How to Cook Your Heritage Turkey
IF YOU’VE EVER COOKED A HERITAGE-BREED TURKEY, you probably noticed that it’s a bit different from cooking a large Broad Breasted bird (think Butterball). Generally, heritage turkeys are smaller, leaner and with proportionately less breast meat. We’ve also noticed that they are a somewhat different shape; they are more elongated compared to the Butterball types, with longer legs, which can make it a challenge to find a roasting pan to fit the bird.
I won’t go into the question of stuffing here, but I do want to talk about brining, which in my experience makes a noticeable difference in the roasting process. Here is an explanation for this, from the wonderful book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing (see Appendix B):
Brines, more so than dry cures, are an excellent way to impart seasoning and aromatic flavors. A brine penetrates a chicken or pork loin rapidly and completely, bringing with it any flavors you might have added to the salty solution [garlic, onion, tarragon, pepper]. Chefs often use brines for pork, chicken and turkey, the three types of meat that benefit most from brining, because they result in a uniformly juicy loin or bird that’s perfectly seasoned every time.
Roasting a brined chicken or turkey and hitting at just the right point of doneness is easier than with an unbrined [turkey]. You can actually overcook it, in fact, and it can be juicier than a perfectly cooked bird that wasn’t brined. The brine seems to allow the breast to withstand the high temperature while the slowpoke legs and thighs continue to cook.
Important note: You’ll need to plan ahead if you’re going to brine your turkey. In addition to the actual brining time, allow extra time for chilling the brine before putting the turkey in the brining pot. Also, once the bird is removed from the brine, it needs to “rest” in order for the salt to equalize through the meat; allow a resting time of about the same as the brining time for best results. (Extra rest time doesn’t hurt anything; it’s better to have it rest longer than to shorten the rest time.)
Sound complicated? It’s not, really. Here’s how it usually shakes out, if you’re planning for Thanksgiving: Make the brine on Monday and chill it overnight. Put the turkey in the brine on Tuesday and leave it overnight. Remove the turkey from the brine Wednesday morning, pat it dry with paper towels, then let rest until you’re ready to roast it on Thursday.
Brine for Turkey
1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
½ cup sugar
Seasonings (I like to use celery, onion, garlic, parsley, carrot, peppercorns, tarragon, thyme and lemon zest)
Bring all ingredients to a simmer in a large pot, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Remove from heat and chill.
You may need to double this recipe, depending on the size of the turkey and the container you use for brining.
If your turkey is on the smallish side, you can use a large stockpot for brining. A six-gallon food-grade bucket with lid also works well. This time of year on the farm, it is cold enough outside to keep the brining pot outside, so I usually plan to put the turkey in the brine before we go to bed. It stays good and cold and is ready to remove from the brine in the morning.
An important point on brining: The turkey needs to be kept completely submerged in the brine. This can be done a number of ways, depending on how big your brining container is. When using a stockpot, I put a plate inside the pot on top of the bird. Then I weight it down, either with a gallon-size Ziploc bag or a clean Mason jar filled with brine and tightly closed. If you have a very large turkey, you’ll have to experiment to find the right amount of weight to keep it submerged.
Which brings me to the amount of time needed for brining. For a turkey of ten to fifteen pounds, allow twenty-four hours. If it’s smaller than ten pounds (like our Midget White hens), twelve hours is about right. If it’s more than fifteen pounds, allow up to thirty-six hours. Don’t forget to leave time for your turkey to rest between brining and roasting.
Now, to the cooking part! If you have access to a smoker, I encourage you to try smoking your turkey. It takes longer, as usually the temperatures in the smoker are lower than your oven; on medium heat, my smoker generally cooks at between 200 and 225°F. It’s hard to say an exact amount of time for smoking, as there are lots of variables (size of the bird, smoker temperature, outside temperature, etc.). Just allow plenty of time and check the internal temperature of the bird every so often. I strongly recommend brining the turkey if you’re going to smoke it.
In spite of its recent popularity, I am not in favor of deep-frying heritage turkeys. In my view, brining and then roasting (or smoking) results in the best-tasting heritage turkey. In addition, frying oil is expensive and invariably poses an awkward disposal issue afterward.
Here is my preferred method for roasting: Preheat oven to 450°F. Place the turkey straight from the refrigerator or cooler into the oven, then immediately reduce the heat to 325°F. After the first half-hour of cooking, baste several times per hour with pan drippings or extra fat. If you choose not to brine the turkey, basting is particularly important.
If your turkey is under six pounds, allow twenty to twenty-five minutes roasting time per pound; for a six to sixteen pounds, fifteen to twenty minutes; and for over sixteen pounds, about thirteen to fifteen minutes. If using a thermometer, insert it into the thigh, taking care not to let it touch the bone; internal temperature should be 180 to 185°F.
As is usual with all roasted meats, remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for up to thirty minutes before carving.
That’s it! There are lots of ways to cook a turkey, but this is my favorite: brining and then either roasting or smoking. If you’ve never tasted smoked turkey, you’re in for a real treat. It is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten.