Poll of the Day > How much do you really like turkey meat?

(+) Yeah! (+)

enough to eat it all day every day year round?
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I could eat turkey every day. But only the white meat
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I love ground turkey meat, I'll eat that shit plain
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Turkey is my goto for sandwiches and hoagies.
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pretty sure I like chicken more. not sure why we even eat turkey.
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Turkey is great but I don't get it often unless there's a sale.
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I don't. I actually stopped eating it for Thanksgiving like 15 years ago. Now I generally just eat chicken.


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It's bomb stuff! A well cooked Turkey is like having giant chicken.
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The tryptophan is magical for those who like to nap.
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I dont mind it. But I dont eat it a lot. I sometimes have sliced turkey though the year. But I always remember Thanksgiving turkey tasting a little different.

But I WILL NOT eat turkey bacon. I want real bacon...
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It's pretty damn good. I'm not ultra crazy about it though. I'll eat the dark meat more readily than the white meat.

Now, a bird I love living, but I love the taste of enough to eat it every day? Duck. Quack quack yum yum.
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ReturnOfFa posted...

Now, a bird I love living, but I love the taste of enough to eat it every day? Duck. Quack quack yum yum.

Goose is also nice. But the problem with both is that they're essentially entirely dark meat. Which isn't necessarily a problem if you like dark meat, but a lot of people prefer white meat, which kind of leaves them screwed.


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It's OK, and it's easy to work with.
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Dark meat > white meat

I don't know how people can stand white meat personally.
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shadowsword87 posted...

Dark meat > white meat

I don't know how people can stand white meat personally.

By drowning it in gravy
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shadowsword87 posted...

Dark meat > white meat

I don't know how people can stand white meat personally.

I think its tastier, so I like white meat more...
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Could totally eat it every day. /5
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I can only eat it occasionally. It's good but I get sick of it fast
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Chicken > Certain fish > Beef > Other fish > shellfish > Turkey > Pork
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why don't you like pork?
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I'm not crazy about the white meat, especially cold and on sandwiches. But I Love the dark meat.

I couldn't eat it every day, though.
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I used to hate turkey. It was dry and bland and tough and terrible. Especially the white meat. The white meat was literally inedible unless you chewed it with water.

Or at least, that's the way my grandmother used to make it. Every single damn year.

Then she got too old to do the cooking, so I tried making the turkey, following the instructions from Good Eats. I brined that bird for 2 days.

It was the best turkey I'd ever had. Even the white meat was tender and juicy. I had seconds, and thirds. So did everyone else. Everyone loved my turkey.

Except my grandmother. She said it was awful. I think she was just bitter that my turkey was so much better than hers and on my very first attempt.

captpackrat posted...

I used to hate turkey. It was dry and bland and tough and terrible. Especially the white meat. The white meat was literally inedible unless you chewed it with water.

Or at least, that's the way my grandmother used to make it. Every single damn year.

Then she got too old to do the cooking, so I tried making the turkey, following the instructions from Good Eats. I brined that bird for 2 days.

It was the best turkey I'd ever had. Even the white meat was tender and juicy. I had seconds, and thirds. So did everyone else. Everyone loved my turkey.

Except my grandmother. She said it was awful. I think she was just bitter that my turkey was so much better than hers and on my very first attempt.

You got a recipe?
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Not at all. It's just crappy chicken.
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Its not bad enough that i would rather go hungry but im not much a fan.
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Oops_All_Berrys posted...

captpackrat posted...

I used to hate turkey. It was dry and bland and tough and terrible. Especially the white meat. The white meat was literally inedible unless you chewed it with water.

Or at least, that's the way my grandmother used to make it. Every single damn year.

Then she got too old to do the cooking, so I tried making the turkey, following the instructions from Good Eats. I brined that bird for 2 days.

It was the best turkey I'd ever had. Even the white meat was tender and juicy. I had seconds, and thirds. So did everyone else. Everyone loved my turkey.

Except my grandmother. She said it was awful. I think she was just bitter that my turkey was so much better than hers and on my very first attempt.

You got a recipe?

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe-1950271

The keys things to remember are:

1. Soak the thawed turkey in the brine solution for at least 8 to 16 hours. This causes the meat to absorb moisture and seasoning.

