Instructions for cooking your Willie Bird. Fresh turkey instructions are first and below that are the directions for reheating a Roasted or Smoked Willie Birds.

The Marczyk Roasted WILLIE BIRD

 INGREDIENTS:
-1 Willie Bird
-1 glass of Sottimano Dolcetto d’Alba Wine
-Oil & Butter
-Kosher salt & pepper
-1 quartered onion
-2 stalks of celery
-1 chopped carrot
-fresh herbs tied together with twine (marjoram, thyme, bay, rosemary, parsley, etc...)

WEDNESDAY: Take the bird out of the packaging. Remove the neck and giblets. You can roast these, then simmer in stock with veggies and wine for gravy. Now is a good time to season the bird with kosher salt inside and out if you wish. Return the turkey to the refrigerator.

THURSDAY: Pull the turkey out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for at least one, and up to three hours--no lie. This will ensure an evenly cooked bird. Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour a nice glass of Sottimano Dolcetto.

Now is the time to do whatever your mom, grandma, or other favorite cook did (add herbs, oil, butter, etc...). The classic preparation is: Baste a little oil or butter on the skin. Salt and pepper the bird inside and out. Put a quartered onion, 2 stalks of celery, a chopped carrot, and your bouquet of aromatic herbs loosely inside and in the roasting pan.

To stuff or not to stuff? We say NO. Stuffing causes the cooking to be slow and uneven. So here’s how to fake it: Towards the last hour of cooking your bird, put your stuffing in a baking dish in the oven and baste it with turkey drippings until brown and crispy.

Now, put bird in the oven breast side up, uncovered and with a little liquid (water, stock, or white wine all work well). Cooking times will vary wildly from oven to oven and bird to bird. 

Buy an accurate chef’s thermometer! Cook bird until the deepest part of the breast is 150°F or the thickest part of the thigh is 160°F. This is the best way to measure whether or not the bird is fully cooked. If the breast begins to brown before the thighs have reached their temp, tent the breast with foil.

Timelines:
Small birds (8-14 lbs.) cook about 2-3 hours.
Medium birds (14-20 lbs.) cook about 2½-3½ hours.
Gigantic birds (over 20 lbs.) cook 3-4 hours or longer.

Pull bird once it reaches the target temperature. Rest it in a warm spot loosely covered for a minimum of 15 minutes and as long as an hour. Now pour another glass, and run around like mad getting everything else together.

Carve it, plate it, and serve! Bon Appétit!

Preparing Willie Bird Roasted and Smoked Turkeys

The whole roasted and smoked Willie Bird turkeys have been fully cooked to an internal temperature of 165F. This means that your turkey is ready to eat hot or cold as desired.

Once the turkey is removed from its vacuum-sealed bag the shelf life is 7-10 days in the refrigerator.

To serve the whole turkey hot: place in a sealed roaster pan or wrapped in foil and heated at a medium temperature (approx. 325F) for the following times or approximately 5-10 minutes per pound, 1-2 hours.

Note: A pre cooked turkey cannot be stuffed before reheating. Please cook turkey stuffing separately, either on top of the stove or in the oven.

CARVING
Just like cooking a raw bird, be sure to let your turkey rest about 15-20 minutes. This allows all the juices simmering beneath the skin to sink into the meat, resulting in a juicer turkey that will be easier to carve.