Roasted steamed turkey from Jacques Pepin

[greygarious]

Phaedrus posted a link to the NY Times piece in Food Media/News. I thought I'd link to it here since some of the Hounds on this board may not look at FMN.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/din...

[JeremyEG]

I did this for Thanksgiving and liked some of the result. The skin was amazingly crispy which was great. For some reason though, I found the bird less tender though than it has been in the past. Almost like the skin was 'tight' around the meat. I ended up carving the legs and thighs and putting them in a hot oven with some butter and herbs for a few minutes even after the meat had come up to temp. This made it much better but I'm still not sure why the meat was on the tougher side even after cooking to exactly the right temperature. Cooking science is mysterious and fun!
JeremyEG
HomeCookLocavore.com

[Teep]

Tried it and loved it. Breast meat was moist, like brining but without the hassle. And much quicker to cook, 1.5 hours total for an 8-pounder.

I did some variations - rubbed on herbs and salt before steaming and adding some celery leaves to the water. The 8 lb turkey fit in the stock pot standing up. Protected the sides with parchment but was a bit stingy with it so some wing skin was left stuck to the stock pot. For the glaze I used apple juice, honey and worcester sauce. Skin was too brown so I had to tent it and it lost its crispness.

Will be using this method from now on.

[steamer]

Did this at thanksgiving, steamed it in a big graniteware roaster. Poured out the liquid and roasted it in the same pan. Bird cooked quickly, and the skin was getting crisp too fast so i needed to put a foil tent on it too. Came out very juicy,I guess i would do this again if I made a whole turkey.

[cbrownnyc]

Can anyone recommend the size pot I would need for steaming a 16 lbs turkey. I have seen 32 and 50 quart pots but I am not sure which size will work.

[seamunky]

I think you would be fine with a 32 quart pot. But if you are shopping for a big pot for this recipe, perhaps you might consider a turkey fryer kit. They usually include a burner/valve/hose and a pot big enough for your turkey and are often the same price as the pot by itself. you can use the burner for the steaming step. And, if you don't like the steam/roasted turkey, you can always fry a turkey!

[avass]

I made this today and it was downright awful. Tasteless. This was the only unsuccessful turkey I have made in years. Next year I am returning to the tried and true brining process. I can't believe how bad this was -- no one enjoyed it. A real disappointment.

[smtucker]

Thank you for reporting on this, but I am really sorry that your turkey wasn't enjoyable.

[SWISSAIRE]

In a sense, the plastic bags used to cook Turkey ( Reynolds Oven Bags, etc.) are a form of steam cooking. Rather than added water, beer, fruit juice, or wine, they use the oven heat and the moisture from the Turkey. The advisement on the box suggests making holes or knife slits into the bag to avoid it exploding.

The benefit is that is cooks very well, and controls the cooking mess.I'm glad I brought back a few boxes of the bags a few years ago.

Avass, you are correct about a brined bird. Better results, but I would still roast it under a broiler at the end, if possible.

To celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends, we drove up to our snowed-in Chalet, having to 4-wheel it through the snow, and packing everything in. ( Getting the stove fired up, and everything warm took an hour on it's own, but it was worth it). We made a local supplied Turkey in one of our roasting pans, on a wood-fired stove, stuffing the breast skin with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Everything came out moist in 2.5 hours, but the breast meat separated from the bone.

I left the thermometer at the house, but it was all well cooked. ( And all eaten ).

Let it snow !

[sasha1]

I'll let everyone know how it turned out then - I was just intrigued by the concept. I'll put my birdie above the water line!!

[sasha1]

I'm trying this tomorrow, but with a boneless breast roast instead of a whole bird. I've got a question though. He says to steam for starters, but I think with 6 cups of water, the turkey will be sitting in the liquid, even on a rack and with a large surface area from the big pot. Should I put in less water, elevate the rack by putting it on top of a foil coil, or just let the bird partly sit in the water?

[Joebob]

I would keep it above the water by any means necessary.

[sunshine842]

I think with just a breast roast instead of a whole bird, you would be safe cutting down the amount of water -- you don't have the surface area to steam that you would with a whole bird, so you don't need as much water.

[Bacardi1]

You'll have to let us know how this turns out, because frankly I don't see this method working at all with a boneless breast roast. It's not skinless too, is it?

I wouldn't think this was a necessary cooking method at all for a boneless breast. The steaming process is pretty much to ensure more even cooking time between dark & white meat, plus cut down on roasting time in general for a whole large bird. A boneless breast is not only all white meat, but takes practically no time to cook compared to a whole bird.

Again - I'll be very interested to hear how this turns out for you.

[greygarious]

I'll bet the steaming creates a moister bird. Back in my days of raising and showing pedigreed cats, I boiled a frozen turkey for them every week. I would put it in a big pot, breast side up, fill the pot halfway with water, cover, and boil until the meat fell off the bones, which were soft enough to crush with my fingers. When the breast was done, I would remove one side (which had remained above the liquid) for use in sandwiches, etc. Then I'd poke the other side and the carcass until the remaining meat was submerged. The breast meat I removed was supremely tender and moist.

[SWISSAIRE]

We steam a whole chicken with vegetables weekly.

We add minced garlic and garden herbes to the steam water. Fresh sprigs of Tarragon, Rosemary, Basil, Sage,Thyme, even Oregano all work well. Just a few.

We have steam-cooked Turkey using a stainless steel brater, or roasting pan, which includes a steam tray insert. We finish the bird in the roasting pan under the broiler, on high for 10 minutes, to brown

Less time, lower heat setting, and yes the skin is crisp, and the meat is moist and juicy..

[sasha1]

Well, my report is eh. The turkey did not have a crisper skin than usual. The meat was not moister than usual. And it didn't cook particularly quickly either. I think next time I'll stick with roasting. I did dry brine it in salt for about 20 hours before cooking.

[Bacardi1]

Thanks for the update.

I'll continue to stick with steam-roasting for Julia Child's goose only.

[roxlet]

We cook Thanksgiving dinner at my SIL's house, and she has truly terrible ovens. What they seem to do, since they are completely sealed when they're shut, is steam roast. It's a challenge to bake pies, but the turkey comes out really well. When you open the oven door, you get a face full of steam!!

[sunshine842]

prop the door open just a crack to let some of the moisture escape.

[tcamp]

Plus, you can cook and enjoy a sauna at the same time!

[sunshine842]

I steam chicken wings to pull the fat out of the skin before roasting them -- wonderfully crispy skin.

Don't see why it wouldn't work with a whole bird, but I don't have and refuse to buy a pot big enough to try it.

[Savour]

I've tried a similar technique for goose and it did work well.

[Splendid Spatula]

I too have done goose this way, with excellent results. I think the recipe is from The Way To Cook.

[Bacardi1]

Yes - Julia Child's wonderful tome "The Way To Cook" has a fabulous recipe for "Steam-Roasted Goose with Port Wine Gravy". It's been our traditional Xmas dinner since the book was first published, & is wonderful.

However, I'm not interested in doing it with a turkey. Regular roasting has done me oh so very well over the decades, & I'm in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" camp.

[tcamp]

I read that on Wednesday and I'd love to taste it. Even though the steaming process sounds pretty painless, there is no room in my kitchen for a large pot of steaming turkey on Thanksgiving. Maybe a fun experiment with a smaller bird on another, less kitchen-crowded day.