Unfortunately, twice the body mass does not equal twice the quantity of fat and collagen
Aiming for 1 1/2 pounds of turkey (with bones and everything) when purchasing the huge bird for the big feast will guarantee you have plenty for everyone, with enough leftovers for sandwiches. This isn't a problem for a household of five, but it might be overwhelming if you're feeding a huge group, such as my Catholic family or 17 of your best friends.
When you get into the 20-pound and up area, things get ungainly. The larger birds can be difficult to fit into a standard oven; their extra bulk means they take much longer to defrost (around five days); and they require more time in the oven, which increases the risk of drying out the breast meat, which is already a risk when roasting a turkey, a thermodynamic nightmare of a bird.
There are several approaches you may take here. You may either split the bird down so it cooks more evenly (spatchcock it or butcher it into entirely distinct sections); buy two smaller turkeys; or buy one large turkey plus additional turkey thighs and drumsticks, which are often in short supply. You may also get a good turkey and augment it with ham, roast, or duck.
If you really must have a large bird
If you just wish to serve one enormous, solitary chicken, it must be spatchcocked. We've talked about it countless times (some may say "ad nauseam") over the years, but the reasoning for spatchcocking boils down to this:
Dark meat, such as legs and thighs, need at least 165°F to break down all that connective tissue, whereas breast flesh dries up if heated over 150°F. Traditional roasting exposes the breast more than the legs, which are protected by the pan edges, which is the exact opposite of what you want.
These concerns become more evident and aggravated as the size of your turkey increases. Unfortunately, double the body mass does not equal twice the quantity of fat and collagen, so those big breasts are more likely to dry up than those on a less-endowed bird.
Aside from spatchcocking and roasting, sous-vide cooking is an excellent choice, especially if the bird is totally broken down and the light and dark regions are cooked at various temperatures. (You can also sous-vide the turkey ahead of time, then reheat and crisp it in the oven right before supper.)
The case may hold two tiny birds or one bird with extra bird components
My main gripe with the enormous turkey method is that you still only get two (2) drumsticks after all of your hard work, and if you're serving a gathering large enough to merit a giant bird, chances are more than two of them would enjoy a drumstick. Buying two smaller birds doubles your drumstick count, but putting two birds in your oven is no simpler than fitting one huge chicken in your oven—unless you spatchcock them and roast them on separate racks (and not all ovens are large enough to accommodate that).
If your oven doesn't have room for two birds, you may cook them separately—smoke and roast (or oven smoke), smoke and sous-vide, or sous-vide and roast—or you can buy one large turkey and supplement it with more of your favorite turkey parts. (Another advantage of purchasing a smaller turkey is that it is simpler to obtain an ethically reared bird.)
Instead of purchasing two birds, get one for whole-turkey purists and a variety of your favorite turkey pieces. This means fewer drumstick battles, and you can have some fun with it. Now is the moment to confit some dark meat, cure some Renaissance fair-style legs, roast an additional breast, or roll out an all-white-meat roulade, for example.
Add ham if desired (or a different, better bird)
I used to say I disliked cooking turkey, but I'm actually very good at it, and I enjoy doing things that I'm excellent at. However, I still prefer eating other animal proteins most of the time and have been known to supplement a Turkey Day dinner with a non-turkey option.
My favorite meat is ham. The only thing you have to do with a city ham is warm it up to 130°F, which can be done in a slow cooker, sous vide setting, or the humble oven.
Then there's duck, which is tiny enough to roast alongside a turkey but can also be placed on the grill (and practically ignored) with terrific results. (As an added bonus, you'll get a lot of duck fat, which you can preserve and use for roasted potatoes on Christmas.)
You may also take advantage of this occasion to add something a little "strange," you know what I mean—that dish you wish you could cook for Thanksgiving but never do because of the turkey purists in your family. Serve a fair quantity of turkey, then use your Instant Pot to create a Mississippi roast or Kimchi pork shoulder, sous vide a Brisket in mustard and wine, or smoke a lamb shoulder. If you simply need a few additional meats, roast some pork tenderloins or ask one of the men in need of a job to grill some steaks. Men enjoy cooking steak.
#Turkey #Thanksgiving #Thanksgiving2022 #ThanksgivingTurkey
SOURCE: lifehacker
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