Don't you hate it when you read something and think, now why did I not think of that?! Well that happened when I was reading through the November issue of Martha Stewart Living.
For years I've been on a Homer-esque quest to cook the most flavourful, moist and non-fussy turkey.
I've conquered the flavour and moistness challenges by buying a fantastic free range bird and brining it in an aromatic bath. But the process of roasting was fussy and takes up allot of oven space when cooking a huge holiday feast. If like me and you do not have the luxury of a huge sized oven, then this will be a great technique to get a quicker even-cooking turkey out of the most Bijou ovens.
What's the trick you say? It was elementary my Dear Watson. You simply spatchcock your turkey. The spatchcocking saves oven space when cooking and also speeds up the cooking process avoiding the overcooking and drying out of the breast meat.
The Perfect Turkey
4-5kg/ turkey
15g of salt per kilo of turkey
3 tbsp black peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp fennel seeds
small bunch of parsley
small bunch of thyme
5 bay leaves
4 star anise
200g/7oz brown sugar
2 onions, quartered
head of garlic cut through the 'belly'
Large ‘thumb’ of ginger, cut into thick slices
2 orange, quartered
For the brine, place all the brine ingredients except the water into a accommodating saucepan. Squeeze the juice of the orange quarters into the brine before you chuck the pieces in. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
While the brine is cooling it's time to spatchcock the bird. With the breast side down remove the backbone by cutting along both sides of the backbone with poultry scissors. Remove any extra pockets of fat. Turn the bird over and break the breast bone by using he pressure from the palm of your hand. You can, like I do, separate the bird into two halves. I do this because I generally buy a bird that is too large for one eating, thats because the leftovers are as desirable as the main meal its self. So I only roast one half of the bird freeing up loads of oven space. Then roasting second half of the bird while we sit down to dinner.
Place the broken bird in a bucket/hotel pan that will accommodate the bird and the brine. Add the cooled brining syrup to cover the bird and top up with cold water until the turkey is submerged. Keep the mixture in a cold place, even outside overnight or for up to a day or two before you cook it. Any longer than 2 days and the bird might become too salty. This processes will allow the turkey to absorb more moisture and flavours prior to roasting.
About an hour before you plan to roast the glorious bird, remove it from it’s spa bath and wipe it down with kitchen towel and remove any aromatics that are stuck to the skin. The bird, as with all large roasts, needs to come up to room temperature prior to going into the oven. This ensures an even cooking and makes sure that it’s spa bath was not in vain. Place the turkey flat on a rimmed baking tray.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
5. Brush the turkey with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper before roasting.Put the ttray in the over an roast for about 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark rotate the sheet halfway and baste with drippingsfrom the pan. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) reaches 75C/165F. This should take about 1 hour and 10 minutes. You can cut out the guess work by using an oven safe thermometer.
Just as it's imperative to bring the the turkey to room temperature before it goes in to the oven, it's important to let it stand (rest) out of the oven uncovered for a good 20-30 minutes before you actually carve it. This allows the muscles of the roasted bird to relax and gives time for the juices to return to the flesh.
(Technique adapted from Martha Stewart Living November 2009)
