The below answers are AMAZING and we'd just like to reiterate that the best way to ensure juicy, totally warmed through turkey is to roast in pieces by group: wings, drums, thighs and breasts. They can all go in at the same time but should be removed as each section hits 165 F (it should be in the order I listed above). Reserve any drippings for reheating and day of gravy!
Speaking of, on the big day I would heat my oven to 350 F and add all the drippings to a sheet tray with a wire rack. I'd place all the turkey on, tent with foil and reheat until totally warmed through. Now the foil may keep the turkey from having crispy skin, but in all likelihood it would be hard to get that back without drying out the bird.
Restaurants, hotels, and catering companies precook Thanksgiving turkey. It's not logistically feasible to do so otherwise. There's no way they can roast hundreds of whole birds the day of the event, let alone trays of stuffing, etc.
In fact, most of these turkeys are broken down before roasting into major parts: breasts, thighs, legs, wings, etc. which helps in more even cooking since the white meat is done at a lower internal temperature than the dark meat.
Most of this cooked meat will be presliced, arranged in hotel pans fanned out, and covered in foil which helps retain moisture during the reheating. Slicing the meat makes it easier for the heat to penetrate to the individual pieces rather than trying to reheat a thicker piece.
A hotel or restaurant might roast one or two whole birds on Thanksgiving Day but these are generally just for display/social media purposes or maybe some carving demonstration.
A decent catering guidebook will likely explain some of this since the same modus operandii would be applicable for other major events (Christmas, Easter, whatever).
You do give up the flashy presentation of a whole bird when you go the reheating method unless you decide to save one for the Instagrammers.
If you go to a hotel/restaurant for a Thanksgiving meal, most likely the turkey and stuffing were cooked 1-3 days in advance. The leftover carcasses, necks, wingtips were roasted to make gravy several days in advance. The cranberry sauce might have been made a week or two before, packed in containers/sous vide bags, and frozen until the day before the event. The day of the event is mostly reserved for reheating things, preparing the things that really need to be freshly done (some vegetables, salads).
Of course, pumpkin pie and many other Thanksgiving desserts were also prepared several days in advance. But it's common to see pumpkin pie at bakeries and supermarkets; as you probably know, most of those weren't baked that morning either.
Last addition - I looked and there are also “day before” turkey recipes here on food52. Not yet made by me. So if you want to use one of those, choose by your preference and the reviews.
Ok I see your doubts. FYI two things that I think help make Ina recipe work. That she reheats the turkey with he gravy, which carries flavor heat and moisture. That she sliced the turkey before reheating, so it takes less time and has less chance of drying out. But/and look at the recipe section here and see if there’s something that looks better.
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The below answers are AMAZING and we'd just like to reiterate that the best way to ensure juicy, totally warmed through turkey is to roast in pieces by group: wings, drums, thighs and breasts. They can all go in at the same time but should be removed as each section hits 165 F (it should be in the order I listed above). Reserve any drippings for reheating and day of gravy!
Speaking of, on the big day I would heat my oven to 350 F and add all the drippings to a sheet tray with a wire rack. I'd place all the turkey on, tent with foil and reheat until totally warmed through. Now the foil may keep the turkey from having crispy skin, but in all likelihood it would be hard to get that back without drying out the bird.
Hope this helps!
- Justin from the Hotline team
In fact, most of these turkeys are broken down before roasting into major parts: breasts, thighs, legs, wings, etc. which helps in more even cooking since the white meat is done at a lower internal temperature than the dark meat.
Most of this cooked meat will be presliced, arranged in hotel pans fanned out, and covered in foil which helps retain moisture during the reheating. Slicing the meat makes it easier for the heat to penetrate to the individual pieces rather than trying to reheat a thicker piece.
A hotel or restaurant might roast one or two whole birds on Thanksgiving Day but these are generally just for display/social media purposes or maybe some carving demonstration.
A decent catering guidebook will likely explain some of this since the same modus operandii would be applicable for other major events (Christmas, Easter, whatever).
You do give up the flashy presentation of a whole bird when you go the reheating method unless you decide to save one for the Instagrammers.
If you go to a hotel/restaurant for a Thanksgiving meal, most likely the turkey and stuffing were cooked 1-3 days in advance. The leftover carcasses, necks, wingtips were roasted to make gravy several days in advance. The cranberry sauce might have been made a week or two before, packed in containers/sous vide bags, and frozen until the day before the event. The day of the event is mostly reserved for reheating things, preparing the things that really need to be freshly done (some vegetables, salads).
Of course, pumpkin pie and many other Thanksgiving desserts were also prepared several days in advance. But it's common to see pumpkin pie at bakeries and supermarkets; as you probably know, most of those weren't baked that morning either.
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/make-ahead-roast-turkey
But/and look at the recipe section here and see if there’s something that looks better.