Anything Special With A Free Range Organic Turkey?

16 years ago

This year I ordered a free range organic turkey. Is there anything special I need to do with it?--special basting?, etc.

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

beanthere_dunthat
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
If it were me -- and it has not already had any solution added to it -- I'd brine it.
annie1992
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I agree, Renee, I brine the turkeys I get from the Amish, they stay flavorful and moist. The brine is simple, just salt, brown sugar, water.

Brining a treated bird is useless, they are already injected full of salt solution and additives and brining doesn't help it, IMO.

Annie

Annie
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Thanksgiving is the only day we eat turkey. The rest of the time, give me a roast capon or a duck prepared almost any way at all. DH and I are just not turkey lovers. My niece makes a very fine brined and roasted turkey, but once a year is enough for us. We're sauce and gravy people. Stews, braises, casseroles - we love them. I do a fair amount of cooking and a lot of dining out, and we hold that a fine sauce is a work of art. Even though we eat a lot of steaks and roasts, a great sauce is always to be admired. There are too many bad ones around to not acknowledge when something is done correctly. One of our favorite restaurants does a great poached monkfish. This is the fish known as "the poor man's lobster" for both its taste and texture. It's a great little fish, with wonderful flavor. But nap it with Amoricaine sauce, and it rises to a whole 'nother level. This is a Bretonnese classic, and for good reason. Red wine and marrow Bordelaise on a rib-eye? Absolutely! Black truffle cream sauce on a filet? Yum! Mop that goodness up with a well made starch - roasted fingerling potatoes, barley risotto, fresh pasta, freshly baked bread rolls. Gravy and sauce was the way to extend meat to feed a lot of people. Most of the world still loves sauced dishes as treasured childhood memories. Like soup, they are warmth and comfort, soothing and homey. Chicken strips that are velveted and steamed with lop cheong sausage (classic Chinese technique) are stunningly tender, almost as soft as sous vide but we like the flavor and texture better. Perfect with a roasted garlic-oyster sauce gravy over lots of rice! Far better than stir-frying or roasting. As Charles Phan of The Slanted Door restaurant in SF points out in today's WSJournal, steaming is considered the ultimate test of a professional chef in Asia. Getting back to the NY Times' and Pepin's suggestions for steaming, one of the greatest dishes in Chinese cuisine is steamed sliced chicken breast with thin slices of Hunan ham. My mother introduced me to this dish (she took classes from one of the leading Chinese restaurateurs in San Francisco) and it still ranks with DH and me as one of the three finest poultry dishes we've had in our 45 yrs of dining. A glaze should always be light. Heavy-handedness is the mark of a bad cook. Peking Duck would not be the same without the glaze applied, for example.
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User
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I'd pre-salt it. Similar results as brining but without the hassle of water.

Ann
lpinkmountain
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
This post makes me nostalgic for my very first CF post about six years ago. I was making a TURKEY for the first time for my family (being a vegetarian but finally deciding to bite the bullet and make turkey to make everyone happy) and also doing an organic free range bird which I was afraid would be dry owning to NOT being injected and also not being "fattened up" so to speak. Well let me tell you, that was the best turkey we ever had! And I did nothing out of the ordinary. One of the main reasons it was so good, IMHO, is because it was relatively small, (12 lbs for my family of four at the time), so I didn't have the trouble of the different types of meat getting done at different times like you might with a turkey with a hugely inflated breast. We also liked the nice mix of dark and white meat. And the meat as a whole is just so much more flavorful.
Brine if you like brining, but I can't be bothered. I just salt and pepper lightly inside and out, stuff lightly with onion, apple and fresh or dried herbs, (apples instead of celery for super picky dad. Use more fresh herbs than dry, so if you're going to use dry, cut the herb measures by 1/2 to 1/3 if using dried herbs, depending on how touchy your family is about herb tastes, lol!), raise up with a roasting rack OR use a line of carrots for ease and flavor. I used the half high heat half regular heat method, although either one seperately will work too. I tend to be kind of Buddhist so I was seeking the middle way.
:)

Here's the recipe. I don't start breast down and flip. It might make a SLIGHT difference, but to me not worth the trouble. Also I didn't baste it nears as much as the recipe says. I only basted the last hour. You may have to tent the bird with aluminum foil if you find the wing tips browning too much or too fast.

Herbes de Provence Roast Turkey
Serves 12.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 fresh or thawed frozen turkey, about 16 lb. (Adjust roasting time for smaller birds)
1 yellow onion, quartered
2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch lengths
3 or 4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
2 to 3 Tbs. herbes de Provence
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 to 6 Tbs. (1/2 to 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Let the turkey stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Do not leave the turkey at room temperature longer than 1 hour.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 425F.

Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey and reserve for making gravy, if desired. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the onion, celery, parsley and 1 Tbs. of the herbes de Provence in the body cavity, and season with salt and pepper. If desired, truss the turkey with kitchen twine. Brush the turkey with some of the melted butter. Sprinkle with the remaining herbes de Provence and season with salt and pepper.

Place the turkey, breast side down, on a buttered roasting rack in a large roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes, basting with some of the remaining butter after 15 minutes. Using 2 pairs of tongs or heat-resistant kitchen gloves or mitts, turn the turkey breast side up and reduce the oven temperature to 325Â°F. Continue roasting, basting with the remaining butter and pan juices every 15 to 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, away from the bone, registers 165Â°F, and into the thigh, 175Â°F. Total roasting time should be 3 to 3 3/4 hours. (LESS for a smaller bird).

Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for about 20 minutes before carving.

Here's a link to the recipe I used as a guideline. There are a TON of great recipes on the Williams and Sonoma Web site. I use it every year at the holidays and it has never steered me wrong.
stacy3
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I am doing a small one just for us as we are going to my aunt's for dinner....and I am pre-salting. The last time I did it - the result was amazing.
Terri_PacNW
16 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I have a free range on order too...I'm presalting...and high heating..

Anything Special With A Free Range Organic Turkey?

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beanthere_dunthat

annie1992

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