Make Ahead Holiday Turkey

Crispy, golden turkey on a serving platter.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Amazingly moist and flavourful.

Prep Time40

Cook Time1 30

Chilling Time12

Total Time14

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Servings: servings

Calories: 180kcal

Author: Carolyn Hetke

Equipment

Turkey deep frying kit ideally or large 20 quart stock pot
Strong tongs/lifters
Kitchen twine

Ingredients

1 14 to 16 lb turkey remove giblets

Poaching Liquid

3 medium onions peeled and cut in chunks
4 medium carrot peeled and in 3 " chunks
1 head garlic peeled
14 oz duck or veal demi glace best quality chicken or veal broth available
2 Tbsps black pepper corns
3 Tbsps kosher salt
3 oz duck fat can substitute Extra virgin olive oil. chicken or turkey fat or Ghee

Instructions

Remove giblets from turkey cavity. Wash and rinse turkey inside and out.
In order to determine the right amount of water needed - add the vegetables and aromatics to the stock pot. Stand the turkey up in the pot and fill with enough water to submerge the turkey. Remove the turkey to a platter and allow it to drain and dry.
Bring the water in the stock pot to a boil. The filled pot is going to be heavy so if you can heat it on the burner of a turkey deep frying kit or BBQ side burner consider doing that.
While the water is coming to a boil, pat the turkey dry on the outside. Gently take your fingers and starting at the neck, run them between the breast meat and the skin to separate them. Be careful not to tear the skin. Go as far around the breast and the thigh as you can.
Rub the fat all over the turkey - on the inside between the skin and the meat and on the outside of the skin all over.
Truss the turkey with kitchen twine ensuring legs and wings are well secured. This is important to help you handle the bird later. If you are using a deep frying kit - run the turkey stand through the middle of the bird so it will stand vertically on the stand.
When the water comes to a boil, submerge the turkey vertically in the boiling water. If you are using a deep frying rig you will have a hook tool to help you lift the turkey on the stand.
Allow the water to return to a sier. Cover the pot and simmer for 40 minutes, ensuring the turkey is submerged. After 40 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and allow it to sit to come to room temperature - up to 4 hours.
Refrigerate the turkey and the broth overnight. (You can use the poaching broth in your dressing recipe, gravy recipe to cook other vegetables or reserve for a soup broth.)
An hour or so before you plan to serve it - transfer the turkey from any remaining broth to a rack on a low sided roasting pan.
Preheat the oven to 475°F. Roast the turkey uncovered for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow the turkey to rest in the oven another 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, carve and serve.

Notes

Notes:

A turkey deep frying kit is ideal here. You will have a pot the right size, a stand for the bird to stand vertically and lifting tools. The accompanying burner is also low enough to make handling the pot and the turkey easier than on a stove top. A BBQ burner may also be easier than a stove top since you can just turn off the burner and let the pot cool for up to 4 hours before having to handle it the turkey and the stock.
You can pack the deep frying kit pot with ice inside a large (clean garbage can). If your garage is fridge cold in winter you can just cover the pot and leave it overnight. Failing that you can transfer the cooled turkey and enough poaching liquid to fill/surround it to a large sealable bag designed for brining a turkey. Pack the brining bag in ice in a larger container.
If keeping the turkey cold is a concern you can ice it for 8 hours of so and then drain off the poaching liquid and refrigerate the turkey until ready to roast it.
Reserve the poaching liquid and use it as needed in your dressing, gravy or other vegetable dishes. You can also strain out the solids and reserve it for use as soup broth.

Nutrition