Saving an overcooked turkey

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Chief Longwind Of The North

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A perfectly cooked turkey is a wonderful thing. But let's face it; we've all roasted, or smoked a dry, overcooked bird.

We were having a Thanksgiving pot luck just before the holiday, and my job was to smoke one, and bake one turkey. Now mind you, my technique produces very moist and tender turkey, full of flavor. Well, it so happened that the weather was cold, around 35 to 40' F. at night, and I had two electric turkey roasters to store, and present my turkeys in. I decided to prepare, and carve the birds the day before the pot luck, and reheat to 145' F in the electric roasters when time to serve. The oven roasted bird came out perfect, and was carved up, and placed into one roaster. The smoked bird, on the Webber kettle, was overcooked and dry. However, there was lots of great juices in the drip pan that had sat beneath the bird. I carved it up. and carefully arranged it into the other roasting pan. As with the baked bird, I poured the broth over the bird, completely covering it, and put it into the car for safe keeping, knowing the ambient temperature to be safe. When the birds were reheated, and the excess broth removed to make gravy, I got rave reviews on both birds. Sitting in the broth overnight rehydrated the dry meat, making it moist, tender, and adding rich flavor.

Moral of the story, if you can prepare your bird the day before, and store it overnight in its own turkey broth, you can fix a dry bird, and enhance the flavor whether dry, or perfectly cooked.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Good to know Chief, thanks.

I often cooked turkey the day before as the next day was usually too hectic to worry about what was where and for how long. Just one thing off the list. Picked this up from my sister who did this for the same reason.

Sliced, covered in the pan juices, later the gravy was made the day of from the juices removed. Worked beautifully. Never thought about it as a rescue though! LOL perhaps some of the meat was overcooked and I never knew! :LOL:
 

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