Black spots on butchered turkey skin and looking for suggestions on dealing with roasting a 45 lb. t

[question]

From what ive read I'm assuming these black dots (which seem to have a dark inky substance in them) are due to the fact it was a dark feathered bird and that they are harmless.......all be it not very attractive. Is there anyway I can get rid if them? Will they be more pronounced after roasting or alter the flavor in any way?
Also, this thing is gigantic! 45 lbs. I've contemplated roasting it whole unstuffed. It will fit in my oven but Im concerned there wont be lots of space for heat circulation I don't have a convection oven)...and that the breast may dry out before the thighs are done. I thought an option might be to break it down.... roasting breasts separately from rhe legs/thighs/wings. I would miss the presentation of whole bird though. Any suggestions or exoeriencel in roasting one this large whole?

 

[R2elk]

From what ive read I'm assuming these black dots (which seem to have a dark inky substance in them) are due to the fact it was a dark feathered bird and that they are harmless.......all be it not very attractive. Is there anyway I can get rid if them? Will they be more pronounced after roasting or alter the flavor in any way?
Also, this thing is gigantic! 45 lbs. I've contemplated roasting it whole unstuffed. It will fit in my oven but Im concerned there wont be lots of space for heat circulation I don't have a convection oven)...and that the breast may dry out before the thighs are done. I thought an option might be to break it down.... roasting breasts separately from rhe legs/thighs/wings. I would miss the presentation of whole bird though. Any suggestions or exoeriencel in roasting one this large whole?

You are correct that it comes from processing a dark feathered bird. The same residue is there on white feathered birds but you do not notice it because it looks clear. It is my experience that it is not noticeable after cooking.

When my mother roasted huge turkeys that were too big for roaster, she placed them on an extra large cooking sheet and covered them with aluminum foil. She did stuff hers completely. I cannot remember whether or not she basted them. My experience is that home raised birds have a very good layer of fat under the skin and are pretty much self basting. With a turkey that large, I would be more concerned with the legs getting done before the breast is fully cooked.

Just remember to start cooking early and allowing lots of time for the turkey to become fully cooked.

 

[Maeschak]

I have no idea what to do with a 45 lb turkey but holy heck good luck! I would think parting it would be the only way to do it successfully (at least without a lot of practice!) but I understand the drama would be gone.

I have never seen this done, but could you cut the turkey into two halves one half being the breast and wings and the second half being the legs, thighs, and back? (Basically, cut the bird in half but not symmetrically as in left/right but in half- top/bottom parallel to the table). You could probably even cram stuffing under the breast bone and remaining ribs keeping the breast a bit jucier. The bottom half could be roasted skin side up getting a nice crispy skin on the legs, thighs, and back. Once both parts are done you could possibly put the turkey back together by sitting the breast half on top of the bottom half... Just a thought, a whacky thought I know but it could work?!

 

[PaulADK]

This is probably a day too late but you would need to cook your unstuffed turkey approximately one hour for each five pounds of weight. I doubt you would need a convection oven for satisfactory results.
The 30Lb. plus bird my wife cooked yesterday took just under 6 hours to reach the necessary 165 degree temperature in the breast. At that point, the 170 thigh temperature was a bit high, even so, he was delicious, very moist.

I have seen frozen birds cut in half but they were cut lengthwise down the middle of the breast with a meat saw.