Roast Turkey

The Book of Household Management · Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary) · 1861

Source: The Book of Household Management
Yield: 7.0 – 8.0 persons
Status: success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (11)

For the roast

Turkey ↝ Turkey, Ground, raw [Poultry Products]
forcemeat No. 417
sheet of buttered paper ↝ Rice paper [Crackers, excludes saltines]
flour ↝ Flour, 00 [Cereal Grains and Pasta]
butter ↝ Butter, stick, unsalted [Dairy and Egg Products]

For serving

a tureen of good brown gravy ↝ Gravy, brown, dry [Soups, Sauces, and Gravies]
one of bread sauce ↝ Sauce, NFS [Dips, gravies, other sauces]
Fried sausages ↝ Sausage, turkey, fresh, raw [Sausages and Luncheon Meats]
forcemeat balls
sausage-meat ↝ Sausage, turkey, fresh, raw [Sausages and Luncheon Meats]
chestnut forcemeat

Instructions (17)

Choosing and Trussing

Choose cock turkeys by their short spurs and black legs, in which case they are young; if the spurs are long, and the legs pale and rough, they are old.
If the bird has been long killed, the eyes will appear sunk and the feet very dry; but, if fresh, the contrary will be the case.
Middling-sized fleshy turkeys are by many persons considered superior to those of an immense growth, as they are, generally speaking, much more tender.
They should never be dressed the same day they are killed; but, in cold weather, should hang at least 8 days; if the weather is mild, 4 or 5 days will be found sufficient.
Carefully pluck the bird, singe it with white paper, and wipe it thoroughly with a cloth; draw it, preserve the liver and gizzard, and be particular not to break the gall-bag, as no washing will remove the bitter taste it imparts where it once touches.
Wash it inside well, and wipe it thoroughly dry with a cloth; the outside merely requires nicely wiping, as we have just stated.
Cut off the neck close to the back, but leave enough of the crop-skin to turn over; break the leg-bone close below the knee, draw out the strings from the thighs, and flatten the breastbone to make it look plump.
Have ready a forcemeat made by recipe No. 417; fill the breast with this, and, if a trussing-needle is used, sew the neck over to the back; if a needle is not at hand, a skewer will answer the purpose.
Run a skewer through the pinion and thigh into the body to the pinion and thigh on the other side, and press the legs as much as possible between the breast and the side bones, and put the liver under one pinion and the gizzard under the other.
Pass a string across the back of the bird, catch it over the points of the skewer, tie it in the centre of the back, and be particular that the turkey is very firmly trussed.
This may be more easily accomplished with a needle and twine than with skewers.

Mode of Roasting

Fasten a sheet of buttered paper on to the breast of the bird, put it down to a bright fire, at some little distance at first (afterwards draw it nearer), and keep it well basted the whole of the time it is cooking.
About 1/4 hour before serving, remove the paper, dredge the turkey lightly with flour, and put a piece of butter into the basting-ladle; as the butter melts, baste the bird with it.
When of a nice brown and well frothed, serve with a tureen of good brown gravy and one of bread sauce.
Fried sausages are a favourite addition to roast turkey; they make a pretty garnish, besides adding very much to the flavour.
When these are not at hand, a few forcemeat balls should be placed round the dish as a garnish.
Turkey may also be stuffed with sausage-meat, and a chestnut forcemeat with the same sauce is, by many persons, much esteemed as an accompaniment to this favourite dish.

Original Text

ROAST TURKEY.

990. INGREDIENTS.—Turkey; forcemeat No. 417.

Choosing and Trussing.—Choose cock turkeys by their short spurs and black legs, in which case they are young; if the spurs are long, and the legs pale and rough, they are old. If the bird has been long killed, the eyes will appear sunk and the feet very dry; but, if fresh, the contrary will be the case. Middling-sized fleshy turkeys are by many persons considered superior to those of an immense growth, as they are, generally speaking, much more tender. They should never be dressed the same day they are killed; but, in cold weather, should hang at least 8 days; if the weather is mild, 4 or 5 days will be found sufficient. Carefully pluck the bird, singe it with white paper, and wipe it thoroughly with a cloth; draw it, preserve the liver and gizzard, and be particular not to break the gall-bag, as no washing will remove the bitter taste it imparts where it once touches. Wash it inside well, and wipe it thoroughly dry with a cloth; the outside merely requires nicely wiping, as we have just stated. Cut off the neck close to the back, but leave enough of the crop-skin to turn over; break the leg-bone close below the knee, draw out the strings from the thighs, and flatten the breastbone to make it look plump. Have ready a forcemeat made by recipe No. 417; fill the breast with this, and, if a trussing-needle is used, sew the neck over to the back; if a needle is not at hand, a skewer will answer the purpose. Run a skewer through the pinion and thigh into the body to the pinion and thigh on the other side, and press the legs as much as possible between the breast and the side bones, and put the liver under one pinion and the gizzard under the other. Pass a string across the back of the bird, catch it over the points of the skewer, tie it in the centre of the back, and be particular that the turkey is very firmly trussed. This may be more easily accomplished with a needle and twine than with skewers.

[Illustration: ROAST TURKEY.]

Mode.—Fasten a sheet of buttered paper on to the breast of the bird, put it down to a bright fire, at some little distance at first (afterwards draw it nearer), and keep it well basted the whole of the time it is cooking. About 1/4 hour before serving, remove the paper, dredge the turkey lightly with flour, and put a piece of butter into the basting-ladle; as the butter melts, baste the bird with it. When of a nice brown and well frothed, serve with a tureen of good brown gravy and one of bread sauce. Fried sausages are a favourite addition to roast turkey; they make a pretty garnish, besides adding very much to the flavour. When these are not at hand, a few forcemeat balls should be placed round the dish as a garnish. Turkey may also be stuffed with sausage-meat, and a chestnut forcemeat with the same sauce is, by many persons, much esteemed as an accompaniment to this favourite dish.—See coloured plate, A1.

Time.—Small turkey, 1-1/2 hour; moderate-sized one, about 10 lbs., 2 hours; large turkey, 2-1/2 hours, or longer.

Average cost, from 10s. to 12s., but expensive at Christmas, on account of the great demand.

Sufficient.—A moderate-sized turkey for 7 or 8 persons.

Seasonable from December to February.

ENGLISH TURKEYS.—These are reared in great numbers in Suffolk, Norfolk, and several other counties, whence they were wont to be driven to the London market in flocks of several hundreds; the improvements in our modes of travelling now, however, enable them to be brought by railway. Their drivers used to manage them with great facility, by means of a bit of red rag tied to the end of a long stick, which, from the antipathy these birds have to that colour, effectually answered the purpose of a scourge. There are three varieties of the turkey in this country,—the black, the white, and the speckled, or copper-coloured. The black approaches nearest to the original stock, and is esteemed the best. Its flesh is white and tender, delicate, nourishing, and of excellent flavour; it greatly deteriorates with age, however, and is then good for little but stewing.

Notes

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