Turkey, Start to Finish

Published on Tuesday, November 16, 2010, by Eric Slatkin / Edit Post

Turkey, Start to Finish

With bacon and pear cider gravy

By Eric Slatkin

Our Bacon-Wrapped Turkey with Pear Cider Gravy recipe produces a fine, fine Thanksgiving dish. In this video, watch it evolve from bagged bird to bacon-striped, pear-sweet, glistening roast.

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  • We have tried traditional turkey prep, brining, deep frying and other styles over the past 20 years of Thanksgivings and since I was turned on to the bacon wrapped turkey 3 years ago we have never looked back. Yes it is not a crispy skinned, Norman Rockwell painting of a Turkey (which typically means DRY) but it is JUICY, Flavorful and completely eaten by everyone in the extended family on...+READ

    We have tried traditional turkey prep, brining, deep frying and other styles over the past 20 years of Thanksgivings and since I was turned on to the bacon wrapped turkey 3 years ago we have never looked back. Yes it is not a crispy skinned, Norman Rockwell painting of a Turkey (which typically means DRY) but it is JUICY, Flavorful and completely eaten by everyone in the extended family on Thanksgiving. Someone actually commented that the only reason to have turkey is the crispy skin (???). I have to disagree, the reason to have turkey is to eat turkey!!! This does not end up tasting like bacon or something odd, it is just the best Thanksgiving turkey I have ever found. Once you cut it up who cares what it looks like? It's what it TASTES like that matters to me!-COLLAPSE

  • i don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, i know someone's labor went into the bacon wrapping. but bacon wrapping a larger fowl like a turkey can look messed up, like the infamous armadillo turkey, or this one, which, if you just glance at the photo above. . . looks like revenge of the turkey-mummy. everyone will be too polite at t-day dinner to say it, unless there's little kids present. . . then...+READ

    i don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, i know someone's labor went into the bacon wrapping. but bacon wrapping a larger fowl like a turkey can look messed up, like the infamous armadillo turkey, or this one, which, if you just glance at the photo above. . . looks like revenge of the turkey-mummy. everyone will be too polite at t-day dinner to say it, unless there's little kids present. . . then it could be embarrassing, though of course still delicious.-COLLAPSE

  • Hi gfr1111, If you're looking for the turkey recipe, you should click the link at the top of the page. All of the details you're looking for can be found there. This video's aim was to convey the feel/setting/look of the turkey being made!
    Thanks! Meredith of CHOW

  • The accelerated video is cute, but it gets in the way of actually instructing the novice cook as to how to make this dish. Did the garlic cloves get stuffed in the turkey, along with the vegetables? I guess so, since we never saw them again, but it wasn't clear.

    What are the temperatures for roasting the turkey? Does the temperature change after you put on the strips of bacon?

    What is the clear...+READ

    The accelerated video is cute, but it gets in the way of actually instructing the novice cook as to how to make this dish. Did the garlic cloves get stuffed in the turkey, along with the vegetables? I guess so, since we never saw them again, but it wasn't clear.

    What are the temperatures for roasting the turkey? Does the temperature change after you put on the strips of bacon?

    What is the clear liquid that was painted onto the pears?

    I'd give this video an "A" for cuteness, but a "D" for its conveyance of helpful information.-COLLAPSE

  • I have actually had an amazing bacon wrapped turkey. That Thanksgiving we had 2 turkey's one regular one and the bacon wrapped...everyone ate the bacon wrapped turkey. The best thing about the bacon wrapped turkey is its moistness. The way I saw it done was the turkey was wrapped in bacon and cheesecloth from the beginning. Guessing from what I know about a bacon wrapped chicken dish I make, you...+READ

    I have actually had an amazing bacon wrapped turkey. That Thanksgiving we had 2 turkey's one regular one and the bacon wrapped...everyone ate the bacon wrapped turkey. The best thing about the bacon wrapped turkey is its moistness. The way I saw it done was the turkey was wrapped in bacon and cheesecloth from the beginning. Guessing from what I know about a bacon wrapped chicken dish I make, you could coat it with mayo and then wrap in bacon and cheesecloth.-COLLAPSE

  • How can the turkey be "pear-sweet" per the blurb when pearns never touch the turkey except as adjacent ingredients in the pan?

  • However this might taste it looks very unappetizing... it looks like a plucked turkey fell off of a motorcycle and skid all over the asphault... maybe the bacon should be removed before it is presented.