Serious Eats' cooking turkey with baking steel in oven = cooking in egg without platesetter ?

Canugghead

Anyone wants to be a guinea turkey?

I found this article very interesting:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/best-way-to-roast-turkey-baking-stone-steel-no-roasting-pan-crisp-skin-juicy-meat.html

Coincidentally I ran into an egghead friend (hey you know who you are if you're reading this!) recently, he hasn't posted in a long time. He mentioned that his best turkey cook was done without platesetter and no ice bag trick needed. The rationale being the unobstructed heat from below gives the legs and back a jump start over the breast.  IMO that's equivalent to having the baking steel below the pan in Serious Eats' experiment above. I suppose one must make sure the temp doesn't get too high and the pan is not dry though?

I plan to try this for my next turkey cook, just thought I'd share in case anyone wants to have a jump start on me!

SGH

Interesting for sure. Just proves when you think that you have seen it all, someone throws a curve ball at you. Thanks for sharing.

Mickey

I go one easer. Direct at 400.

DMW

Interesting...I have another idea to replicate Kenji's setup in the egg. You would need 2 eggs of identical size though...

Preheat Egg 1 to 550* with platesettter legs up. Stabilize Egg 2 at 300*. Prep turkey according to his instructions in a V-rack on a sheet pan. Move 550* plate setter to Egg 2 and place pan with turkey directly on plate setter with no spacers.

Hmmm...maybe an excuse to add another XL to my family? Nah...

Canugghead

@SGH - thanks but the jury is still out!

@Mickey - care to elaborate please? unless you're thinking your favourite/famous spatchcock direct, if it's whole turkey with a pan (need that to catch juice for gravy) it's still technically indirect even sans platesetter, no?

@DMW - good luck! swmbo may tell you to preheat the platesetter in the kitchen box though  

Mickey

@Canugghead‌ No pan ever. If I want juice for dressing just roast necks and wings for juice with a pan.

Canugghead

Mickey said:

@Canugghead‌ No pan ever. If I want juice for dressing just roast necks and wings for juice with a pan.

ya, but that's extra work.  I'm a 'genius', how did I know you were thinking spatchcock  ">

SmokeyPitt

Just my $.02 but I don't think that going direct would give you quite the same effect. Using the baking steel in the oven I would think there would be much less radiant/direct heat as compared to on the egg over burning lump.  I think if you cook direct the entire time you are likely to burn the bottom of the bird, unless you go spatchcock.  The article states that spatchcock is still the best bet, but the point of the article is how to achieve the desired results without spatching the bird.  

I think the whole point of his setup was to ensure the oven was hotter on the bottom than on the top. I think this would be difficult to reproduce on the egg.  I think the best bet would be to employ another solution such as icing the breast, or flip the bird over half way through cooking.