Traveling with turkey

[bronsonelliott]

We live in Texas and will be traveling to Oklahoma. Just over 2 hour trip. We are responsible for bringing the turkey this year (turkey breasts actually). Here's how I was planning on handling it. Please let me know if I'm thinking about this the right way or anyone has other/better suggestions who have done something like this before.

• Day before we travel, I plan to fully cook 2 bone-in turkey breasts
• Once they are done, I will let rest and then fully slice both breasts and put in a container (probably foil pan) and place in the fridge.
• The day we travel, I will pack the foil pans in a cooler packed with ice to ensure everything stays cold.
• Once we arrive at our destination and close to when we want to eat, I'll put a little broth and butter in the pan and place in a 350 degree oven and allow it to warm for serving.

Does that sound right? Am I missing something or not thinking about something? Does anyone have other suggestions? I know the best option is to eat it fresh off the smoker but that just won't be possible this year unfortunately so trying for the next best thing.

 

[TulsaJeff]

Others may have a different way of handling this.. I think your plan is good and should work just fine.

The only thing I will interject is concerning the reheating temperature.

If you have had good luck reheating things at higher temperatures then we don't wanna fix what's not broken however, I have found in my own cooking that reheating at 275°F (135°C) seems to dry out the meat a lot less than higher temperatures.

Just takes a little longer to reheat.

The broth and butter will help tremendously and I have no doubt that your smoked turkey breast will be miles better than anything cooked in the oven regardless of the reheat temperature.

 

[bronsonelliott]

Others may have a different way of handling this.. I think your plan is good and should work just fine.

The only thing I will interject is concerning the reheating temperature.

If you have had good luck reheating things at higher temperatures then we don't wanna fix what's not broken however, I have found in my own cooking that reheating at 275°F (135°C) seems to dry out the meat a lot less than higher temperatures.

Just takes a little longer to reheat.

The broth and butter will help tremendously and I have no doubt that your smoked turkey breast will be miles better than anything cooked in the oven regardless of the reheat temperature.

Thanks for the suggestion Jeff. I just threw out 350 degrees as kind of the "default" temp but it definitely makes sense that lower would be better. I'll definitely note that in my reheating instructions. I plan on writing them on the foil pan in case someone else in the house wants to handle the reheating aspect. :-)

 

[gmc2003]

From your title I thought that may have been a nickname for your wife. Just kidding.

Sounds like you have a solid plan, and I agree with Jeff and reheating at a lower temp

Chris

 

[pourdecisions]

Others may have a different way of handling this.. I think your plan is good and should work just fine.

The only thing I will interject is concerning the reheating temperature.

If you have had good luck reheating things at higher temperatures then we don't wanna fix what's not broken however, I have found in my own cooking that reheating at 275°F (135°C) seems to dry out the meat a lot less than higher temperatures.

Just takes a little longer to reheat.

The broth and butter will help tremendously and I have no doubt that your smoked turkey breast will be miles better than anything cooked in the oven regardless of the reheat temperature.

I will be transporting a smoked turkey too. I was thinking I could just pull it like pork shoulder and put it into gallon bags or sealed containers? I could reheat in a roaster oven with some broth? I guess the presentation could be lacking but my sister is also smoking a bird in the oven and she can serve the fancy one.

I'm more concerned with a delicious smoke flavor and keeping it from drying out. Thoughts or suggestions?

 

[thirdeye]

I have reservations about slicing that early verses slicing right before reheating. However, I've never done a side-by-side comparison.