2. Cook very quickly at a high temperature (500F for 30 minutes, then 350 until done). The causes less moisture loss, resulting in a juicier turkey.

3. Don't stuff the bird. Stuffing makes it take longer to cook, making the turkey dry.

4. Use a probe thermometer with an alarm set to 161F. That takes all the guesswork out of it.

5. Let the turkey sit under foil or a large mixing bowl for at least 15 minutes to let the meat settle and the juices get reabsorbed.

captpackrat posted...

2. Cook very quickly at a high temperature (500F for 30 minutes, then 350 until done). The causes less moisture loss, resulting in a juicier turkey.

That's false, actually. Browning is done entirely for flavour purposes, and has no impact on moisture retention (I've actually seen studies done that suggest searing steaks after cooking them retains slightly more moisture than doing it before). Doing it at the front end just means you don't have to worry about guessing when the turkey is half an hour from being done, since you don't want to finish cooking it and then cook at high heat for another half hour (that will dry it out).

captpackrat posted...

3. Don't stuff the bird. Stuffing makes it take longer to cook, making the turkey dry.

Depends what you stuff it with. The traditional bread-based stuffing? Absolutely, don't do that (that's actually somewhat dangerous, since the stuffing will be soaked with turkey juices but won't necessarily reach 165 to be safe to eat). My mother's approach with turkey, though, is to stuff it with apple, orange, and onion slices, which give it a nice flavour and also add moisture to it. That, I can recommend.

Metalsonic66 posted...

shadowsword87 posted...

Dark meat > white meat

I don't know how people can stand white meat personally.

By drowning it in gravy

If it's cooked right, white meat's delicious. You need to be careful not to take it much past 165, though. The fat content of dark meat makes it a lot more forgiving of overcooking, but white meat will dry out very quickly if you mess up.

I like turkey okay - I have sliced turkey sandwiches every now and again, and when it comes to Thanksgiving, I love the white meat.
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_AdjI_ posted...

that's actually somewhat dangerous, since the stuffing will be soaked with turkey juices but won't necessarily reach 165 to be safe to eat

adjl, you are no fun.
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Turkey I eat a lot less often then chicken, but I do like it when I eat it. I could see getting tired of it if I ate it every day though.
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shadowsword87 posted...

_AdjI_ posted...

that's actually somewhat dangerous, since the stuffing will be soaked with turkey juices but won't necessarily reach 165 to be safe to eat

adjl, you are no fun.

It can be fine if you warm the stuffing up separately. Scoop it out and put it in a casserole dish before you set the turkey up for carving, then put that into the turned-off oven (it'll still be pretty warm from the turkey) while you carve. That should be enough, though it's still worth checking.

Alternatively, just mix up a batch separate from the turkey. All the flavour, none of the salmonella.

I think Id rather have the stuffing than the turkey...
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_AdjI_ posted...

captpackrat posted...

2. Cook very quickly at a high temperature (500F for 30 minutes, then 350 until done). The causes less moisture loss, resulting in a juicier turkey.

That's false, actually. Browning is done entirely for flavour purposes, and has no impact on moisture retention (I've actually seen studies done that suggest searing steaks after cooking them retains slightly more moisture than doing it before). Doing it at the front end just means you don't have to worry about guessing when the turkey is half an hour from being done, since you don't want to finish cooking it and then cook at high heat for another half hour (that will dry it out).

I meant cooking quickly as opposed to low and slow. My grandmother would put the turkey in the oven at like 275 and cook it for 4 hours or some stupidly long time. My turkey is usually done in about 2 hours at 500/350.

captpackrat posted...

3. Don't stuff the bird. Stuffing makes it take longer to cook, making the turkey dry.

Depends what you stuff it with. The traditional bread-based stuffing? Absolutely, don't do that (that's actually somewhat dangerous, since the stuffing will be soaked with turkey juices but won't necessarily reach 165 to be safe to eat). My mother's approach with turkey, though, is to stuff it with apple, orange, and onion slices, which give it a nice flavour and also add moisture to it. That, I can recommend

That's not stuffing, that's just aromatics. Since you don't eat it, it doesn't need to be cooked to a safe temperature (which is why stuffing sucks, by the time it hits 165 in the center, the meat is toast). I follow Alton Brown's recipe and use apple, onion, cinnamon, rosemary and sage

captpackrat posted...

