Microwave Turkey

[impish]

[Mod. Edit: Post moved from another thread to start new topic.]

How about a 17+ pound Tom Turkey baked to perfection in 130 minutes? As a child, on holidays and Sundays, when a family gathering was in the works, my Mother if roasting a turkey began before anyone else arose, perhaps 6 or 7 AM. By noon, or even later, she had finished roasting a turkey, big goose, or pork roast, the turkey of course taking the longest, many hours if I recall correctly. My wife introduced me to a new method.

Following Thanksgiving here in the States, our Smith's store (Kroger) had a mountain of turkeys left unsold, so we bought a 17 pounder for $ 0.47 per lb. Big bird under $10. Awhile back we popped it in our big Sharp (brand) microwave. Here's the bird:



In the oven:


Note in the above, this oven has a METAL turntable, as did many Sharp ovens, a fact which I have never resolved in my mind! It has never produced any sparks!


Below, the bird after only 25 minutes cooking time:



The completed turkey, internal temperature measured a bit high at 190 degrees F, but assuredly well-baked through and through. Total bake time 130 minutes!




First time, I was amazed by the juiciness of the usually rather-dry breast meat, and that convinced me: microwaving is superior, IMO. Sometimes, my Mother's turkey begged for a bit of liquid to swallow that white meat! In those days, microwaving existed only for the Radar-operators! Indeed, the first commercially sold microwaves were called "Radar-Ranges".

 

[Morning Glory]

Interesting - I certainly wouldn't have thought of a whole turkey in the microwave. I could probably fit a chicken into mine but not a turkey!

Has your microwave got a browning grill? Otherwise how does it go brown?

 

[impish]

Interesting - I certainly wouldn't have thought of a whole turkey in the microwave. I could probably fit a chicken into mine but not a turkey!

Has your microwave got a browning grill? Otherwise how does it go brown?

@morning glory
No browning grill. Common misconception that microwaving does not cause browning. True, they do not tend to cause the crispy-type of browning like conventional baking does, but browning is caused by heat, microwaves cause heat, and therefore poultry skin gets brown. What helps that fact is poultry skin has high fat content; fats tend to heat a lot and quickly.

 

[Karen W]

My understanding has been that microwaves cook food from the inside out, not because they cause Heat. As I recall, you have to add a browning agent like Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce etcetera. The fat causes a brown skin doesn't make any sense to me. If there is any fat, the food should be covered. I had a microwave with a rack years ago. My over the range built-in microwave has a rack, but it comes with a warning, not to pop popcorn etc. & to remove the rack. In my experience, poultry has always come out rubbery or overcooked. I much prefer an oven and a roasting pan. If this method of "cooking" works for you, by all means go with it. As mentioned, a microwave has its place in the kitchen, but not ideal for everything.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I once cooked a turkey in the microwave, but this was many years ago.

 

[medtran49]

I'll pass personally. Never had a problem with dry breast meat once I started cooking it upside down for about half the time and then flipping. Even less of a problem with spatchcocking. And, at 130 minutes, not much, if any, of a time saver if you are cooking an unstuffed smallish turkey in the oven, plus 2 woukd fit in an oven. Not many people have microwaves that will hold 17 pound turkeys.

 

[oddduck]

Thats a very large oven and did i read the manufacturing date right ? 1994

And i was thinking my little nuker was too big and getting too old, i think mine is from 2003 and i really would like a smaller one.

Now i remember reading that microwaves could handle metal if it was very low in the chamber so that would explain the metal turntable tho my mom had a sharp back in the 80's that had a glass turntable and the small cube shaped sharp microwave i had in college had a glass turntable.

Still trying to figure how those metal loaf pans in your other post didn't start a fire.

 

[impish]

My understanding has been that microwaves cook food from the inside out, not because they cause Heat. As I recall, you have to add a browning agent like Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce etcetera. The fat causes a brown skin doesn't make any sense to me. If there is any fat, the food should be covered. I had a microwave with a rack years ago. My over the range built-in microwave has a rack, but it comes with a warning, not to pop popcorn etc. & to remove the rack. In my experience, poultry has always come out rubbery or overcooked. I much prefer an oven and a roasting pan. If this method of "cooking" works for you, by all means go with it. As mentioned, a microwave has its place in the kitchen, but not ideal for everything.

@Karen W
I'll not get very involved in a ping-pong game; everyone does their own "thing". I do know, however, that there are multitude thoughts, beliefs, rumors, fears even (one remarked about "nuclear" energy......

Regarding fat, I'm not a cook, by any means, but rather apply the understanding of technical explanations for why certain things happen. For example, I do not understand why food containing fat should be covered....perhaps you might enlarge a bit on that. If a beaten egg is placed in a bowl, microwaved 25 seconds uncovered, then stirred, and given about 20 seconds more, a near-perfect omelette-like egg results.......it is very high in fat content. This particular example of microwaving absolutely astounded me when my wife revealed it. It's perfect for those concerned about non-stick fry pans and use of cooking oils or fats.

Your last sentence is absolutely true; I apologize if I gave the impression microwaving can replace all other cooking methods, it cannot. My point simply is that too few are really aware of the possibilities and advantages.

 

[impish]

I'll pass personally. Never had a problem with dry breast meat once I started cooking it upside down for about half the time and then flipping. Even less of a problem with spatchcocking. And, at 130 minutes, not much, if any, of a time saver if you are cooking an unstuffed smallish turkey in the oven, plus 2 woukd fit in an oven. Not many people have microwaves that will hold 17 pound turkeys.

@medtran49
Of course they don't! That does not mean that smaller ovens may not be used to cook poultry. My wife mentioned just today, when I informed her about our discussion here, that baking a chicken lends itself even more advantageously than turkey. She did not elaborate, as our restaurant food had just arrived!

 

[Morning Glory]

@morning glory
No browning grill. Common misconception that microwaving does not cause browning. True, they do not tend to cause the crispy-type of browning like conventional baking does, but browning is caused by heat, microwaves cause heat, and therefore poultry skin gets brown. What helps that fact is poultry skin has high fat content; fats tend to heat a lot and quickly.

OK - I will try cooking a small chicken at some point in the New Year and see what happens.

 

[Karen W]

@Karen W
I'll not get very involved in a ping-pong game; everyone does their own "thing". I do know, however, that there are multitude thoughts, beliefs, rumors, fears even (one remarked about "nuclear" energy......

Regarding fat, I'm not a cook, by any means, but rather apply the understanding of technical explanations for why certain things happen. For example, I do not understand why food containing fat should be covered....perhaps you might enlarge a bit on that. If a beaten egg is placed in a bowl, microwaved 25 seconds uncovered, then stirred, and given about 20 seconds more, a near-perfect omelette-like egg results.......it is very high in fat content. This particular example of microwaving absolutely astounded me when my wife revealed it. It's perfect for those concerned about non-stick fry pans and use of cooking oils or fats.

Your last sentence is absolutely true; I apologize if I gave the impression microwaving can replace all other cooking methods, it cannot. My point simply is that too few are really aware of the possibilities and advantages.

Not a ping pong game. It's a discussion about cooking in the microwave. In my experience, the directions have been to trim the fat, and very often to remove the skin (fat) as it increases the Heat and causes splatters. Also, the dish was sometimes covered with wax paper, leaving a corner open to vent. Sort of steaming the dish. I have an old microwave cooking cookbook from Sanyo that has some interesting recipes circa 1985. You can probably find it on eBay. The microwave is a good handy tool to have in the kitchen, but falls short when it comes to browning and crisping. Good for cooking vegetables though.