On 11/23/2012 10:25 PM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Nov 2012 07:44:00 -0600, George Leppla
> > wrote:
>
>> On 11/22/2012 8:10 PM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
>>
>>>> Looks good! Can you cook it with that plastic ring thing on the legs
>>>>> though?
>>
>>> That's the purpose of that plastic thing, to hold the legs together,
>>> those Dem gals should be fitted with one for birth control. LOL
>>> I think it's actually nylon or delrin, same material inside your water
>>> faucets, they used to be made of metal, like a coat hanger, and while
>>> wrestling them they could easily puncture ones hand. These plastic
>>> ones are a big improvement.
>>>
>>>>> Awesome that you got that for 53 cents a pound? Wow.
>>
>>> It was 49¢/lb, it was a little heavier than 15 1/2 lb, I rounded it
>>> off. Here it is right from the oven:
>>> http://i48.tinypic.com/2jed5qh.jpg
>>
>>
>> It does look good, but one of the things that happen when you use that
>> plastic leg retainer is that you get a lot of juices that pool up inside
>> the bird... and they aren't always cooked through, even when the flesh is.
>>
>> We were talking about this the other day and decided that the next time
>> we roast a turkey, I am going to leave the plastic retainer on but cut
>> out the spine. The retainer and the V-shaped turkey rack will keep the
>> bird together, but the juices will be able to run out into the pan and
>> cook to be used for gravy.
>>
>> And gravy is a good thing!
>>
>> George L
>
> You'll end up with a very dry turkey, most of that juice is reabsorbed
> while the bird rests. And you wouldn't have more juices in the pan,
> they will spread out over all that hot surface and quickly evaporate
> same as if they dripped into a hot frying pan... what you'll have in
> the pan is fat. If you want to more easily make good gravy put about
> a quarter inch of water in the pan from the onset. The most important
> part of having a juicy turkey is not to let all its juices escape.

I agree with having water in the pan. When I roast a turkey, I put the
neck and giblets in a sauce pan with coarsely chopped onions and a bit
of celery and some peppe.... cover with water and simmer. That water
gets added to the turkey pan as needed and if any is left, gets added to
de-glaze the pan to make the gravy.

I'm not sure about the liquid inside the turkey being absorbed back into
the meat. If you look at the bottom of the turkey cavity, you have the
spine and ribs, etc... very little meat to support any capillary action
that would get moisture back into the breast. But I may try roasting
the bird upside down for the first half of the roasting time and see
what happens.

Becca sometimes injects the bird with a mixture of butter and
herbs/spices and that may be more than enough to keep everything juicy.

We'll try this at Christmas and report back.

George L