Turkey In A Bag
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 2, 2012
Time
4½ to 5 hours
Yield
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We recommend a “self-basting” turkey (such as a frozen Butterball) or a kosher turkey. You will need a turkey-size oven bag and one 2-yard package of cheesecloth. Don’t let the oven bag touch the oven wall or it will melt. If you end up with less than 4 cups of defatted pan juices, supplement them with additional low-sodium chicken broth.
Instructions
- MAKE SOY PASTE Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring soy sauce to boil over medium-high heat in small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thick and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 5 to 7 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1 teaspoon pepper; set aside.
- PREPARE TURKEY Remove neck and giblets from cavity; discard liver. Add broth, water, carrots, onion, celery, neck, and giblets to large roasting pan. Set V-rack inside pan. Lightly spray inside of oven bag with cooking spray. Fold cheesecloth into 10 by 7-inch rectangle. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Tuck legs into pocket of skin at tail end (alternatively, tie legs with kitchen twine) and tuck wings under bird. Following photos 1 to 3 (at left), transfer turkey to prepared oven bag and rub soy paste evenly all over outside of turkey. Top breast with cheesecloth and cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Tie oven bag closed, trim end to 1 inch, and cut four ½-inch slits in top of bag. Arrange bagged turkey, breast side up, in V-rack.
- COOK TURKEY Roast turkey until breast meat registers 155 degrees, 2½ to 3 hours. Remove pan from oven and increase oven temperature to 475 degrees. Cut open oven bag. Discard cheesecloth, foil, and bag, letting juices fall into pan. Return turkey to oven and roast until breast meat registers 160 degrees and thigh meat registers 175 degrees, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- MAKE GRAVY Meanwhile, strain contents of roasting pan through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator; discard vegetables, neck, and giblets. Let liquid settle and reserve 4 cups defatted pan juices. Transfer ¼ cup fat from separator to large saucepan and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Stir in remaining flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 4 minutes. Slowly whisk in pan juices and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until gravy is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Carve turkey and serve with gravy.
Time
4½ to 5 hoursYield
Serves 10 to 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
While developing our Turkey in a Bag recipe, we discovered that scientists have found cooking in a brown grocery store bag to be potentially toxic. Fortunately, most supermarkets now sell ovensafe cooking bags. Wrapping the turkey in a bag, tossing in some veggies, and setting the pack in the oven resulted in flabby skin, waterlogged meat, and a pale bird. Setting both bird and bag on a V-rack prevented the turkey from stewing in its own juices. Excess liquid from the vegetables caused our elevated bag to tear from the weight. Moving the veggies out of the bag and into the roasting pan kept the bag intact. When we opened the bag toward the end of roasting time to crisp the skin, the breast meat quickly dried out. A protective shield of cheesecloth and aluminum foil protected the breast from the dry heat of the oven. The finished bird was delicious but looked pale and unappetizing. To help it brown, we reduced soy sauce on the stovetop, adding flour and butter to make a paste to rub on the bird.
Before You Begin
We recommend a “self-basting” turkey (such as a frozen Butterball) or a kosher turkey. You will need a turkey-size oven bag and one 2-yard package of cheesecloth. Don’t let the oven bag touch the oven wall or it will melt. If you end up with less than 4 cups of defatted pan juices, supplement them with additional low-sodium chicken broth.
Instructions
- MAKE SOY PASTE Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring soy sauce to boil over medium-high heat in small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thick and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 5 to 7 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1 teaspoon pepper; set aside.
- PREPARE TURKEY Remove neck and giblets from cavity; discard liver. Add broth, water, carrots, onion, celery, neck, and giblets to large roasting pan. Set V-rack inside pan. Lightly spray inside of oven bag with cooking spray. Fold cheesecloth into 10 by 7-inch rectangle. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Tuck legs into pocket of skin at tail end (alternatively, tie legs with kitchen twine) and tuck wings under bird. Following photos 1 to 3 (at left), transfer turkey to prepared oven bag and rub soy paste evenly all over outside of turkey. Top breast with cheesecloth and cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Tie oven bag closed, trim end to 1 inch, and cut four ½-inch slits in top of bag. Arrange bagged turkey, breast side up, in V-rack.
- COOK TURKEY Roast turkey until breast meat registers 155 degrees, 2½ to 3 hours. Remove pan from oven and increase oven temperature to 475 degrees. Cut open oven bag. Discard cheesecloth, foil, and bag, letting juices fall into pan. Return turkey to oven and roast until breast meat registers 160 degrees and thigh meat registers 175 degrees, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- MAKE GRAVY Meanwhile, strain contents of roasting pan through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator; discard vegetables, neck, and giblets. Let liquid settle and reserve 4 cups defatted pan juices. Transfer ¼ cup fat from separator to large saucepan and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Stir in remaining flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 4 minutes. Slowly whisk in pan juices and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until gravy is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Carve turkey and serve with gravy.
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