By Tonia Moxley
The Roanoke Times
December 03, 2006
Two years in a row I have cursed the Thanksgiving turkey in the kitchen and served it with big helpings of apology to my guests.
Last year I sliced into a perfectly browned thigh only to find alarmingly pink meat staring back. Poking around, I found the giblets package, steaming and bloody, still inside the turkey. How could I have forgotten that?
I don’t recommend once-baked, twice-microwaved turkey. But that’s what I had to do to keep from poisoning my family and friends.
So I really worked over the Thanksgiving bird this year in hopes of success. I read everything I could on poultry roasting.
Going on the premise that the secret to good roasted poultry is picking a well-raised, flavorful bird, I had hoped to buy a locally-raised turkey from a nearby farm.
But one after another, the poultry farmers shook their heads. Customers started reserving their holiday birds back in the summer and there were none left.
So I went for the next best thing, a frozen organic turkey from California, recommend by Kristy Korb of Oregon Tilth Inc., a federally accredited organic certification company.
Until they are slaughtered for the table, these turkeys lead happy lives outdoors, eat an organic diet and are not injected with hormones or antibiotic treatments as per federal regulations, Korb said.
I thawed and brined and even air-dried my organic bird. On Julia Child’s advice I blanched bacon slices and nestled them under the skin of the breast. The theory goes that the melting fat would baste the meat, keeping it juicy and tender.
I filled the cavity with aromatics — lemon slices, crushed fresh garlic and shallots. Then I massaged olive oil into the skin and laid on the salt and freshly ground pepper.
But little good it did me.
Determined not to undercook this year’s bird, I overestimated the roasting time and it came out dry. All the gravy in the boat couldn’t make it tender or juicy.
Piper Durrell of Blacksburg bought her “all natural” turkey from Indigo Farms, a local seafood and meat retailer. Besides a burn on her hand and a lot of leftovers, the bird turned out perfectly, Durrell said.
And next time she needs a turkey, she’ll buy organic, despite its relatively high cost of $3 to $4 a pound compared to less than $2 for a supermarket brand.
So don’t give up if your Thanksgiving turkey fell short of expectations. You’ve got another chance this year to make it right — with a Christmas turkey.
But not me. I’m switching to a Yuletide beef roast.
Graphic: All about turkey
-Americans eat 22 million turkeys each Christmas and 45 million each Thanksgiving.
-United States turkey growers will produce an estimated 266.5 million turkeys in 2006. Most will be the industrialized broad-breasted white breed.
-Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and California were the leading turkey-producing states in 2005.
-American Indians hunted wild turkeys as early as 1000 A.D. and used the feathers to make arrows and adorn their ceremonial dress.
-The most popular ways to serve leftover turkey are as a sandwich or in stew, chili, soup or casseroles.
-In the United Kingdom, 87 percent of people eat roast turkey for Christmas. But Israelis eat the most turkeys — 28 pounds per person.
SOURCES: University of Illinois Agricultural Extension Web site and the Heritage Turkey Foundation
Graphic: Deciphering the labels
“100 percent organic”
No synthetic ingredients are allowed, production processes must meet federal organic standards and compliance must be independently verified by accredited inspectors.
“Organic”
At least 95 percent of ingredients are organically produced. The remainder can be non-organic or synthetic ingredients.
“Made with organic ingredients”
At least 70 percent of ingredients are organic. The remaining 30 percent must come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approved list.
“Free-range” or “free-roaming”
U.S. government standards allow producers whose animals spend only a few minutes per day outdoors to use this label.
“Natural” or “all-natural”
In poultry, this label means no artificial flavoring, colors, chemical preservatives or synthetic ingredients were used. But the producers are not inspected and the claims are not verified.
“Heritage”
Breeds of turkeys recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1874, including the standard bronze, bourbon red, Narragansett, Jersey buff, slate, black Spanish, white Holland and others.
SOURCES: Consumer Reports magazine and the Heritage Turkey Foundation
Graphic: Traditional turkey how-to
Equipment
-5-gallon bucket for brining
-Instant-read meat thermometer
-Roasting pan
-Nonstick V-rack
-Oven thermometer
-10-inch or longer carving knife
Resources: cooking.com, amazon.com or gourmet food stores and upscale department stores.
Buying
To calculate the size of turkey needed, estimate about 1 pound for each guest. This way you get lots of turkey sandwiches, too.
Locally farmed turkeys are preferable, but few are available after Thanksgiving, especially in the New River Valley. Try your luck at www.eatwellguide.org, www.localharvest.org or www.slowfoodusa.org.
Frozen organic or free-range turkeys for Christmas will be available through Annie Kay’s Main Street Market in Radford and Blacksburg, Eats in Blacksburg and Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op. Indigo Farms of Floyd will have all-natural turkeys.
In a pinch, the supermarket standby Butterball “plump and juicy” is also a good choice. It should not be brined but benefits from air drying (see below).
Thawing
Allow about 24 hours thawing time in the refrigerator for every 5 pounds of turkey. Speed up the process by placing the turkey in a bucket of cold water (it should still be refrigerated). When thawed, unwrap the bird and rinse under cold water.
Brining
Unused 5-gallon buckets are available at hardware stores and home centers. Sterilize the bucket by washing it in a weak bleach solution and rinsing well, then fill with a mix of 1.5 cups table salt and 3 gallons of water. Submerge bird in the liquid and place in the refrigerator for 6 to 12 hours. Remove the turkey, rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
Air drying
Set the unwrapped turkey on a baking sheet lined with a cooling or roasting rack and let dry overnight in the refrigerator to ensure crispy, browned skin.
Stuffing
The turkey cavity can be filled with bread or other stuffing immediately before cooking (but not ahead of time). If you just want to flavor the bird, stuff it with lemon slices, crushed garlic cloves or other aromatic herbs.
Cooking
Preheat oven to 325 degrees, using an oven thermometer (ovens can vary in temperature by 50 or more degrees). Set the turkey breast-side down in a nonstick V-rack set in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Allow 15 minutes per pound to cook an unstuffed turkey; 20-25 minutes for a stuffed bird. Halfway through roasting, flip the bird breast-side up. This flipping helps the meat cook more evenly. It’s done when thickest part of the breast reaches 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Thickest part of thigh should register 165 degrees. Stuffing should get to 160 degrees.
Carving
Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving to allow the meat to reabsorb juices. Use a 10-inch or longer carving knife (the blade should have a rounded tip). For detailed slicing instructions, see Julia Child’s “The Way to Cook,” the “America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook” or any of a number of cooking Web sites.
SOURCES: Julia Child’s The Way to Cook, Cooks Illustrated magazine and Tonia Moxley
Copyright The Roanoke Times 2006
Tags: Christmas, cooking, Food, organic, Thanksgiving, Turkey