Roasting Turkey for canning

Today we are roasting a 20# turkey to can. We would prepare it the same way if we planned to freeze it instead; however, canning has a HUGE advantage – no thawing required. There is also no freezer burn, etc ., and canned goods are good for a minimum of 1-2 years, and are actually good many more years than that, with a small loss in nutritional value.

We used a turkey bag that I purchased in a box of 2, with a 50¢ coupon. I noticed another coupon in the Sunday paper today; because of the upcoming Easter weekend. Using the turkey bag cut off about an hour of roasting time.

I thawed the turkey about 6 days in the bag, placed in a 13 x 9” pan, in the fridge. It was just right to bake today. I removed the giblets (they are in a bag in the neck cavity) and the neck, which is in the body cavity. I poured the juices into a 3 quart saucepot, added the giblets and neck, covered with water, added a bay leaf and a sprinkle of poultry seasoning and simmered, covered, on low heat for 45 minutes while the turkey was baking. I will add the giblet broth to my stockpot of turkey broth and we will eat the giblets – we love ‘em – our treat for working hard.

I put the turkey in the turkey bag after adding a tablespoon of flour and shaking it in the bag, set it on my oven broiler pan with the rack in it, and tied the bag up. You have to make about 6 slits in the top of the bag. I used my meat thermometer probe, but the turkey also had one of those little plastic pop-up thermometers in it.

After 2 ½ hours, the turkey had reached 160°, we removed it from the oven and let it rest on the pan for ½ hour to let the juices settle. I punctured a corner of the bag and drained the juices into a 2 quart measuring bowl. I removed all the meat from the turkey – it measure 7 ½# of cooked meat. I stored this in a covered container in the refrigerator until I can it tomorrow.  Don't store your cooked meat in a thick pile...spread it out thinly on a larger pan so it cools quickly to avoid food poisoning.

The skin, carcass, giblet broth, meat juices all went into the stockpot. I measure the juices and then added enough water to make my stock recipe.

Another option is to roast the stock ingredients for a richer browner one. If you want to do this, place bones and skin back on the pan and roast at 275° for 2 hours. Place the bones and skin and juices and drippings in a large stockpot. Place the vegetables on the roaster pan with a small amount of drippings and roast 1/2 hour at 400°. Meanwhile, bring to a boil the carcass and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and cook 3 hours. Giblet broth may be added as well. Add vegetables when they are roasted. Deglaze pan with wine, add to pot. Strain, removing any additional meat and discarding bones, skin and vegetables. Cool in the refrigerator overnight, remove fat.

This completes Day 1. As you can see, much of the time is just waiting for things to cook.

I purchased this turkey around Thanksgiving for 40¢ per pound. I will cost me about 30¢ for a half pint or 1 cup of cooked turkey at this price. Turkey gives more meat per pound of raw bird than chicken, the larger the better. A 20# turkey gives me a jar of turkey a week for 6 months