How old is too old for a broad breasted white turkey dinner?

[bbqnmama]

Hi all,

We have a very large broad breasted white hen from last year's batch that we decided to spare cause of her cool personality.

This makes her nearly 2 yrs old.

I think she's got a bad case of bumblefoot (or arthritis). Either way, her time has come. It's clearly very uncomfortable for her to walk now.

What I'm wondering is..... is a 2 yr old broad breasted white hen gonna be suitable for the thanksgiving table?

I've not eaten a turkey over 8 months so am not sure if I can serve her for the big dinner (we'll have a table full of guests this year too)

Any thoughts/experience in this area?

Thanks much!

 

[redsoxs]

I think the breast meat would be awesome and I suppose she has plenty of fat between her skin and meat to be self-basting. The legs and thighs on the other hand, may be a different matter. She's likely put a few miles on in her two years, making them pretty rubbery. In years past I have seen Thanksgiving cooking shows where the entire breast is removed from the legs and thighs. The breast is roasted as normal but the hind quarters are poached in a stock to tender up. One show I saw removed the poached legs and thighs when they were close to tender and roasted them in a separate pan with the stuffing and everything was timed to come out of the oven at the same time. Sure looked good to me.

 

[bbqnmama]

I think the breast meat would be awesome and I suppose she has plenty of fat between her skin and meat to be self-basting. The legs and thighs on the other hand, may be a different matter. She's likely put a few miles on in her two years, making them pretty rubbery. In years past I have seen Thanksgiving cooking shows where the entire breast is removed from the legs and thighs. The breast is roasted as normal but the hind quarters are poached in a stock to tender up. One show I saw removed the poached legs and thighs when they were close to tender and roasted them in a separate pan with the stuffing and everything was timed to come out of the oven at the same time. Sure looked good to me.

thanks redsocks! i like your approach! going to give it a shot and see how it goes... will let ya know how she turns out!