Citrus Turkey Roast Recipes

CITRUS AND HERB TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 with rack in lower third position.
• Season cavity of turkey with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stuff cavity with orange, lemon, onion, garlic, and herbs. Tie legs with twine and transfer turkey to a rack set inside a roasting pan.
• Rub skin with olive oil and season with remaining salt and pepper.
• Pour 2 cups chicken stock into roasting pan and transfer to oven. Roast turkey for 2 1/2 hours or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 165 degrees. After first hour of roasting, baste turkey every 30 minutes, and tent with foil if skin becomes deep golden brown before turkey is cooked.
• Remove turkey from oven and transfer to a carving board. Let stand at least 15 minutes.
• Place roasting pan on stovetop over medium-high heat and bring pan drippings and remaining 1 cup chicken stock to a simmer. Combine milk and flour in a mason jar and shake vigorously to combine. Whisk milk mixture into gravy and simmer, whisking constantly, until gravy thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
• Carve turkey and serve with gravy.

ROASTED CITRUS & HERB TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Mix butter and Italian seasoning., Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up; pat dry. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub half of the butter mixture under the skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks. Rub cavity with salt and pepper; fill with onion, orange, lemon and herbs. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together., Melt remaining butter mixture; brush over outside of turkey. Add 2 cups broth to roasting pan., Roast, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, 3-1/2-4 hours, basting occasionally with pan drippings. (Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly.), Remove turkey from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes before carving., Pour pan drippings into a small saucepan; skim fat. Mix flour, remaining broth and, if desired, browning sauce until smooth; whisk into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Serve with turkey.

WHOLE ROASTED TURKEY WITH CITRUS ROSEMARY SALT

Steps:

• For the Citrus Rosemary Salt: In food processor, process all the ingredients. Pulse until well blended. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• For the Roasted Turkeys: Remove necks and giblets and put into a large saucepan. Add 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat and let simmer until reduced to about 2 cups. Strain and reserve; this is the turkey stock that you will use for the gravy.
• Wash the turkeys, inside and out, and dry well. Coat each turkey, inside and out, with 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Season each turkey on the outside with a tablespoon or two of the Citrus Rosemary Salt, pressing it in to adhere. Place 4 rosemary sprigs and 2 lemon halves inside the cavity of each turkey.
• Arrange 4 of the halved carrots and 4 celery stalks on each of 2 half-sheet pans (use baking sheets with a lip). Position each turkey on top of the carrots and celery so that the turkey does not rest directly on the bottom of the pan. Drizzle turkeys with remaining olive oil.
• Roast until an instant-read thermometer (inserted deep into the thigh but away from the bone) reads 165 degrees F and juices in the thigh run clear when pierced with a fork, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours; begin checking at 2 hours. Remove from the pans and let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Reserve pan juices for gravy.
• While turkeys are resting, make the gravy. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until a smooth, blond-colored mixture is formed. Add the reserved turkey stock and pan juices and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and let simmer until thickened and ready to serve. Season, to taste.
• Carve turkey and serve with gravy.

CITRUS TURKEY ROAST

Steps:

• Cut roast in half. Combine the garlic powder, paprika, oil, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; rub over turkey. Place in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the garlic, 1/2 cup broth, water, wine, orange juice and lemon juice. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until a thermometer reads 175°. , Remove turkey and keep warm. Discard garlic cloves. For gravy, combine cornstarch and remaining broth until smooth; stir into cooking juices. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes or until thickened. Slice turkey; serve with gravy.

PERFECT CITRUS TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Take the turkey out of the refrigerator and leave it to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes prior to preparing and cooking. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, add the 1/2 cup softened butter, lemon zest and chopped chives. Halve the lemons and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon half into the butter. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
• Prepare the turkey: Remove the inner packet of giblets from the cavity and set aside.
• Run your fingers underneath the skin of the breast to make a little pocket between the skin and the flesh. Using your fingers, scoop up some of the lemon-chive butter and push the butter under the skin, filling up the pockets. Do the same thing on the legs. Once each pocket has been filled, take the rest of the butter and rub it all over the outside of the bird. Sprinkle about a tablespoon and a half of coarse salt on top.
• Insert the halved lemons, orange and grapefruit into the cavity of the turkey. Insert as much of the citrus as you can. Give each piece a little squeeze as you insert them to get the juices distributed. (You may have to leave some out depending on the size of the cavity. Use any extra citrus for garnish later.)
• Remove the giblets from the packet, rinse and pat dry. Place the giblets on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the turkey on top of the giblets. Tuck the wings under the turkey.
• Place the turkey in a preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes. Then, turn down the heat to 350 degrees F and roast for about another 2 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 175 to 180 degrees F. (The general rule is to cook a turkey about 15 minutes per pound.)
• Remove the bird from the pan onto a carving board or platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
• Place the roasting pan over low heat on the stovetop. Add white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour in the chicken stock. Whisk the cornstarch into it. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the Dijon mustard. Whisk well to combine. Strain the gravy into a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until thick and smooth, about 8 minutes.
• Bring your turkey to room temperature to ensure that the bird will cook evenly.
• Stuffing a turkey with fruit keep the bird moist and acts as a secondary cooking agent. As the juice of the fruit steams inside the cavity, it helps cook the bird from the inside. The juices also help to flavor the pan juices used for making the gravy.
• Stuffing butter between the skin and the flesh, keep the meat moist and flavorful. The butter and salt on the outside help create a tasty, crispy skin.
• I like to use the giblets as a platform for the bird. It stops the bottom of the bird from burning and adds flavor to the pan juices.
• A good rule for roasting times is to plan on roasting a turkey for about 15 minutes per pound.
• A meat thermometer is the best tool for figuring out if your turkey is fully cooked.

ROAST TURKEY WITH CITRUS BUTTER

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Pat the turkey dry all over with kitchen paper. Now weigh the bird and calculate the cooking time at 40 mins per kg.
• Mix the butter with the zests and herbs, and season well. Gently push your fingers under the turkey's skin, starting from the neck end of the bird, easing the skin away from the flesh over both the breasts and the tops of the drumsticks. Spread the butter under the skin, pushing it in as far as you can, then smooth the skin back into place. Halve the lemon and orange and put in the turkey cavity along with 2 onion halves and the bay leaves.
• Rub turkey all over with oil and sprinkle with salt. Arrange remaining onions in the bottom of a large roasting tin to act as a trivet for the bird. Sit the turkey on top and completely cover both bird and tin with foil to make a tent. Roast according to your calculated cooking times.
• Thirty mins before the end of the cooking time, take out the turkey and turn up the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the foil and return to the oven for a further 30 mins until golden.
• To test whether your turkey is cooked, pierce the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer - the juices that run out should be clear and not pink. Keep cooking if the juices are pink and re-check at 10-min intervals. If you like your turkey meat almost falling off the bone, then wiggle the leg - it should give slightly if the meat is ready. Keep cooking and basting until it does.
• Rest the turkey, covered loosely with foil, for at least 30 mins and up to 1 hr before serving. Strain and reserve the cooking juices and keep the onions in the tin for making gravy.