Make-Ahead Turkey

[kevin313]

Often I will roast the turkey a day or two ahead of the big holiday feast, as I did this year for Thanksgiving. It makes things less hectic on the morning of the dinner and allows for easier service for the hungry crowd!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

P.S. - at around 1:30 on the video there is a shot of the "new" Westinghouse Terrace Top range that has been installed in the Detroit kitchen.

 

 

[alr2903]

Kevin I thought of you today when the news covered the power blackout in Michigan I hope all is back to normal.

We went out for Thanksgiving, will cook at home for Christmas.  I plan to make your "Chicken Divan" with the remains of the Christmas turkey,  any tweaks I need to know about?  Your videos are wonderful and I thank You for making them and sharing them with us.  Arthur

 

[toploader55]

Very Good Idea for the Home.

As always Kevin, Very Thorough and Very Good.

And when did you acquire yet another gorgeous Westinghouse Range ??? That one is Just Stunning. And Rare too.

This is how restaurants prepare for the huge crowds they serve each holiday.

Now... I was wondering if any of you folks out there have heard about this :

On the few days before Thanksgiving the Media has had "experts" from the Board of Health or other "Bacteria Freaks" explaining that you should NEVER wash or rinse the cavity of the bird as this will spray bacteria and other pathogens all over your counters etc.

I could never roast any type of bird without rinsing out the blood and other "solutions" left inside the bird from processing.

Anyone else hear or see this ???

 

[alr2903]

Eddy yes but not with turkey.  Back in the summer there was a news story about not washing chicken prior to cooking.. The way I understood it the theory was not so much spraying about the bacteria, but when the incoming cold water is very warm in the summertime the tap water warms the poultry enough to cause a problem, especially if you do not "kick it in gear" and go  quickly from the sink to the fire. I think the real issue was a rinse while prepping and back to the refrigerator with a plan to cook later. In the summer our cold water is quite warm. I still rinse and cook immediately. I guess it could be a problem with T-day turkey if the scenario was similar.

[this post was last edited: 12/3/2014-08:41]

 

[twintubdexter]

Self cleaning oven or not, that bag is a smart idea. 

 

She should have used a bag and saved those pants for the party...

 

[toploader55]

Summer Water Teperature

Makes sense.

But here in the Boston area they were carrying on about infected schmutz spritzing all over your kitchen.

I remember as a child the same cutting board used over and over with just a wipe from the sponge or a quick rinse before using to prep the next item. But that I feel was a different time (1950-thru the 60s) when things were not quite mass produced and the processing plants were properly sanitized. Now I would assume things are over looked for the reason of saving time, money and labor.

I still think we over sanitize to a certain degree. And I will state it is important to sanitize the cutting board. I am in the Food Service Industry and ServSafe certified.

But, I love the videos Kevin and keep them coming. Good Lord I still can't get over that Terrace Top Westy. Just Beautiful. How many ranges do you have ?

 

[kevin313]

Thanks, all.

 

Eddie - there was a time when I used to cook a turkey dinner every year for about 250 people, and this is when I got into the habit of making the turkey in advance. Then I decided to use the same approach at home and have been doing it ever since.

The Terrace-Top is a relatively new addition to the fleet of ranges, which I think is somewhere around 25 or so. It performed very well over Thanksgiving. I had a '61 Westy in the kitchen before the TT, and it was also a wonderful range but I thought I'd give it a break for a while!

 

Arthur - The power outage in Detroit did impact me on Tuesday! I work at a university near downtown, and the power went out in many of the buildings on campus, including the building where I teach, so they cancelled classes and closed campus just after 12 noon - we all got the rest of the day off! Power was back up by early evening on Tuesday. Something about a major cable failure on the power grid.

 

Joe - animal prints are always the smart choice!!  

 

[norgeway]

I want!

A Terrace Top in the WORST WAY!!!!!

 

[norgeway]

My Grandmother

Roasted a turkey in the weirdest way ever...She learned it in the 50s working in the cafeteria at our local elementary school....She wrapped it in foil, put it into a 550 oven for 2 hours..then turned it off for 2 hours....believe it or not it worked!..I never had nerve to try it!LOL

 

[mattl]

When I do poultry I do as my mother always did - put it in the sink and cover it with cold water for an hour or so, then clean ALL the guts out, especially in the rib/backbone area.  Then it gets oiled, salted and seasoned and popped in the fridge over night.  Everyone asks how I do my chicken, it really helps the flavor.  The bacteria police may not like it but I do.

 

[sudsmaster]

My assumption is that poultry comes with a load of bacteria and plenty of food for them to chomp on. Rinsing a bird before cooking makes a LOT of sense, at least to reduce both the bacteria count as well as the fluids that they can multiply in. I can't see that as a bad thing.

 

Yes, tap water can get warm in the summer. So just make a jug of ice water and use that for the final rinse, then pop the bird in the fridge as needed.

 

I've read cooking advice to let poultry and other meat equilibrate to room temperature before roasting or grilling. A rinse with naturally warm tap water will help this process. Sometimes I even rinse with hot water just before roasting.

 

Oddly, I never noticed warm water from the cold tap during summers in my previous abodes. But this place, I notice it. It gets most noticeable in late summer. Even running the tap for a long time doesn't cool it down. The rest of the year it's cold enough. 

 

As for spritzing bird cooties around the kitchen... use a aerated tap and a big pot for less splash. And it's worse to be consuming the cooties anyway. Or, take the bird outside and hose it down. After all, that's more or less the place they used to live.

 

 

[toploader55]

Too Funny...

"Or take the bird outside and hose it down. After all, that's more or less the place they used to live."

Laughing Hysterically.

 

[tolivac]

There are several Butterball turkey farms not to far from the transmitter site and where I live-the Turkey farms are near Goldsboro NC.Those plants serve the East Coast side of the US.They actually live in large barn like buildings-never see the outside except when transported to the slaughter-packing plant.