Many customers ask how to best roast a Joe’s Farm Fresh Turkey. The short answer is that there are many ways to cook your bird and we don’t want you to abandon your favorite. Here is what we consider to be the perfect way to cook Joe’s Farm Fresh Turkey.  It’s been used and proven successful by our customers for many years.

Step 1) Prepare your Joe’s Farm Fresh Turkey

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse the turkey (inside and out) with cold running water.  REMOVE THE GIBLETS AND THEIR BAGS FROM THE BODY CAVITY AND THE NECK CAVITY! Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.  Next, slice 1 large red apple and combine it in a glass bowel with one cup of water and a cinnamon stick.  Microwave this mix on high for 5 minutes, drain off the water and place the cinnamon stick and the apples into the cavity of the turkey. Add to the cavity, 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and 6 fresh or dried sage leaves (fresh is best if you can find it!).

Tuck in the birds wings and brush or rub the turkey liberally with canola oil.

Don’t reach for the foil to cover the breast! Long cooking under foil holds in moisture so the breast tends to stew in its own juices rather than roast by dry heat. Stewing the breast will actually over cook and dry out the breast.  So here is the secret, soak a four-layer piece of cheesecloth in melted unsalted butter and use it to cover the breast. The texture of the cheesecloth holds fat on the surface but the bird still breathes and browns through the cloth’s open weave.

Lay your turkey into a roasting rack, inside a low and wide roasting pan…breast side down (the cheesecloth will not fall off).  Pour one cup of water or turkey/chicken stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the center of the thigh muscles, being careful so that the thermometer does not touch any bones.

Step 2) Roasting your Joe’s Farm Fresh Turkey

The approximate roasting times for your turkey at 325 degrees are listed below.  However, we recommend cooking by internal temperature rather than time.  We suggest you use this chart as a guideline to time your sides rather than to perfectly cook your bird.  We do not recommend stuffing your bird but include times for your use just in case.  Finally, we note that these times are shortened considerably by using a Joe’s Farm Fresh Turkey so please, plan on reducing these time by as much as 30 minutes or more.

Every 30 minutes of roasting, baste your bird with pan juices.  As you are basting , rotate your pan ¼ turn in the oven.  Cook your turkey until your thermometer reads 150 to 155 degrees.  Yes, we know that safe cooking guidelines say to cook your bird to 165 degrees, but remember that your turkey will continue to cook after removed from the oven. Remember too that the breast will cook more quickly than the thigh, so if you cook to a 165 degree temperature your turkey breast will be dry as dust. To prevent the cheesecloth from sticking, when the turkey is almost done, baste it as you remove the cheesecloth so that the skin does not tear. Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest very loosely covered with foil for 15 to 25 minutes.

Step 3) Carving your Joe’s Farm Fresh Turkey

We think this video does a nice job explaining how to carve your bird, but here are some written instructions for you use.

WATCH THE VIDEO

You may have to watch an ad first but it’s worth the wait! Notice how pink the bird is, that’s because his turkey is perfectly cooked! We are digging his pinkie ring too!

Turn the turkey on a carving plate or board, breast side up.  Always cut the dark meat before the white meat as it will stay moist longer.

Carve the leg quarter off (thigh and leg) by cutting through the skin that attaches the leg quarter to the breast, pull down and separate/cut the leg quarter from the body.

Cut the drumstick (leg) from the thigh by first feeling for the joint between the two and cutting straight down at that joint.

Cut the breast from the carcass by placing your knife on top of the bird and carving down, following the breast bone all the way down and to the side of the bird (follow the wishbone).  The breast will fall off and then slice it against the grain, and fairly thick.

Plate up your bird, serve and enjoy!