Turkey Recipes

JUICY TURKEY RECIPE

Steps:

• Use an instant read thermometer to test the internal temperature of the turkey to make sure that no part of it is frozen. Internal temperatures should be above 32 degrees F. Remove the turkey from its packaging and place onto a roasting pan. Discard neck and gizzards.
• Fill two plastic sandwich bags with ice. Clip them together and place them on the bird so that the ice can chill both breasts. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, then discard ice bags. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.
• Starting at the neck cavity, loosen the skin from the breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers and gently pushing between the skin and meat. Place slices of butter in between the skin and the meat.
• In a small bowl, stir together paprika, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Sprinkle over the skin of the entire turkey and rub in to coat.
• Insert an oven safe thermometer probe so that the tip of the probe is in the center of the breast of the turkey. The probe should be inserted from the neck area and be parallel to the roasting pan.
• Bake in the preheated 350 degree oven until the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 150-155 degrees. Baste 1 to 2 times if desired.
• Use an instant read thermometer to test different parts of the bird for doneness and to ensure that the breast meat really is 150-155 degrees in the center. The dark meat in the legs should register between 175 and 180 degrees F.
• Once the internal temperatures reach their desired level, let the turkey rest 20 minutes before carving.

PERFECT TURKEY

Steps:

• Rub the turkey inside and out with the kosher salt. Place the bird in a large stock pot, and cover with cold water. Place in the refrigerator, and allow the turkey to soak in the salt and water mixture 12 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thoroughly rinse the turkey, and discard the brine mixture.
• Brush the turkey with 1/2 the melted butter. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme, and the bay leaf. Scatter the remaining vegetables and thyme around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the white wine.
• Roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about 2/3 through the roasting time, and brush with the remaining butter. Allow the bird to stand about 30 minutes before carving.

JUICY THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a turkey roaster with long sheets of aluminum foil that will be long enough to wrap over the turkey.
• Stir together the parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the herb mixture into the cavity of the turkey, then stuff with the celery, orange, onion, and carrot. Truss if desired, and place the turkey into the roasting pan. Pour the chicken broth and champagne over the turkey, making sure to get some champagne in the cavity. Bring the aluminum foil over the top of the turkey, and seal. Try to keep the foil from touching the skin of the turkey breast or legs.
• Bake the turkey in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear. Uncover the turkey, and continue baking until the skin turns golden brown, 30 minutes to 1 hour longer. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

JAMIE'S EASY TURKEY

Steps:

• PREP - if you want to get ahead, do all this prep on Christmas Eve, ready for the big day. Either way, get your turkey out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours in advance, depending on its size, so it can come up to room temperature.
• Check the main cavity for the bag of giblets, and if they're in there, remove them and tip into your roasting tray. The added flavour for your gravy later will be incredible - trust me.
• Warm the butter in your hands then rub and massage it all over the bird, getting into all the nooks and crannies, then sprinkle from a height with sea salt and black pepper.
• Halve the clementine and place in the main cavity with the fresh herbs - you don't want to pack it full as you want to allow hot air to circulate.
• Use a handful (200g) of Gennaro's pork & onion stuffing to fill the neck cavity, but don't stuff it in too tightly, then pull the skin back over it and tuck it under the bird. You'll get a good contrast between the soft, juicy stuffing here and the crispier stuff you can bake off in a dish.
• Roughly chop the veg - there's no need to peel them - and chuck into the tray with the giblets to make your trivet, then sit the turkey on top and cover the tray with tin foil.
• Remember now to wash your hands, plus any kitchen kit the raw turkey has touched, before moving on.
• COOK - Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• As a guide, you want to cook a higher-welfare bird for 25 to 30 minutes per kilo, and a standard bird for 35 to 40 minutes per kilo. If you've got a 6kg bird, like I had here, do it for 2 hours 42 minutes - this sounds very precise, but I find that 27 minutes per kilo for a higher-welfare bird is the sweet spot.
• Remove the tin foil about 45 minutes before the end of cooking, to allow the turkey to get nice and golden.
• To check it's cooked, the simplest way is to stick a knife into the thickest part of the thigh - if the juices run clear, it's done. If you're worried, you could also use a meat thermometer. You want to reach an internal temperature of 65ºC for a top-quality bird, such as Paul Kelly's turkeys, or 70ºC for a supermarket higher-welfare or standard bird.
• Use heavy duty tongs to lift up your bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the tray, then transfer the turkey to a platter, cover it with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel, and leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on with everything else.
• See how to finish your gravy by checking out my Christmas day gravy recipe.
• CARVE - Choose from the two methods below, or watch the How to carve a turkey video on Food Tube.
• Remove the wing, slice the skin beside the leg, then pull out and chop the legs off. You can either slice or pull this brown meat - it's so tasty. Keep it warm while you move on to the breast meat. Use the full length of the knife in a nice smooth action to slice through the breast meat, transferring it to a platter as you go.
• Remove the leg as above, then feel where the backbone is and cut with the length of your knife all the way down beside it until you hit the carcass. You can then lift the whole breast off the bone. Remove to a board and slice.

EASY, NO FUSS THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• If the turkey is frozen: Thaw in the fridge, 24 hours for every 5 pounds of Turkey. I like to give myself 1 extra day, just to be safe.
• Remove the thawed turkey from the fridge 1 hour before roasting, to let it come to room temperature.
• Adjust your oven rack so the turkey will sit in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Make the herb butter by combining room temperature butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, one tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, one tablespoon fresh chopped thyme, and half a tablespoon of fresh chopped sage. (You'll use the remaining fresh herbs for stuffing inside the cavity of the turkey)
• Remove turkey from packaging and remove the neck and giblets from the inside the cavities of the bird. (Reserve them for gravy, if you want, or discard them). Pat the turkey very dry with paper towels.
• Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with the quartered lemon, onion and apple and leftover herbs.
• Use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin above the breasts (on the top of the turkey) and smooth a few tablespoons of the herb butter underneath.
• Tuck the wings of the turkey underneath the turkey and set the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan*.
• Microwave the remaining herb butter mixture for 30 seconds (it doesn't need to be completely melted--just really softened). Use a basting brush to brush the remaining herb butter all over the outside of the turkey, legs and wings.
• Roast at 325 degrees F for about 13-15 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature (inserted on middle of thigh and breast) reaches about 165 degrees.
• (I remove the turkey from the oven once it reaches 160 degrees. Then, I tent it with foil, and let it rest on the counter. It will continue cooking under the foil, to reach 165 degrees F.)
• ***Check the turkey about halfway through cooking, and once the skin gets golden brown, cover the top of the turkey with tinfoil, to protect the breast meat from overcooking. Alternately, you could start cooking the turkey with it tented in foil, then during the last hour or so of cooking you can take the foil off to let the turkey brown.
• Allow turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/how-to-carve-a-turkey/
• Reserve any drippings and juice remaining in your roasting pan to make turkey gravy.

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
• Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.
• Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
• Slice the turkey and serve.