Illinois...

[Molpet]

I processed my 1st turkey today with the help of my neighbor. Having some guilty sadness - especially since both hens were laying eggs. The other hen doesn't seem stressed by her absence, so she'll stay a while longer.

PS-
@chickendreams24 If my family won't eat the turkey, then "Back Up" can go visit "Christmas."

Bittersweet
How much did she weighed dressed?

 

[cavemanrich]

How much did she weighed dressed?

I'm still slightly confused.
Always thought the following.


Dressed

Turkey with ESP

Naked

In Heet

Delicious

Leftover

 

[drumstick diva]

OOOHHH I LOVE ME SOME TURKEY

 

[Molpet]

I'm still slightly confused.
Always thought the following.


Dressed

Turkey with ESP

Naked

In Heet

Delicious

Leftover

OOOHHH I LOVE ME SOME TURKEY

 

[Faraday40]

Bittersweet
How much did she weighed dressed?

.... You mean "naked"?

I actually don't know. Looked pretty small, but larger than an orpington. It was a crazy day of carpooling kids & I didn't have a lot of time. I had to quickly get the meat into the fridge. (DD hates when we eat our birds, so I needed to hide all the evidence. On the night we eat turkey, I make a frozen pizza for them.) We let the birds out for a few min today & she noticed the missing turkey. The remaining turkey was calling for her friend, but felt better as soon as she & the chickens found the refilled food bowl.

I hope I did the brine right. Finding a recipe was tough. I used about 1/3c sugar & 1/3+ c salt boiled with 4 c water. Added veggies/herbs to hot water. Added another 12 c ice water.... Then poured over & submerged turkey.

I only had a big metal pot, so I lined it with a bag.... and another bag - just in case

 

[Molpet]

.... You mean "naked"?

I actually don't know. Looked pretty small, but larger than an orpington. It was a crazy day of carpooling kids & I didn't have a lot of time. I had to quickly get the meat into the fridge. (DD hates when we eat our birds, so I needed to hide all the evidence. On the night we eat turkey, I make a frozen pizza for them.) We let the birds out for a few min today & she noticed the missing turkey. The remaining turkey was calling for her friend, but felt better as soon as she & the chickens found the refilled food bowl.

I hope I did the brine right. Finding a recipe was tough. I used about 1/3c sugar & 1/3+ c salt boiled with 4 c water. Added veggies/herbs to hot water. Added another 12 c ice water.... Then poured over & submerged turkey.

I only had a big metal pot, so I lined it with a bag.... and another bag - just in case

LOL yes neecked
the brine will work, I just use salt in the water to get the blood out.... I just dump a handful of coarse salt in the cooler
you used the fancy brine recipe .. there are a lot different ones .. I'll look and see if I have some.. I am toooo lazy to do a real brine.

 

[Molpet]

Oh here is cooking instructions
but it's for a whole bird.... takes longer than store turkeys...my cousin didn't believe me... dinner was 1 and 1/2 hr late

from attached pdf with min per lb added.
Between 25 and 30 minutes per pound.
Add a quart of stock to the bottom of the pan. Pre-heat the oven to 300◦ put it in for 30 minutes and turn the oven down to 275◦ Cook until internal temp is 145◦ remove the lid/cover and boost temp to 450◦ until the bird reaches 155/165◦ internal temp. Remove it, cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Strain the drippings and separate the fat.

 

[Molpet]

chicken size brine.
it is in parenthesis

Thanksgiving Turkey Brine

Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli 2009

Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time: 12 hr Cook Time: 3 hr 30 min Level: Easy

Serves:

14 to 16 servings

Ingredients

(for chicken) for turkey

• (1) 6 quarts tap water
• (2.6 oz} 1 pound kosher salt
• (1.3 oz) 1 cup molasses
• (2.6 oz) 2 cups honey
• (1.3 oz) 1 cup soy sauce
• (1/2 t) 1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
• (1/2 t) 1 tablespoon dried sage
• (sm) Large bunch fresh thyme
• (1/3 hd) 2 heads garlic broken into individual cloves, unpeeled
• (13 oz) 5 pounds ice cubes
• 14 to 18-pound turkey, cleaned, innards removed
• 1 pound unsalted butter, softened
• 2 lemons, zested

Directions

In a medium pot, bring 3 quarts of the tap water to a boil over medium heat. Put the kosher salt in a large bowl and slowly (and carefully!) pour the boiling water over the salt. Stir to blend.

Add the molasses, honey, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, sage, thyme and garlic to the salt and water mixture. Stir to blend. Add the remaining 3 quarts of cool water. Add the ice to a cooler or bucket large enough to hold the brine and the turkey. Pour the brine over the ice and use a large whisk to blend all of the ingredients.

Submerge the turkey, breast side down, in the brine. Make sure the cavity of the bird fills with the liquid as you are submerging it. Cover the cooler and allow the bird to sit in the brine overnight or for about 12 hours.

Remove the bird from the brine and dry it thoroughly with thick (absorbent) kitchen towels. Take care to wipe inside the cavity as well. Discard the brine. Whisk together the butter and the lemon zest. Gently lift the skin covering 1 breast of the turkey and spread half of the butter right on the meat under the skin. Repeat with the other breast. The butter will add extra moisture and richness as the bird roasts.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange the turkey in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Put on the lower rack of the oven and roast until the internal temperature of the turkey taken from the thickest part of the thigh reads 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 3 1/2 hours. Remove the turkey from the oven to a cutting board or serving platter and tent with foil. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

 

[Faraday40]

Thank you @Molpet The recipe sounds delicious.

I hope I like the turkey's taste. I know I'm going to enjoy the bone broth the next day! I was making it about once every 1-2 weeks when we had lots of young cockerels & quail around. I made a crock pot of soup using canned chicken broth last month. UGH! Although all the veggies were fresh & the noodles were hand made, the soup was so bland! It reminded me of canned chicken noodle soup. (Not bad if that's what your in the mood for..... but I wanted the taste of home-made soup.)

Next question: How long to "Rest" the meat?

Processed on Fri (mid day) When is the soonest / latest day to cook? - when stored in fridge.

 

[Molpet]

Thank you @Molpet The recipe sounds delicious.

I hope I like the turkey's taste. I know I'm going to enjoy the bone broth the next day! I was making it about once every 1-2 weeks when we had lots of young cockerels & quail around. I made a crock pot of soup using canned chicken broth last month. UGH! Although all the veggies were fresh & the noodles were hand made, the soup was so bland! It reminded me of canned chicken noodle soup. (Not bad if that's what your in the mood for..... but I wanted the taste of home-made soup.)

Next question: How long to "Rest" the meat?

Processed on Fri (mid day) When is the soonest / latest day to cook? - when stored in fridge.

well that depends on how much it weighs, the bigger the bird the longer the rest. A 8lb chicken took about a day and 1/2 before the limbs were flexible...
They say 3 days for toms for rigor to pass
USDA say to cook or freeze by 10 days, but I had one in ice water in a cooler for 14 days and he was fine.