Holidays

[momof3heathens]

remind me I suck at cooking.

Turkey done however there's a gross gooey layer of fat under the skin. Never seen this before. Back in the oven as I really don' know what else to do to deal with it. I'm afraid the meat will be very dry though.

[Chantel]

I feel like if there's a layer of fat under the skin, it may be because you didn't start the oven off hot enough to melt it, but I have never experienced that myself. I know this is a little late, but here is a method I use and I have gotten great results from it.

Make a broth ahead of time. I usually have a 15-20 kg bird, so 4-5 containers of Campbells chicken broth (or volume equivalent) plus all the usual turkey spices are allowed to simmer for a few hours. Strain if you'd like at the end. Add a little bit of butter.

Lift up the breast skin and rub with butter under the skin. You can add flavorings to the butter, which I do. Garlic, rosemary, poultry seasoning, etc. Also rub the outside meat with butter.

Get a cheesecloth or two (two for a bigger bird, you need the coverage) from the dollar store. Dunk this in your broth mixture, and lay over your turkey. Cover it completely, like tucking in a kid to keep monsters away. Nothing peeking out.

Oven to 425 for 30 minutes, then baste (with the prepared stock now, and with the juices and prepared stock as well later), completely soaking the cheesecloth. MUST get it very sopping wet every time. Then back in the oven at 350, baste every 30 minutes until it comes to temperature or close to (I SINCERELY recommend an igrill or something similar for this), usually 2-3 hours, and once you're at safe temp, remove your cheesecloth. Your bird will be a pale color now. Baste every 15 minutes with the drippings and remove from the oven when it's the color you want.

Remove and allow to rest for at least one hour. It seems like forever, but it gets you a VERY moist turkey. Tent it with foil while it is resting.

Good luck!

[padyofurniture]

Not sure I've had a fatty layer like you mention. I do cut off the excess layer of fat from the front. We don't eat the skin anyways.

One product I've liked using for the past couple of years is an oven bag. It keeps the bird moist and you don't have to add any other liquids to the bag. I don't think I'd want to do the turkey any other way now.

[SnowFlakey]

I ALWAYS cut off any fat i see on chicken or turkey, especially near the breast. I cant get it all off but i can get some off.

[SnowFlakey]

Also if the fatty layer is present, open the lid of your roaster and let it roast without the lit for 1/2 hour to crispy the skin. It might help.