A turkey that you don’t have to defrost takes a lot of stress out of the feast.
If the turkey is frozen, when should youdefrostit?
Should youwet or dry brine?
Photo:Courtesy of Butterball
Should you spatchcock it?How longshould you roast it for, and where are the giblets again?
Its a lot, especially if youre only doing it once a year.
So when I saw that Butterball had launched a newcook-from-frozen turkey, I was intrigued.
Jenna Helwig
Cook from frozen??
That could be a game changer.
Thawing is an all-around hassle, something that Michelle Lieszkovszky, Butterballs Director of Innovation, confirms.
Jenna Helwig
But thats not the only pain point this new turkey was developed to address.
The bird also comes pre-brined with the giblets removed.
Weve taken both the fear and frustration out of the whole cooking process, says Lieszkovszky.
Jenna Helwig
I decided I needed to test the turkey myself.
How long would it take to cook?
Would it be as tasty as a bird I buy fresh and dry-brine myself?
Heres how the experience went.
The turkey cooking instructions are on the outer bag, and theyre very simple.
Theres no need to season it or baste it or add anything to the pan.
I wanted to test the most basic version, so I didnt even salt and pepper the turkey.
It felt weird to skip this, but I restrained myself.
(The breast will always cook faster than the thigh, so the thigh temp is the key.)
The packaging says that the approximate cooking time is five hours, but that it will vary by oven.
This was really the only part of the process where I ran into trouble.
There was still a long way to go.
The look of the turkey was just right, a burnished golden brown.
The skin was crispy, and the meat was mild and tasty.
My worries about not seasoning the bird withsaltand pepper turned out to be unfounded.
The turkey had a pleasant level of seasoning.
It was also tender and juicy, not dry in the least.
This was not a bird with big flavor, but frankly, I dont expect that from any turkey.
With a fresh or fully defrosted bird its much easier to have a general idea.
Me, I like some fuss, especially at Thanksgiving.
