Boiled Turkey

A cross-reference rather than a recipe in itself: the method is the one given for Boiled Fowl, and the turkey's size is the only real complication. A few notes on translating it.

• "Boiled" means simmeredA rolling boil toughens the breast and shreds the skin before the legs are done. Bring the pot to a boil, then hold it at a bare shiver, 180-185F, for the whole cooking time.
• A fowl is not a chickenIn books of this period a "fowl" is an older, tougher bird than a young chicken, full of connective tissue, which is why long moist cooking suits it. A modern turkey is comparatively tender, so judge by temperature rather than by the hours a fowl would need.
• Vessel and liquidYou need a stockpot or preserving kettle that will hold a trussed bird with a couple of inches of water above it. Some period cookbooks direct wrapping the bird in a floured cloth to keep the skin intact; it is still the easiest way to lift it out whole.
• Timing and donenessReckon roughly 15-20 minutes per pound at a simmer for a 10-12 lb bird, but go by a thermometer: 165F in the thickest part of the thigh, away from bone. The legs will read done well before the breast is dry.
• Season the waterThe Boiled Fowl method this points to is not reproduced here, but an unsalted pot gives flat meat and flat broth. Salt generously and add an onion, a few peppercorns, celery tops and a bay leaf; the cooking liquid is the base for either sauce.
• The saucesBoth are white sauces; period versions are usually built on milk or cream, though the poaching liquid can stand in for part of it. For oyster sauce, add shucked oysters and their liquor at the very end and cook only until the edges curl, about two minutes; longer and they go rubbery. Celery sauce wants the celery simmered soft first, then sieved or blended in.
• YieldA 10-12 lb bird serves 10-14 at table, with the carcass and remaining broth worth keeping for soup or hash.