Boned, Rolled & Tied Turkey

[Pork Belly]

I am posting as as I progress on this project, this is what I have so far:

Place Turkey breast down on work surface, a very chilled bird is easiest to work with. With a boning or filet knife start a cut along the spine, take your time and remove the meat from the bones, separate the wings between the first and second joint. Scrape the meat from the attached wing section without cutting the skin. Tie the wing opening shut with butchers twine.  Continue to de-bone the thighs and legs, seal the leg opening in the skin with butchers twine. Cut the breast nearly in half and spread it out, Slap the meat with an open hand to get it all level.
Chill the dark meat an all trimmed fat in your freezer. Grind all the fat two thirds of the dark meat. Mince the remaining dark meat into small chunks with a sharp knife. Blend the minced and ground meat then season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Grill a small piece of the sausage to test the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Use the skin to gather and shape the boneless bird. Use skewers to hold the shape of the bird, tie with butchers twine and remove the skewers. There was an excess amount of skin that I trimmed away prior to trussing the bird.

That is as far as I have gotten at this time, more updates to follow.....

 

[old sarge]

Looks good.

 

[Walt]

Reminds me of a TurDuckIn.  Very nice as always Brian!

 

[DivotMaker]

So it's like a custom-made, seasoned turkey loaf?  This could be interesting!  Cool idea!

 

[DONF]

Looks good

 

[BedouinBob]

Brian, looks good. I think you may have better butcher knot tying skills than I do based on the picture. It will be interesting to see if the "thin" end of the loaf gets too done compared to the "fatter" end. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Pork Belly]

I have not mastered the "butcher Knot" I use a surgeon knot it is super easy and never slips. The downside is you cant run a string of them like butcher knots.  You have to cut, then tie each additional knot.

Today's addition was 2 bay leaves, 1/2 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning, 1/2 Tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes, 1 teaspoon black pepper corns into the grinder then mixed with 4 tablespoons of kosher salt.

Pat dry the bird, season with the salt mix, place on rack and cover with plastic wrap. I'm going to let it cure like this for 48 hours then uncover it for the last 12 prior to smoking.

 

[swthorpe]

Looks great, Brian!  Nice additional variation for Turkey Day!

 

[Pork Belly]

Well it turned out pretty good, the family loved it. I can be overly critical at times and think it could be better but overall a success. I had a lot of skin shrinkage, but it did crisp up in the oven.

 

[Killjoy]

So how long did you smoke it for?      It looks great!

 

[Pork Belly]

I don't remember, I think it was around four hours perhaps more. It was longer than I expected when I planned it. I think it being so solid had some affect on the time.

 

[DivotMaker]

Hi Paul!  Welcome to the club!  When you get a minute, head over to the Introductions section and tell us a little about yourself - we like to get to know our new members!  Welcome aboard!