What to do with turkey fat?

[HowToBe]

We cooked a pasture-raised turkey in the oven recently, and it is delicious so far. I took the broth and fat and used a broth separating cup we have to skim the fat into its own container. Now I'm wondering what to do with it.

Currently I have it in the freezer because in the fridge it remains creamy, maybe a testament to its healthiness, I think. At freezer temperatures it is still soft with a consistency like smooth mashed potatoes.

I'm supposing that on the health side of things, it is probably best to minimize cooking with it, and use it as topping maybe, similar to butter? Add a dollop to things like rice for health and flavor? I guess it's good for skin as well... I could probably cook with it as well, if I'm willing to sacrifice some nutrients, and I don't go too high on temperature. How high is too high?

Also, I've been looking for statistics on pastured turkeys; what are the general percentages of bone, fat, meat, and water, by weight? As in, how much meat am I likely to get from an 18-pound pastured turkey?

 

[dugdeep]

We cooked a pasture-raised turkey in the oven recently, and it is delicious so far. I took the broth and fat and used a broth separating cup we have to skim the fat into its own container. Now I'm wondering what to do with it.

Currently I have it in the freezer because in the fridge it remains creamy, maybe a testament to its healthiness, I think. At freezer temperatures it is still soft with a consistency like smooth mashed potatoes.

I'm supposing that on the health side of things, it is probably best to minimize cooking with it, and use it as topping maybe, similar to butter? Add a dollop to things like rice for health and flavor? I guess it's good for skin as well... I could probably cook with it as well, if I'm willing to sacrifice some nutrients, and I don't go too high on temperature. How high is too high?

Also, I've been looking for statistics on pastured turkeys; what are the general percentages of bone, fat, meat, and water, by weight? As in, how much meat am I likely to get from an 18-pound pastured turkey?

Hi HowToBe. I think you could use the turkey fat for anything you like - cooking, adding to other dishes, putting on vegetables like butter... When I'm pan roasting chicken or turkey, I often take it out of the oven, set the meat aside to rest and then quick-fry some veggies in the remaining fat on the stove top. It turns out really delicious because you're getting all the fat, spices and meat drippings in with your veggies. I might deglaze the pan with a little water, lemon juice or sometimes wine if I have it around (although, using wine in cooking seems to be doing a number on my stomach lately, so I might have to cool it with that), just so all the goodness left in the pan ends up getting used.

I'm not sure about your question on pastured turkey. Perhaps some one else will chime in with some info.

 

[3DStudent]

...sometimes wine if I have it around (although, using wine in cooking seems to be doing a number on my stomach lately, so I might have to cool it with that)

I think it might be because it takes a long time to cook out all of the alcohol. The stuff just doesn't go away. I thought there was a thread about it somewhere, but here is a chart on it.

 

[herondancer]

We cooked a pasture-raised turkey in the oven recently, and it is delicious so far. I took the broth and fat and used a broth separating cup we have to skim the fat into its own container. Now I'm wondering what to do with it.

Currently I have it in the freezer because in the fridge it remains creamy, maybe a testament to its healthiness, I think. At freezer temperatures it is still soft with a consistency like smooth mashed potatoes. ;)

I'm supposing that on the health side of things, it is probably best to minimize cooking with it, and use it as topping maybe, similar to butter? Add a dollop to things like rice for health and flavor? I guess it's good for skin as well... I could probably cook with it as well, if I'm willing to sacrifice some nutrients, and I don't go too high on temperature. How high is too high?

Also, I've been looking for statistics on pastured turkeys; what are the general percentages of bone, fat, meat, and water, by weight? As in, how much meat am I likely to get from an 18-pound pastured turkey?

When we have lots of broth and fat left over from roasting different meats, we save it all (not separating the fat) and use it for cooking quinoa. It adds lots of flavour to a grain that can be pretty bland without some help. ;)

 

[RedFox]

You can add buckwheat flour to the broth/fat (on a low heat) and turn it into a gravy too :D

 

[dugdeep]

...sometimes wine if I have it around (although, using wine in cooking seems to be doing a number on my stomach lately, so I might have to cool it with that)

I think it might be because it takes a long time to cook out all of the alcohol. The stuff just doesn't go away. I thought there was a thread about it somewhere, but here is a chart on it.

Jeez, you're probably right, 3D Student. I had always been told that the alcohol boils off rather quickly. I had no idea so much alcohol was left in the dishes I was preparing. I guess I'm scrapping that cooking technique! Thanks for the info.

 

[Alada]

You can add buckwheat flour to the broth/fat (on a low heat) and turn it into a gravy too :D

Yeah, be sure to make a water paste or a roux with the buckwheat first though, otherwise it'll instantly cook if you try adding it to a too hot liquid and then tryinh to stir it in. You end up with hundreds of tiny buckwheat balls that are impossible to get rid of, been there!

It doesn't seem to take much buckwheat to thicken up a sauce really well though, you only need a small amount to get a good thickness to the sauce.

 

[3DStudent]

Jeez, you're probably right, 3D Student. I had always been told that the alcohol boils off rather quickly. I had no idea so much alcohol was left in the dishes I was preparing. I guess I'm scrapping that cooking technique! Thanks for the info.

Yeah, I was surprised too. I even bought some vanilla extract without alcohol in it.

But getting back on topic, when I cook chicken for the week, I usually have a lot of left over broth/fat. I just put it in the fridge and then put the congealed blobs on my meat and veggies :P.

 

[HowToBe]

Thanks for the ideas everyone! We have maybe 1-1/2 pounds of fat, so it will last us a while, and now I know I can make use of it. It works fine for cooking, and I made some buckwheat blinis that seemed to cook slightly better than usual (crispier, which is good).