We're going to my ILs ranch house 2hrs away on T'giving morning. Lunch is at 12:30. Here is catch 1: they have only one small oven so MIL has asked everyone (there are 10 adults & 7 kids, all driving in mid-morning) to bring their dish cooked/as hot as possible b/c there won't be enough oven space to cook/heat everything. Catch 2: we are bringing the turkey. I am not cooking it. It is being cooked by a friend of the family. He is delivering the cooked/hot bird Wed afternoon so I've got to refrigerate it overnight. How would you go about taking hot turkey on a 2hr drive?
I'm thinking slice meat off the bird cold (ILs say this is fine - there is no magical carving ceremony that will occur) and heat it in our oven before we leave, place in cooler to keep warm and drive like mad. And I suppose we could zap it for a minute to get it piping hot right before service? Would you heat it sliced, already wrapped in foil? I don't want it to dry out & get overcooked - should I baste it in a bit of chicken stock/broth (what was the difference again??)? Suggestions, please! I really don't want to give everyone food poisoning from tepid turkey on Thanksgiving!!
Re: nbr: turkey help
If I were you, I would slice it up when you get it. I think it'll be easier to travel that way. Then, I would just microwave it before you serve it or before people eat it. I think it will be much easier to keep it at a safe cold temperature than it would be to keep it at a safe hot temperature. Bacteria thrives between 40 and 140F and I really don't see you being able to keep it that hot. (Sorry...that's the sanitation teacher in me coming through
) If you're worried about it being dry, I'd say just make some gravy. (With this situation, I would say packaged gravy would be totally suitable.)
Good luck!
Ditto Jess. Heating at home then reheating when you get there just sounds like a haven for bacteria.
1. get it
2. fridge it
3. slice it
4. drive it (keep cold)
5. heat it