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How we Roast Heritage Turkey
Hotter & Faster
Bring the bird to room temperature before cooking. No need to brine. Salt, pepper and season to taste the out and inside of your turkey. Loosen the skin around the breast with your fingers and insert plain or your favorite seasoned butter which makes it self-basting. Lay turkey on top of raised rack inside roasting pan with 2-4 cups water, wine or broth. Tent turkey with oiled parchment paper (you can use foil or oiled wooden clothes pins to hold tent to pan).
Roast heritage turkey in a hot oven pre-heated at 450F and cook until an internal breast & thigh temperature of 140F-150F is reached and juice runs clear. Don't let the tip of the thermometer touch the bone. Additional basting during roasting is not recommended since opening oven will lower temperature. Remove tent last 30 minutes of cooking.
Since heritage turkey do not have oversized breast, the bird will cook more evenly. If the breast is done, but the thighs are not, you can simply cut off the legs and put them back in the oven while you make your gravy or cover the breast with heavy foil while the legs finish.
(Note: The USDA recommends turkeys be cooked to 160F-180F, but these temperature will dry out a heritage turkey. Heritage birds are much more free of disease and bacteria, unlike commercially raised birds, and do not need extreme temperatures to make them safe for consumption**)
Cook any stuffing first and put inside the heritage turkey right at roasting. Due to the reduced cooking time, stuffing won't become fully cooked. You and also try adding a quartered orange, apple and/or pear inside the cavity instead of stuffing.
Let the roasted bird rest 30 minutes before carving. Don't forget to save the carcass for some yummy turkey broth for your freezer!
** Source: LocalHarvest
Sustainably Grown Pastured Poultry
