another thought on leg temps versus breast temps..

stike

it occurred to me today that because i'm picky like that, i always cut off the wire (or sometimes now ungodly plastic) 'thing-a-ma-jig' that clamps the turkey's feet together.

you always hear that we need to tie the bird so that "it cooks evenly", followed shortly thereafter by tricks and tips to keep the breast from overcooking.

i have tried icing the breast, and foil. but honestly, there are just times when th bird goes in the oven without any great plans or mechanations.

and here's the thing, the legs and breast always finish together, with the legs being more done that the breast.

when you cut the leg-binder-thing off the bird, its legs splay away from the body, cooking all sides at once. no white and pale inner thigh (i have that problem myself :ermm: ), and the leg cooks evenly.

if the cavity is stuffed, then the breast doesn't cook from the inside (because the herbs/lemons/whatever insulate it a bit).

and that's it.

it just seemed to me this morning that it makes absolutely no damned sense to say that trussing the bird makes it cook evenly, while at the same time acknowledging the breast (when trussed) will often finish well before the legs.

the turkey might (might!) be prettier with legs bound, but you could always tie it up for presentation. left un-tied, the bird is pretty natural looking, or maybe reminds me of a Toulouse-Lautrec painting at the follies bergere.

inside of the legs and thighs get brown this way, and the legs will cook much faster. wings can poke out akimbo too. that way they cook from all sides

i also think this is why my birds time out in the 10-min-pound range. that, and we here tend to pull them at lower temps (me, 155 in the breast, 165-170 in the leg, or higher up to 180 still fine)

like i said, not as pretty, but you can tie it up for table presentation

[Deleted User]

Thanks Jeff, that looks extremely tasty!

I have yet to cook a turkey in the Egg and I'm wondering how does the skin come out?

fishlessman

julia child used to say that the oven stays hotter towards the back, to always place the bird in with the legs facing that hot spot, never legs facing the oven door. kinda habit but the legs go in my egg facing the hinge wheres its usually hotter. i aint messing with what julia used to say :laugh: im thinking the average bird in eggdom gets placed sideways like yours is shown

Mainegg

We go for the wild winged, gap legged bird too Jeff. and it is not always picture perfect but it is done perfect for what we like. and that is what everyone forgets, try anything, but tweaking it to lean to what YOU like is important. have fun and don't stress so people a turkey is so simple and the egg will do it magic. it will still be moist on the egg.

stike

higher heat and the longer roast time (versus chicken) seems to give you decent skin. still, for great overly dry crispy skin, you can't go wrong with the (gasp!) electric oven.

but that can risk the overdry breast, too, i think.
happy thanksgiving, Bob-ert. and fam too

stike

depends if you have julia's oven, no? or whether it's gas, electric, or a BGE.

i wonder if she said it was cooler because it was away from a leaky door maybe, or metal back there (radiant) versus glass at the door.

i know my BGE is hotter in the back

stike

you let it all hang out, too, eh? excellent. maybe a new england thing.

you having an 80 degree thanksgivingdown there?

my folks are headed to some friends' an hour or so from Punta Gorda. They got there shortly after you did. you can probably see the gin fumes if you look south east on any given day.

have a great holiday.

fishlessman

probably because your cooling the legs every time you open the door. my bettycrocker ovens are small, turkey goes in diagonally

LDD

from this angle it looks as though the legs are sweeping the food(lemon+herbs) into its mouth.... scream*

to me that's a nice lookin bird

jeffinsgf

Kinda funny...Alton Brown has this elaborate trussing video, that starts with a splayed leg, splayed winged bird as an example of what will happen if you don't truss. Only problem is, it looks perfectly cooked, to me! Pretty? Not so much. Evenly browned on all parts? Yes.

I plan to carve in the kitchen and serve on a platter, so I'm not worried about the Norman Rockwell look.

Hope mine looks as good as the one you pictured, Jeff!

"Cuisine" had a great video on carving and presentation last year. Sadly, it's gone. That was a loss.

eenie meenie

Stike, I agree, when I do a whole turkey, I like the wings akimbo and the legs, well, seperated in order to get the skin crisp in the nooks and crannies. I've now resorted to not using a roasting pan. I've noticed that even with a V rack that some of the skin is below the level of the pan edge and remains rubbery and pasty.

Now I just put a drip pan with an air gap on the plate setter and set my turkey on a bed of onions, carrots, celery, apples, and lemon on top of the grill grid. The drippings drop down into the drip pan and some fond develops. When I remove the turkey, I leave the drip pan in the egg and transfer the bed of veggies and fruit to the drippings to render out the last bit of goodness.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

crghc98

I never tie and agree from my experience the untrussed (sp?) bird always leads for me to the breast and thighs/legs being done at the same time.

stike

my point was that you could tie it AFTER it cooks. the inside of the tightly tied thighs and wings is pale and not at all crisp. so the trussed turkey might look good when presented, but it (i think) can screw up the cooking and delivers legs and thighs with only the exposed sides browned.

untied, the leg/thigh/wing looks better on the plate. tie them up for five minutes when you bring them to the table if need be, but i leave em untied in the oven.

stike

i guess i am not the only one who unties the bird....
have a great holiday too. right now i am installing a new dryer vent. 'tis the season...

stike

damn. i thought i was original.
hahaha
thanks, mang. happy thanksgiving, too

stike

nom nom nom nom.

i doubt the herbs and stuff truly do anything besides make the kitchen look good, but that myth is for another day.

:laugh:

mad max beyond eggdome

i never tie the legs. .. i want to be able to get into the cavity with my baster to suck the liquid out of the cavity and baste with it ..

jeffinsgf

I'm with you. It can made presentable, if desired. I was saying that AB was ragging on a bird that looked wonderful to me. In my case this year, it isn't going to matter, because I'm plating a carved bird.

stike

we usually go away, but my bro is in NYC for the Macy's "Annual Thanksgiving Day Continuous Commercial for Broadway Revival Shows"

so i'm on deck for the turkey.

we have some neighbors over. so there's not much pressure, but i want to deliver

stike

ah yes. makes sense.

FWIW, i think the ice bag works (i'm doing it just in case), but there are times when i have just lost track and ended up tossing the bird in, and it's been fine.

plus, i have a fairly wide range of "ok" tempos. bresat is ideal at maybe 160, but i've pulled it at 155, and it's also been moist at ( ) 180.

legs too are even forgiving. texture works for me ideally at 180-185, but they can go ovre 200 and be entirtely edible (off the egg). hahaha

happy thanksgiving, maximus. don't trip over yourself answering the hotline.

mad max beyond eggdome

jeff, i agree on all counts... .

i usually pull the bird based on the breast temp ... .if the thighs aren't completely done, i simply remove them and toss them in the microwave for one to two minutes on high. ..finishes them off just fine and the meat is still moist and juicy on them ...its all good ...

hope you and darlene and the boys have a great thanksgiving!!!

AZRP

Trussing the bird never made any sense to me either and I haven't done it in over thirty years. -RP

FlaPoolman

We could tell from your pics :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Frank from Houma

Neaux truss zone here. Normally cut the bird up but geauxing whole this time - its purty that way.

Your dryer vent has been out a good while - seems like it has been a couple months since you used it for smoking something.

Have a great Thanksgiving

crghc98

thanks...happy T-day...looking forward to the Pats game.

May be buying tix for the Sunday night game vs. GB

heading to the in-laws...no cooking (other than some stuffing...dressing I guess since it is outside the bird)

Apparantly my MIL approves of my cooking since she asked her two sons to have their wives buy something, and me to cook something :laugh: