Turkey

[EddieAngel 508]

So... I never make turkey for Thanksgiving, my whole family pretty much hates it but we decided to do it this year. I didn't order in time to get a heritage turkey from a reasonable spot, the only place that still had them was charging 165 to ship the bird on top of a cost of 165, so I shut that down. I did end up ordering a Willie Bird free range from Williams Sonoma, hopefully it gets here in a not frozen state.

 

Anyway, I digress, a couple questions:

1. For anyone who has gotten a heritage turkey, is it worth it?

2. The turkey should arrive with a dry brine already, but wondering if there are tips to give it some flavor. It is supposed to arrive the day before Thanksgiving, which is a drag since I won't get a ton of injection time, but it is what it is. Tips for getting some last minute flavor?

3. Recipes for dry brine to or rub for the turkey as well as last minute injection?

 

Cheers

[jessemoore97 1,271]

8 hours ago, EddieAngel said:

So... I never make turkey for Thanksgiving, my whole family pretty much hates it but we decided to do it this year. I didn't order in time to get a heritage turkey from a reasonable spot, the only place that still had them was charging 165 to ship the bird on top of a cost of 165, so I shut that down. I did end up ordering a Willie Bird free range from Williams Sonoma, hopefully it gets here in a not frozen state.

 

Anyway, I digress, a couple questions:

1. For anyone who has gotten a heritage turkey, is it worth it?

2. The turkey should arrive with a dry brine already, but wondering if there are tips to give it some flavor. It is supposed to arrive the day before Thanksgiving, which is a drag since I won't get a ton of injection time, but it is what it is. Tips for getting some last minute flavor?

3. Recipes for dry brine to or rub for the turkey as well as last minute injection?

 

Cheers

Wow that's a pricey turkey.  We get a Butterball turkey every year, week before and thaw it in the fridge.

My wife tried cooking the bird using the bag method many years ago.  It's been our go to method since and makes a very moist turkey.  We usually rub butter over it and season it with a poultry seasoning, not sure the brand, and a bit of Lowry's too.  Pop it in the bag and set the oven timer.

I guess it's nothing fancy, but everyone at our dinner is always complimentary of how moist, tender, and flavourful it turns out.

[Baldy 1,221]

23 hours ago, EddieAngel said:

So... I never make turkey for Thanksgiving, my whole family pretty much hates it but we decided to do it this year. I didn't order in time to get a heritage turkey from a reasonable spot, the only place that still had them was charging 165 to ship the bird on top of a cost of 165, so I shut that down. I did end up ordering a Willie Bird free range from Williams Sonoma, hopefully it gets here in a not frozen state.

 

Anyway, I digress, a couple questions:

1. For anyone who has gotten a heritage turkey, is it worth it?

2. The turkey should arrive with a dry brine already, but wondering if there are tips to give it some flavor. It is supposed to arrive the day before Thanksgiving, which is a drag since I won't get a ton of injection time, but it is what it is. Tips for getting some last minute flavor?

3. Recipes for dry brine to or rub for the turkey as well as last minute injection?

 

Cheers

My wife does all of the prepping and I do the cooking.

Prep: Thaw about one week early, then place in a brining bag with a good brine. The day of, we take it out of the brining bag and stuff it, then put herbed butter over and under the skin, and let it sit about two hours before cooking.

Cook: We used to cook it on our Traeger grill, and it always turned out good, but now we fry it in a large pot in peanut oil. Frying really is the best way to go, because the skin is super crispy, and the turkey is flavorful and juicy.

😋

[jessemoore97 1,271]

[IrishGuy 177]

On 11/14/2023 at 1:17 PM, EddieAngel said:

Anyway, I digress, a couple questions:

1. For anyone who has gotten a heritage turkey, is it worth it?

2. The turkey should arrive with a dry brine already, but wondering if there are tips to give it some flavor. It is supposed to arrive the day before Thanksgiving, which is a drag since I won't get a ton of injection time, but it is what it is. Tips for getting some last minute flavor?

3. Recipes for dry brine to or rub for the turkey as well as last minute injection?

 

Cheers

1) Though it may depend on how you cook it, I don't think it is worth it in my book. I have done it in the past but my family is just as happy with store bought "whatever brand is on sale" turkey.

2) If it is shipped with a dry brine, you are pretty much stuck with that as the predominant seasoning. You could do an injection, but probably want to stick to butter or something that won't compete with the flavor of the dry brine. Typically, meat that is shipped pre-seasoned will have that flavor pretty well distributed throughout the meat. 

3) Depends on the flavors of the brine and how you are cooking it, but using butter and/or drippings collected while baking is a good way to keep it moist and not competing with the seasoning of the brine.

 

4) If the bird arrives frozen, you can do a wet brine to speed up the thaw. Just stick to a very mild brine (like half or quarter the spices) that complements the existing brine.

Edited November 15, 2023 by IrishGuy

[irishwavend 565]

I buy my turkey for like $.50/pound at Publix.  Then, I inject it with a butter garlic creole mix and rub it with butter and cajun seasoning.  Set the oven for 500°F for 30 mins, then reduce to to 350 and cook til done.  It always comes out pretty juicy as long as you don’t put your mom in control of turning down the temperature who subsequently forgets and leaves it at 500…

[IrishGuy 177]

I either smoke or deep fry (depending on the weather). Both methods are pretty much fool proof. I wet brine for at least 3 days and then do a ~24 hour rest uncovered in my fridge.

[EddieAngel 508]

FWIW, the turkey arrived Tuesday and it wasn't pre-brined. It was still quite frozen in the cavity by the time Thursday rolled around and I ended up having to give it a quick dry rub to try and get some flavor. Next year if I do turkey, I will just grab one from a grocery store.

[Baldy 1,221]

44 minutes ago, EddieAngel said:

FWIW, the turkey arrived Tuesday and it wasn't pre-brined. It was still quite frozen in the cavity by the time Thursday rolled around and I ended up having to give it a quick dry rub to try and get some flavor. Next year if I do turkey, I will just grab one from a grocery store.

Oh, man. That stinks! But yeah, definitely get it from the store yourself so you can stay thawing early and then brine 24 hours prior!