Turkey Day is near!

Mealy, that's the word...I cook it to temp then pull it but at 225ish it goes a little long hence the mealy mushy mess. Either that or the quality of the birds I have suck. Probably the latter by the sounds of things.
 
Kikaida said:
Mealy, that's the word...I cook it to temp then pull it but at 225ish it goes a little long hence the mealy mushy mess. Either that or the quality of the birds I have suck. Probably the latter by the sounds of things.
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What temp do you pull it at?
 
My tip is make sure you buy an air-chilled turkey so it is not pumped with chlorine water. That's tip #1. Water-logged birds can turn to mush and you don't need to buy water weight anyway. Do not brine, but dry brine which is coat the bird with salt inside and out and let sit in fridge uncovered overnight. The dry brine will help retain moisture. The best way is to section the bird and smoke cuts individually as each cut takes a different time to cook, but there is something about cooking that whole bird. And it can be done.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
My tip is make sure you buy an air-chilled turkey so it is not pumped with chlorine water. That's tip #1. Water-logged birds can turn to mush and you don't need to buy water weight anyway. Do not brine, but dry brine which is coat the bird with salt inside and out and let sit in fridge uncovered overnight. The dry brine will help retain moisture. The best way is to section the bird and smoke cuts individually as each cut takes a different time to cook, but there is something about cooking that whole bird. And it can be done.
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Does the label say if it's air chilled?
 
It's harder to find the air-chilled label on turkey than chicken for sure but get organic and it is not chlorine treated and has way less injected water than the chemical/water injected Butterball.
 
When you dry brine in the fridge overnight you are basically doing your own air chilling +brining. The surface water evaporates for crisp skin and the dry brine process helps the bird retain moisture while cooking.
 
This overnight step is highly recommended.
 
If you don't buy organic or can't find an "air-chilled" label read the ingredients and try not to buy more than 4% water.

If it has a high amount of water, let sit uncovered in fridge for 2 full days, then dry brine overnight on 3rd.
 
PS. Heritage is an air-chilled brand. But $$.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
When you dry brine in the fridge overnight you are basically doing your own air chilling +brining. The surface water evaporates for crisp skin and the dry brine process helps the bird retain moisture while cooking.
 
This overnight step is highly recommended.
 
If you don't buy organic or can't find an "air-chilled" label read the ingredients and try not to buy more than 4% water.

If it has a high amount of water, let sit uncovered in fridge for 2 full days, then dry brine overnight on 3rd.
 
PS. Heritage is an air-chilled brand. But $$.
Click to expand...
 
Just listened to an interview w/ the hombre from Heritage last night, on an episode of The Homebrewed Chef ...
 
Cool guy, great process, and yeah ... you can tell the birds going to cost some bucks from how awesome their process/breeding/feeding/treatment is ...
 
Ozzy2001 said:
I must know more about the buttermilk brown sugar pie.
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Martha Stewart.
 
No, very different. Almost a custard. Not to sweet and finishes a heavy meal perfectly.

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The first pics were Martha's. These are mine. Last year I made a chocolate cheesecake that was way too heavy and rich for a large meal. This is perfect.

And they defy gravity! Pics are two years old. Don't know how to flip
 
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