The Tale of Two Turkeys

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Well, it really was just the best of times, but I couldn’t leave Dickens hanging with a title like that. My dad and I wanted to do two very different preparations for the turkeys this year. We bought two 10 lbs turkeys for the 18 person feast, and we each took the mantle of preparing one. For the one I made, I decided to use a slow cooking “oven smoked” method. The slow cooking method uses a sauce called liquid smoke, which is made from distilling smoke through water. Liquid smoke can be found at most supermarkets with the BBQ sauce. For more info on how liquid smoke is made click here. My dad decided on a high heat, fast cooking method. This is a simple way to cook any poultry, and similar cooking styles have been featured on Ty’s Kitchen before with chicken. Both turkeys were delicious, moist, and very different.

Low and Slow - Oven Smoked Turkey

Ingredients:

1 10-12 lbs turkey

½ cup Colgin Liquid Smoke

¼ cup kosher salt

1-2 quarts of water

¼ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon spicy paprika

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

To Cook:

1.     Fill a brining bag or large pot with the liquid smoke, salt and water (enough to submerge the turkey)

2.     Brine the turkey for at least 10 hours in the fridge or a cold spot.

3.     Take the turkey out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature 2 hours before cooking.

4.     Preheat the oven to 225

5.     Mix the olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper thoroughly

6.     Dry the turkey and coat the inside and outside with the olive oil mixture

7.     Place the turkey in the oven breast side up and cook for 8-10 hours until the internal temperature of the bird is around 165 (place an instant read meat thermometer in the breast and/or thigh to check for doneness. If you don’t want to put your oven in use for that long during the day, cook the turkey overnight, putting it in the oven before bed, and removing it in the morning.

8.     If serving the turkey later in the day, cover it with foil and reheat, covered before serving

Fast and Hot – Quick Cooking Turkey

Ingredients:

1 10-12 lbs turkey

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup sugar or agave

2 quarts of water

salt and pepper

To Cook:

1.     Fill a brining bag or large pot with the soy sauce, sugar/agave, salt and water (enough to submerge the turkey)

2.     Brine the turkey for at least 10 hours in the fridge or a cold spot.

3.     Take the turkey out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature 2 hours before cooking.

4.     Preheat the oven to 450 (clean the oven beforehand if possible to reduce smoking)

5.     Dry the turkey and rub with salt and pepper

6.     Place in a deep roasting pan on a wire rack and pour chicken or turkey stock below the rack to keep the turkey moist throughout cooking

7.     Place in oven for 1.5-2 hours until instant read meat thermometer reads 165 in the breast and/or thigh
 

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