Well Raised

The first thing you can do to ensure a great meal is to splurge for a well raised bird.

Some of the most well known "happy turkey" or certified organic brands raise a handful of birds for promotional videos each year, but the vast majority of the birds are contracted to regular factories. Maybe if they are lucky some have doors that open to the dirt patch outside and which are rarely used.

Getting a TC Farm bird, you'll know you can feel good about the entire process for every animal. The reward comes through in the flavor and health of your meal -- plus all the environmental benefits too!

We've tried all different types of preparation strategies to get a moist white meat and fantastic dark. Having a heritage turkey really gives you a buffer here -- better results even roasting traditionally.

However, to enjoy the best of what any turkey has to offer, the dark meat and white meat should be cooked separately.

Cooking the dark meat ahead of time also reduces the amount of work on the big day.

Separating the dark meat from the white is fairly easy. Here are the basic steps:

1. Cut the skin to separate the drumsticks from the breast without cutting through any meat. Try to cut the skin as close to the drumstick as possible
2. Flip the bird over and press your thumbs into the thigh joint by the backbone and pull out on the drumsticks to dislocate that joint.
3. Work your knife along the backbone to separate the thigh from the backbone, trying to avoid cutting through any meat. I like to start from the back, carving out the "oyster" from just behind the joint before coming forward through the thigh.

Here is a video of me cutting the dark meat off of our turkey. This is a one-shot video so forgive the non-polished nature of it!

Either purchase our pre-smoked turkey or follow the steps for our Smoked/Sous Vide chicken for a DYI option. I added Herbs de Provence as well as the salt (after smoking). In total, you want about 1tsp of salt per pound of turkey.

After the meat has Sous Vide at 165 - 170 for 10-12 hours, you can put it into the freezer, or keep in a fridge for a few days.

To serve, bring the meat back up to room temp or even 130+ degrees in a water bath, then grill, broil or pan fry to crisp up the skin just before serving.

Tips

• If you don't have a smoker, you can skip that step and just include a bit of liquid smoke along with the herbs and salt.
• Consider following the instructions from our confit recipe to dry out the dark meat a bit in a fridge overnight.
• Remember: You don't need a Sous Vide machine, but it is easier. Just use a stockpot full of 165-degree water placed in an oven at the same temp (see example in the video)
• We use this sous vide machine - totally worth it.

Include your wings as "dark meat" and cook with this recipe unless you really want them on your white meat roast.

Here is a short video showing how to finish the dark meat and make a quick gravy

If you don't have a sous vide machine, here is a short video showing an alternative: