If you are wondering whether you should cook your Thanksgiving turkey in your Wolf Convection Steam Oven (CSO), the answer is YES! Every year, around the first November snowfall, the chefs and showroom consultants at Clarke, New England’s Official Sub-Zero/Wolf/Cove Showroom and Test Kitchen start getting calls about the best way to cook a holiday turkey. While there are many fabulous Wolf ovens – each with its own way to prepare a delicious turkey – the Wolf Convection Steam Oven is perfect for Thanksgiving cooking for many reasons, so read on!
Can I really fit a big turkey in my Wolf Convection Steam Oven?
Yes, you can fit a 20-24lb. turkey in your Wolf Convection Steam Oven. Of course, a smaller 14 to 16-pounder is also perfect. Many people think that their Wolf Steam Oven is really meant for smaller meals. In fact, Wolf designed the largest capacity steam oven available for residential use and it’s perfect for holiday cooking. If your guest list requires more than a 24 lb. bird, you can always prepare another small turkey or turkey breasts a few days before Thanksgiving and simply warm them in your steam oven after your larger turkey is done and resting. The Wolf Convection Steam Oven is the best appliance for reheating foods to their original taste and texture!
Follow these steps for a perfect holiday turkey in your Wolf Convection Steam Oven…
While there are several ways to prepare your holiday turkey in the Wolf Convection Steam Oven, this is a two-step recipe that employs “steam” mode and “convection roast,” resulting in a mouth-watering moist, tender turkey.
- Place your turkey into the CSO on Steam Mode for 30 minutes to start. Caution: the turkey may look “ugly” at the end of the half-hour of steaming, but not to worry.
- At the end of the half-hour, take it out and place it on the counter to cool while you preheat the CSO on Convection Roast to 375 degrees .
- During this time, you will apply your glaze, if you choose to add one. See below for a famous glaze recipe!
- Set your probe to your desired internal temperature – Wolf recommends 165 degrees – and place it into the thickest part of the thigh. Your oven will let you know when your turkey has come to temperature.
- Once it comes to temperature, remove the turkey and allow it to rest on the counter. After 50 minutes out of the oven, your turkey will still be steaming hot when you carve it! So, total cooking time for a 20lb. turkey is about 2-1/2 hours with a resting time to follow. This means you can get up on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning, relax, have brunch and then start your turkey preparation and still be ready to eat by late afternoon.
Chef Jacques Pépin introduced steaming turkey two decades ago.
One of the most famous turkey recipes is a Steamed and Roasted Turkey preparation by Chef Jacques Pépin, which ran in the New York Times recipe section years ago. First written around 2012, the original article started out with “You’re going to need a bigger pot.” It continued with “You’re reading this right: Jacques Pépin wants you to steam your turkey…in that big pot where hot vapors will melt off its fat.” In his recipe, the famous chef describes how to cook a turkey by putting the bird in a very large pot and boiling it on the stove before transferring it to a roasting pan in the oven. With your Wolf Convection Steam Oven, you are able to do the entire process seamlessly in one pan using one appliance with much less effort! Since Pépin has been a long-time friend of Sub-Zero, Wolf and Clarke, we think he may enjoy the convenience of a CSO these days, saving time and clean-up with this recipe.
Here is Chef Pépin’s delicious turkey glaze…
- ½ cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
Brush this mixture onto the skin of the turkey to enhance the flavor of the crispy outside and help to seal in the wonderful moist, tender meat.
While this two-step preparation uses the Steam Mode and then switching to Convection Roast Mode, you can find another one-step turkey recipe here. Experiment, enjoy and find the combination of modes, ingredients and timing that most please you and your family.
Happy Thanksgiving and feel free to call for help.
For additional recipes for you Wolf appliances, click here. If you have additional questions about how to cook a turkey in your Wolf oven, feel free to reserve a time to talk directly with one of Clarke’s accomplished chefs through Ask the Chef. Relax and enjoy, with Wolf your holiday turkey will be perfect every time.
