Go Slow at 325°F
Turkeys over 15 lbs benefit from a slow roast technique. The heat gets inside the meat before the exterior drys out, avoiding a major holiday faux pax. Our larger birds are well-fed, so a patient cook is rewarded with a richer flavor and juicier bites.
Schedule Half a Day or Better to Oven Time
We recommend about 12 minutes in the oven per pound of bird (about 3 to 4 hours for our small 15lbs hens and 6-7 hours for the really big 35lbs toms). Bear in mind that oven temperatures vary widely, so these time estimates are there to get you into the ball park.
Test Your Oven First
Ovens are notoriously sloppy in reporting their temperatures. Even if 350° is dead accurate (and maybe it isn't), the same oven can be off at 325°. It's best if you preheat the oven for 30 minutes with an oven-safe thermometer before the turkey goes in. Measure twice, bake once, as the saying goes.
A Meat Thermometer Is the Voice of Authority
For a home run, use a meat thermometer. It is the final word on whether the turkey is ready or not. Insert the probe where the meat is the thickest, the breast or the thigh, and don’t let it touch bone. Keep it in place during the whole cooking process.
When the probe reads 165°/breast or 175° thigh, take out the bird. It doesn’t matter if the bird is stuffed or not because the meat needs to cross that line. Let the turkey rest on the counter for about 30 minutes to let the flavor really develop. The internal temperature will continue to rise another 10°F; but, more importantly, the bird will re-absorbed the roasted/seasoned juices and the flavor will bloom inside the meat. For the big birds, the heat loss is slower and so is the re-absorption, so the wait is closer to 45 to 60 minutes before you carve.
The Role of Convection Heating
If you have convection heating, our birds will cook about 20% faster, but at the cost of drying out the breast. If you like to baste your bird, this isn’t a problem. You can coat the skin with butter or oil to retain some of that moisture. However, if you tend to crank out dry meats, you don’t want the convection option turned on. Better to keep that moistness inside the bird and slow-cook it into tender tastiness.
Overflowing Juices
Our turkeys are farm raised and run around a pasture all day, so they are leaner than commercial-farm birds. They are also minimally processed, so they don’t come back water-logged. As a result, our birds release real juices into the pan, but not with a flood of water to dilute it all. Summed and totaled, they will release less liquid that you would expect, especially if you cook the giblets separately.
The only problem would be the wing tips sticking over the pan, or a pan with a tight fit. Drippings over the edge can be stopped by placing foil or cookie sheets underneath the pan or on the rack below. The oven will smoke if oil drips down to the floor of the oven where the metal is very hot.
Really, Really Good Soup Bones
If you make soup afterwards, you will discover another great aspect of our pasture-raised turkey: high-protein, gelatin-rich stock. Soups and stews become extra silky and more nutritious with our bones as a stock base.
We roast our leftover bones for about 30 minutes at 350°, then simmer them in a slow cooker for the day. Once the bones are sieved out and the broth cools, it congeals because it is so high in gelatin. Store in the fridge until needed.
Finishing Touches
To protect the turkey skin and achieve moist breast meat, we will put an aluminum tent over the top (shiny side up) about 2/3rds through the cooking time.
