http://bacontarian.com/?p=49&cpage=1#comment-254 dug Sat, 10 Dec 2005 04:50:42 +0000 http://bacontarian.com/?p=49#comment-254 <p>I have cited this post enought times without saying it; Well done! This year I cooked an "American Bronze" heritage turkey. There was more leg, thigh and back meat and less breast meat that a "traditional" big breasted white turkey. It was a better turkey than any others I've cooked. The only pork I managed to get out of it was the two pounds of hot italian sausage that went into the split pea soup that was made with the turkey stock, which will certainly change after reading this post!</p> <p>Thanks,</p> <p>-- Douglas Hunter</p> I have cited this post enought times without saying it; Well done! This year I cooked an “American Bronze” heritage turkey. There was more leg, thigh and back meat and less breast meat that a “traditional” big breasted white turkey. It was a better turkey than any others I’ve cooked. The only pork I managed to get out of it was the two pounds of hot italian sausage that went into the split pea soup that was made with the turkey stock, which will certainly change after reading this post!

Thanks,

– Douglas Hunter

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