A Heritage Thanksgiving - Heritage Turkey from Heritage Foods USA.
By John Hoppin

First, washed the bird inside and out.  Then we stuffed butter and sage under the skin.  There is a membrane that you have to break through near the cavity entrance, and then you can run your hands between the skin and breasts easily, and stuff with whatever you like.  After it was sufficently plugged up with about 4 T each of butter and herbs, I had a moment of inspiration and covered the bird with some caul fat that I had leftover from making pate.  I figured the caul fat would create an insulating layer to keep moisture in, and that it would melt away during cooking.  I seasoned the bird aggressively with salt and pepper.

Aside from the caul fat, the other important component of my cooking setup was to use a probe thermometer.  These are cheaply available on any cooking store or at Amazon, and they allow you to check the temperature of a roast without opening the oven.  This was a really good move, since the bird was done about 15 minutes early, and we would have no way of knowing that without opening the oven to check.  It was Thanksgiving and there were brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes and gravy to make, so that was important.  I put the thermometer into the inner thigh meat of the bird and set it for 155, so that the alarm would ring, I would take the bird out, and rest it, and the carryover cooking would bring the bird to 165, my ‘it is done’ temperature.

I put the bird in the oven with the legs facing the back of the oven, because it is hotter there away from the door, and the legs need more heat than the breasts.  I preheated to 425, and after about 25 minutes I turned it down to 325.  After about 2 hours all told, the timer went off.  I pulled out the turkey.  The caul fat had almost completely melted away, leaving the skin crisp and chestnut in color.  As I finished the rest of the sides, the temperature in the bird rose slowly to around 165.  Carving it was plenty juicy.  We deboned the thighs and wings to get the most of the delicious meat.  The flavor was just unbelievable.  Caul fat from Heritage Foods USA available here.  Heritage Breed Turkeys are available here - try one for your next dinner party, you and your guests will not regret it.