Pre-cut Turkey Before Cooking?

Griffin

We have a 15 lb turkey that has been lurking in our freezer (and taking up way too much room) since last Thanksgiving. I got it for free by accident. One of those spend $100 get a free turkey deal (I might have had to throw down a pack of gum just to bump it up my bill to get there). Well I'm sick of it taking up a whole shelf and we are gonna cook it up this weekend. People are always saying how the breast cooks faster and you have to cook dark meat higher and all that and I'm aware of it. I've had good experience with doing a beer can turkey in the past. But if the wife and I are just cooking for ourselves, don't care about the presentation of a whole bird, is there any reason not to cut up the turkey into pieces before we cook it? And pull the breast at 160 and let the legs and thighs go higher? Obviously, it will be too much for us to eat, most of it will get sliced for lunchmeat or cuben up for casseroles and such, but for some reason this idea of cutting it up before cooking it has lodged in my brain, won't shake out and so I'm wondering what anybody's experienes (if any) are doing it this way. Thanks in advance.

gdenby

Check out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3O1xRJ4XU

Changed my way of cooking.

stike

you can certainly cook turkey breast and legs separately. 

GaryLange

I did my first Turkey on the Egg this weekend and started with a Brine for about 15 hours then after drying it off I injected it with a Butterball  solution and rubbed it with a dry ingredient from Butterball. I put it on with the Platesetter at 350 degrees and it cooked in about 2.5 hours which was a lot faster then I had figured. However, it turned out fantastic and with the Breast at 160 the thighs were at 180 just like they were suppose to be. I cooked it on a rack in and aluminum foil pan. Worked great for me and next time I will know it cooks faster. I had a 13.5lb. Bird. Brinning the bird made it very juicy and I recommend it now.