r/Cooking • u/KTEZMHA • 1d ago
Turkey for Thanksgiving potluck
Looking for ideas! I volunteered to cook the turkey for a Thanksgiving potluck happening at 12. Is there a way to make a bird large enough for a group without waking up incredibly early? Is there a method to make a good turkey by cooking it most of the way the day prior and finishing it the day of without it drying out?
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u/Hangrycouchpotato 1d ago
Depending on the size of the group, I would recommend using two small turkeys instead of one big one. Also, cook it fully all in one go. Partially cooking a turkey is how you gift everyone with food poisoning.
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u/ImmediateNail1800 1d ago
Definitely two. So hard to cook a big bird and not dry out the white meat.
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u/GalianoGirl 1d ago
How many in the group?
You can fully cook the bird the day before. Cool and quarter the bird. Breast, legs, you get the idea.
Save the juices.
Save the back, neck and boil with onions, celery, carrots etc for stock for the gravy.
The next morning take the skin off the breasts and thighs. Carve the meat and place in a large pan cover with the skin, pour some of the stock over the meat, use parchment paper to cover the whole pan, then foil. Heat through in 45-50 minutes in a 325F oven.
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u/More_Initiative_9099 1d ago
Reheat it to 165F measured with a thermometer rather than just 'heated through,' since it was cooked and cooled beforehand. That's USDA's line for previously cooked poultry.
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u/dontakelife4granted 1d ago
Spatchcock the turkey, it's much easier than you think, then place it on a foil lined half sheet pan. You don't need a deep pan, the juices stay in the turkey. You will need an instant read thermometer. Best way I've ever found to make a turkey.
There are loads of videos on how to make a spatchcocked turkey on YT.
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u/PsyKhiqZero 1d ago
For a potluck I would go further and just part the whole bird, especially if your cooking more then one. Makes serving it so much easier.
If you want you can roast the carcasses and then make the gravy ahead of time.
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u/dontakelife4granted 1d ago
OOH, brownie points for you! I hadn't considered parting it out to roast the bones to make gravy in advance. Look at you having your thinking hat on today!
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u/Brewmd 1d ago
Spatchcocking is absolutely a great bit of advice.
I’m gonna give you a cheater answer.
Costco has been selling smoked turkeys for the last few years.
They are vacuum sealed and ready to eat. Just need reheating.
Take it out of the vacuum seal bag in the morning. Take it to the potluck.
Reheat.
Don’t tell anyone.
They will swear it’s the best turkey they’ve ever had.
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u/Brofindel16 1d ago
How many people and is there a consensus on white vs dark meat? If it’s a small amount of people then maybe don’t make a whole bird? If people are partial white meat make a turkey breast roulade (look up a recipe), always a hit at Friendsgiving for me.
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u/WesternBlueRanger 1d ago
I would go with a smaller bird that is spatchcocked, and do a turkey breast roast as well to beef up the amount of meat.
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u/Fritz5678 1d ago
Is the pot luck at your house or do you have to transport it? I would sincerely consider ordering a cooked one from the grocery store if you need to take it someplace.
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u/Low_Age_7427 1d ago
I just cooked a 15lb stuffed turkey in three hours in a Rival cooker. Its the third one I've done in the Rival.works great everytme.keeps the oven free for the rest.
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u/Healthy_Tourist_9712 1d ago
Ina Garten’s make ahead turkey and gravy.
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/make-ahead-roast-turkey
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u/scarlet-begonia-9 1d ago
The make-ahead gravy base is everything. I do it every time I host Thanksgiving.
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u/kaymage 1d ago
Deconstruct 2 turkeys. Roast leg quarters with whatever seasoning you want. Take the breasts find a turkey porchetta recipe, follow it to wrap it it in the skin from the breast meat like a log. Do it with each turkeys white meat. Can also roast the wings i usually save them
Its what I do every Thanksgiving for a bunch of people. It allows you to do 2 different styles on the breast meat and 2 of the leg quarters for variety. I usually do an herb one for the gravy (the back and carcass go for the stock made day before) and experiment with the second every year. Thinking of a Peruvian one this year with green sauce.
Prep everything the night before to brine. On Thanksgiving, just brown the turkey in a 12 inch skillet and roast or just roast everything at a high temp. It'll take like an hour. Carving is also easy.
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u/harryruby 1d ago
If im cooking for a crowd I always bake mine a couple days in advance, carve it, and reheat the slices in a crockpot with turkey stock. I take it out of the stock at serving time and platter it. It's been a gamechanger.
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u/Opposite_Currency973 1d ago
15 minutes/lb at 350, 12:00 is WAY too early IMO. Maybe set an alarm for 4 am and go back to bed?
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u/tiresomepragmatism58 1d ago
Spatchcock it, cooks way faster and more evenly. You can fully roast it the day before, carve it up, and pack the slices snug in a dish with some stock, just warm it through before serving and nobody will know.
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u/waitingforgandalf 1d ago
Don't just spatchcock it (that is a possibility of course). Separate the legs and the breast. Roast the breast separately for a pretty presentation. Braise the legs and thighs with onions, sage, and apple cider. I've don'e this for a few years and everyone loves the braised turkey meat.
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u/maxthepup 1d ago
I just made a 12-13lb bird in 3h for Canadian thanksgiving.
Seasoned it with garlic, paprika, cayenne, chili, garlic powder & salt the night before. And then day of I just popped in halved lemons into the cavity and slices of lemon around the bird.
Put it in the oven for 30 min at 425F, then lowered it to 350F and it was a great bird!
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u/EmceeSuzy 1d ago
I used to have to cook turkey the day before then drive it across state lines and reheat the following day.
I use to roast a whole turkey then carve it but ultimately changed over to roasting thighs and a breast.
At any rate, it worked out very well because I would fill a catering pan with stuffing (prepared with extra broth) then layer on the sliced turkey, then top with gravy. It reheats beautifully in about an hour.
If you go with parts rather than a whole bird, just buy some turkey necks and wings to use to make your broth for your stuffing and gravy. You can do that 2 days before to keep things simple.
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u/Clean-Fisherman-4601 1d ago
You can cook a turkey overnight on a low temperature. Google it for proper temperature.
It was how we cooked roasts when I was a chef. 200° Fahrenheit from 3 PM until 10 AM. The boss would come in early to remove the pans from the oven and place them in the walk in cooler.
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u/choo-chew_chuu 1d ago
Spatchcocking is the only answer.
Also make a gravy ahead of time with chicken bones and wings.
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u/wisequark 1d ago
Spatchcock or even fully break into pieces (which will also yield the best result for skin crispness
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u/Top_Conversation953 16h ago
I have been doing this one hour turkey method for a number of years so we could take it to our family's Thanksgiving celebration... now we have turkey every month because it's so easy! that dude can cook one hour turkey
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u/Embarrassed_Ad9166 1d ago
Turkey breasts. Does anyone actually like a whole turkey?
A coworker did smoked breasts. It was great.
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u/Mike_Y_1210 1d ago
Spatchcock and dry brine it overnight. Will take like 3 hours max to cook.