It is widely agreed that a turkey, or any roast joint, looks and tastes best when served whole and hot from the oven. It’s because the host or hostess likes to carve at the table because it creates the right atmosphere for Thanksgiving or Christmas. But what about when the turkey is done too early?
Turkey Done Too Early
It’s natural to want to get up at the crack of dawn to get your turkey prepared and into the oven, especially if you’re trying to impress your in-laws. If it stresses you that things could go wrong on the day, a turkey done early, like the day before, can be a solution.
There are ways to fix a turkey prepared early so that it can still be served hot and succulent to your guests. Your turkey can still have the right moisture and texture, even when prepared too early. We take a look at four ways to fix the ‘early bird’ problem.
- Create an insulated container
When your turkey is cooked a few hours before you plan to serve it, a good way to maintain its succulent texture is to use a cooler. Most people have these coolers for keeping picnic food cool.
These thermally insulated containers are such an affordable way to solve your ‘turkey-cooked-too-early’ dilemma. They’re ideal for keeping food warm for hours. All you essentially need is the insulated container, tin foil and a couple of towels.
- Warm up the cooler with heated water
Some people also swirl the container with hot tap water to help it warm up, much like when people swirl boiling water in their tea cups prior to making their tea.
Once you remove your turkey from the cooker, wrap it in tin foil and place it on top of the towels you have in the warmed-up cooler box.
You can even add an additional towel on top of your tin foil-wrapped turkey to keep it extra warm. Place the lid on the cooler box. This method ensures your turkey remains hot and succulent for a few hours without any further cooking.
- Reheat the turkey on the stovetop
So can you cook a turkey the day before and then reheat it? Absolutely! Roast the turkey. Allow it to cool, and then carve it. Place the carved turkey in tin foil or glad-wrap. When it’s ready to eat, take it out the refrigerator, let it stand for 10 minutes or so and then use your stovetop.
The stovetop way is actually quicker than your oven. Place all your carved-up pieces in a large tray or skillet and add moisture – chicken stock and water. Bring all the turkey pieces and the stock to a simmer over medium heat.
You can also use gravy or butter to heat it up with and give it a saucy taste. Simmer for a few minutes to heat the turkey thoroughly and to please the palates of your family and friends.
Add add moisture when you reheat the meat Expert chefs advise you to cover the turkey skillet with a lid to prevent the juices from evaporating.
- Reheat your turkey in an oven
When serving your turkey a few hours later or even the next day, you can enjoy it cold or reheated. To reheat your turkey in the oven, set the oven temperature to only 150°F. This is because you only want to warm your turkey up, and not cook it all over again.
You can enrich your turkey with one or two blocks of chicken stock flavored with herbs and spices and dissolve them in boiling water. It will add a delicious sauce to the turkey dish before placing it in the oven with a lid. This is to ensure the turkey remains most flavorful and juicy.
- Don’t be cooking your turkey all over again
Make sure your oven doesn’t ever go above 160°F; otherwise, it will cook the turkey all over again. You just want to heat it. When you want to serve the turkey, you can remove the lid and let the skin of the bird brown for 10 or 15 minutes to become crisp.
- A quick heat-up in the microwave oven
It is possible to re-heat an entire turkey in a microwave, but most people with smaller microwaves slice the turkey up into smaller pieces. Make sure your microwave plate has a lid to cover the meat. If not, use a paper towel to cover the turkey pieces.
You can heat up your turkey on a low setting for up to 5 minutes. To keep your turkey moist, you can add some stock and water to the microwave dish.
If you’re unsure as to the power levels of your microwave, you can always check out your microwave oven owner’s manual as a guide to see how long you should re-heat your turkey.
A turkey that’s perfect for the rush of end-of-year parties
There’s no need to panic about getting your roast turkey perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas day. A turkey done too early doesn’t have to spell disaster. Yes, cook it a day or two earlier, allow it to cool, carve it up, and store it in the refrigerator until your celebratory day dawns.
Then it’s simply a case of reheating your turkey in different ways to serve it hot and juicy to your hungry guests. You’ll find you get superb results from all four of these ready-to-heat turkey ideas that will give your turkey good looks as well as a gourmet taste.