Since you don't eat it, it doesn't need to be cooked to a safe temperature

Well, you could still eat it. People like to eat apples and oranges... plus, they dont have to be cooked, so theyd be at a safe temperature, anyway.

captpackrat posted...

which is why stuffing sucks

It may suck for cooking, but it taste awesome. Much better than turkey. And Im one of the people who likes turkey...
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Turkey wings are amazing! The white meat is good as well.

I can do without it. On Thanksgiving we have so many delicious side dishes that I don't ever eat the turkey. I usually end up mixing it up with stuff a couple of days later for turkey salad sandwiches. I have never had stuffing and wouldn't eat anything cooked inside a turkey. Come to think of it I have never seen that done in real life, just in magazines but where I live we have cornbread dressing which is larrupin good.
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LinkPizza posted...

captpackrat posted...

which is why stuffing sucks

It may suck for cooking, but it taste awesome. Much better than turkey. And Im one of the people who likes turkey...

You can still have stuffing, you just cook it separately. Which is better anyway since you can make a lot more of it than can fit inside one lousy little bird.

I wish I knew my grandmother's stuffing recipe. Her turkey was horrible, but she had the best stuffing. I know it had homemade cornbread, onions and hard-boiled eggs, but she never wrote down any of the ingredients and I never really paid a lot of attention to how she made it until it was too late.

captpackrat posted...

LinkPizza posted...

captpackrat posted...

which is why stuffing sucks

It may suck for cooking, but it taste awesome. Much better than turkey. And Im one of the people who likes turkey...

You can still have stuffing, you just cook it separately. Which is better anyway since you can make a lot more of it than can fit inside one lousy little bird.

I wish I knew my grandmother's stuffing recipe. Her turkey was horrible, but she had the best stuffing. I know it had homemade cornbread, onions and hard-boiled eggs, but she never wrote down any of the ingredients and I never really paid a lot of attention to how she made it until it was too late.

Tbh, I dont think we ever cook it inside the turkey. I dont even think the person who makes the turkey makes the stuffing. Also, I guess she might not have told you after you made a better turkey...
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Not at all. At Thanksgiving or Christmas, I prefer ham.
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captpackrat posted...

I meant cooking quickly as opposed to low and slow. My grandmother would put the turkey in the oven at like 275 and cook it for 4 hours or some stupidly long time. My turkey is usually done in about 2 hours at 500/350.

350 isn't that high for roasting. That's a pretty normal range, and still in "low and slow" territory. 275 is very low, though, especially if she didn't cover it (you can get away with a lot more by covering it).

captpackrat posted...

That's not stuffing, that's just aromatics.

Well yes, technically it's not stuffing. You still stuff the turkey with it, though. It doesn't get served as stuffing, for obvious reasons.

LinkPizza posted...

Well, you could still eat it. People like to eat apples and oranges... plus, they dont have to be cooked, so theyd be at a safe temperature, anyway.

Anything that has touched raw poultry needs to be cooked in order to be safe to eat. You can eat those aromatics, certainly, but you need to make sure they're hot.

I hate it. It's like God was in a bad mood and instead of making more chickens, he made turkeys instead. Adding gravy to it, however is a different story.
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Firewood18 posted...

The tryptophan is magical for those who like to nap.

false.

https://www.popsci.com/does-turkey-make-you-sleepy
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captpackrat posted...

Alton Brown

*thumbs-up*
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I wouldn't eat it every day but it would be nice to have it more often.
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DoubleOSnake posted...

enough to eat it all day every day year round?

I'm not sure anyone likes any food that much. Even people who eat the same thing every day don't eat it all day long.
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Golden Road posted...

DoubleOSnake posted...

enough to eat it all day every day year round?

I'm not sure anyone likes any food that much. Even people who eat the same thing every day don't eat it all day long.

I agree with this. There are only certain things I can do that with.
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10/10 meat

I am not a fan.
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is it a jive turkey?
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Thanksgiving only, and only if it's well cooked. Fowl is very descriptive.
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