Assorted tips for cooking a heritage-breed turkey

Brine 24 hours with Apple Cider Brine

Prep turkey and cook according to Slow Roasted Turkey with Apple Gravy and Buttermilk Brine :

• apples etc on bottom of roasting pan
• stuff cavity with lemon, orange,
• fast start at 400 until spotted brown
• cover with foil and slow roast at 300 ~4 hours until 150F breast, 160F thigh
• roast uncovered until 155F breast / 165F thigh

• cover bottom of pan with halved garlic heads, onion, apples if available, bay leaves, thyme, ginger, orange. stuff additional onion, bay leaves, etc. into the cavity.

• rub rosemary butter beneath skin of breast, and over the rest of the bird. use olive oil if more coverage needed.

• brined 24 hours. apple cider based.
• oven at 300, for 3 1/2 hours
• turn oven up to 400
• 25 more minutes
• Gravy broth (made from giblets) made the day before

https://www.yummly.com/dish/992923/how-to-cook-a-turkey

• Recommended by Sam Gasson, although not specificly about heritage turkeys.
• on salt brine by volume: 3 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt = 1 1/2 Tbsp. Morton kosher salt. When in doubt, start with the lesser amount, and increase according to taste.
• Temperature: 325F if over 14 pounds
• time: 16 lb: 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours unstuffed, another hour if stuffed
• temp measurement: breast cooks faster, so most recipes suggest measuring in the thigh, but its difficult to find the right location in the thigh.
• go for 175F in breast, 165F in thickest part of thigh

https://www.yummly.com/recipe/My-Favorite-Turkey-Brine-2510223

• apple cider and 2 gallons of water!

Slow Roasted Turkey with Apple Gravy and Buttermilk Brine - from NY Times. also not explicitly about heritage turkeys.

https://www.windynranch.com/blog/tips-for-cooking-a-heritage-breed-turkey

• rub butter under loosened skin
• Cook at a high temperature (450-475 degrees F) for less time than a regular turkey. Most heritage turkeys will be cooked through in fewer than 3 hours.
• Final temperature of 140-145 F in the thigh. while resting, should reach 155.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-cook-heritage-turkey-pasture-raised_n_5beaf261e4b044bbb1a95b36

• 8-12 minutes per pound, but trust your thermometer, and to check the temperature in both the breast and the thigh
• recommend low and slow. 325 or below, then turn up to 400 or 425 at the end to crisp the skin
• cook to 175F both breast and thigh
• remove breast and keep cooking thigh+leg if needed

https://williamrubel.com/how-to-roast-a-heritage-turkey/

• covering breast with aluminum foil doesn't let moisture out - steams the skin
• alternate: oiled paper or cloth
• better; add fat/butter under the skin
• otherwise, mostly about smaller birds. recommends faster, shorter cooking time, like game birds.

https://www.localharvest.org/features/cooking-turkeys.jsp

• “Heritage turkeys should be cooked at 425-450 degrees F until the internal temperature reaches 140-150 degrees F”

http://nashsorganicproduce.com/recipes/roasted-heritage-turkey/

• also assumes small 7-9 pound birds
• rub with butter+rosemary/herbs; this makes the bird self-basting, and avoids letting oven cool off from frequent opening
• oven at 425-450 F. Roast the bird until the thigh temperature reaches 140-150 F