Roasting turkey in a dutch oven like you would a beef roast.

[Kjeldormage]

I was feeling adventurous and want to spice up Thanksgiving this year. My sister graciously gifted me a giant Calphalon enamel cast iron dutch oven yesterday and I want to get "hella-creative".

What i was wondering is if the below concept could be executed properly or am I going to have a massive failure of dry turkey pillow stuffing or slippery under cooked filth?

The concept I want to employ:
-Buy 10 lb turkey
-Cut it inot pieces
-Brine pieces
-Brown the turkey pieces like you would a beef roast in the dutch oven
-Add red onion, porcinis, and red wine and sautee` in the browny goodness left over.
-Re-add the turkey pieces with some chicken stock and roast on 325 till the turkey is done via meat thermometer

What do you all think? Any suggestions?

[todao]

Here's a video that might provide some ideas.
They don't use a dutch oven but the principal is the same and this procedure should work just as well in a dutch oven.

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/re...

[sandylc]

It might make the turkey more edible :-) I am not a turkey lover, can you tell? I think I might kind of like this turkey, though - it would be moist and flavorful; quite a change from the usual!

Here's an idea - how about you remove the skin first and fry it up crisp for a topping/garnish? I am seeing crispy chicken skin more frequently these days as everything from a garnish to a bar munchy.

[otisman]

One Thanksgiving I braised one turkey and oven-roasted another. The braised bird was tastier. I used a pile of aromatic veggies which helped flavor it. The gravy was terrific--it made a great soup the next day. Here's a blog from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/din...

[greygarious]

You'll get something closer to coq au vin than roast turkey. The skin will not be crisp.
If that's your goal, refer to Hubert Keller's coq au vin recipe from PBS's Secrets of a Chef. It's on my to do list. It entails an overnight marinade and has many steps but none are difficult.

[acgold7]

Braising is best for meats with a lot of collagen and connective tissue, which Turkey lacks. So you do run the risk of it being dry when it's in the middle zone between sort of rare and falling apart into the juices.

[Querencia]

I have roasted a frozen turkey breast in the slow cooker. At night before I go to bed I unwrap it and put it frozen in the slow cooker and turn it on LOW. The next day I ignore it. By dinner time it is done and even slightly brown.

[Uncle Bob]

Turkey Stew..........

[magiesmom]

I think it would be a delicious braised meal. I'd use a lot of onion and some garlic and carrots, myself.

Here's the CI version
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recip...

[twyst]

Using the method you described, it really wouldnt be roasted, it would be braised, but it would be delicious!

[coll]

It would be something different. I once ran out of propane in the middle of cooking my Thanksgiving turkey and luckily remembered someone had given me one of those big electric roasters. You put water in the tray under and cover the whole thing. My guests swore it was the best, most moist turkey they ever had. I was in such a state I don't remember exactly how I did it, maybe I should try it again this year!

Yours, since you're cooking directly in the liquid, will probably be falling off the bones when done. Definitely not dry, more like melt in your mouth.