How To Cook A Deconstructed Turkey

No one knows how many families bring a whole cooked turkey to the Thanksgiving table for carving. The larger the bird, the more difficult it is to cook properly and carve. No doubt there are families who love the Norman Rockwell mystique and have a golden brown, succulent bird ready for father to carve; however, many people prefer the ease and convenience of deconstructing, or taking the bird apart, before cooking to shorten cooking time and improve the tenderness and texture of the meat.

Deconstructed

The concept of deconstructing comes from the art world, where projects were taken apart and put back together in a different manner from the original to yield a varied effect. Deconstructing traditional dishes is a method that chefs use to add artistic twists to old favorites and to improve the final results of hard-to-cook foods. Deconstructing a turkey is a good example of a food that can be improved by a different preparation and cooking approach. A deconstructed turkey consists of taking apart the bird into manageable pieces that are easier to handle. The bird cooks in a much shorter time and the meat, especially the dark meat, is succulent, tender and juicy.

Cutting Sections

There are several ways to deconstruct a turkey for cooking. One method is to buy it already cut into breast, leg and thigh portions. It's easy to purchase sections of a turkey from the grocery store, or ask you butcher to cut a whole bird into pieces. If you have good knife skills, you may want to deconstruct your own turkey by separating the leg and thigh portions from the body, removing the back bone and clipping off the wing tips. Save the back bone and wing tips for making stock. For the truly adventurous cook, you might decide to debone the turkey while taking it apart. Deboning a bird requires excellent knife skills and the ability to remove the bones in a manner that allows you to reconstruct the bird for cooking.

Brining

After cutting the turkey apart, you may decide you would like to brine it. Brining involves soaking the pieces of meat in a salt water and spice mixture to add moisture and flavor. Most people brine a whole turkey to help it cook more evenly and allow the breast meat to retain its moisture while cooking the legs and thighs. Brining is not necessary when a bird is deconstructed because you can cook the different parts of the bird at varied rates and temperatures to ensure the legs are tender and the breast is still moist; however, if you still choose to brine, now is the time to do it. Place the cut pieces of turkey in a large container or plastic baggies and add your brine mixture. Allow the bird to remain in the brine for anywhere from four hours to overnight. Remove the brined meat, rinse, pat dry and season before cooking.

To Stuff or Not

One of the disadvantages to deconstructing a turkey is that you can't stuff it inside the bird. However, if you still like the idea of cooking the stuffing with the meat, you can make a turkey roll with the boneless breast and the stuffing. Lay the breast meat with the skin side down, on a cutting plastic or glass cutting board. Cover it with a piece of wax paper and hammer it with a mallet until it's about 1-inch thick. Layer stuffing over the top of the hammered breast and roll starting from one end. Cover the rolled breast until you're ready to roast it.

Making Stock

The day before your holiday meal is the day to make stock, which you can use for gravy, soup and other dishes. Place the neck, giblets, wings, back bone and other bones you've removed from the turkey in a large pot with
aromatics -- onions, carrots, celery, garlic and your favorite herbs. Cover with water and simmer for about three to four hours. Allow the stock to cool and remove the bones and other bits and pieces, leaving a clear liquid in the pot. Store in the refrigerator overnight.

Roasting the Bird

Remove the turkey meat from the refrigerator and the brine, if you've brined it, and allow it to reach room temperature on the big day. Brown the legs in a roasting pan on top of the stove with butter, olive oil and a little salt. Add some aromatics and a cup or two of stock and roast the legs in the oven for about three hours, depending on the size of the turkey. You can't overcook the leg meat. Drain the drippings, leaving just enough in the pan to moisten the bottom and add the legs -- skin side up -- back to the pan with the breast laying on top of them. Make sure the seam side of the rolled breast is on the bottom laying against the legs to help it stay rolled. Put the pan back in the oven to roast for another hour to 1 1/2 hours until the meat reaches 155 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove it from the oven at that point and allow it to stand for 20 to 30 minutes, where it will reach the desired 165 degrees on its own.

Gravy

When the turkey comes out of the oven to rest before slicing, pour the pan drippings and the remaining stock into a saucepan and reduce to make gravy. Add butter, wine and other flavorings or spices to give the gravy your personal touch. Thicken the gravy by adding a few spoons full of flour to water or buttermilk, whisking them together until the mixture is smooth. Then add the flour mixture to the hot stock to avoid lumpy gravy.