Whole Roasted Turkey Recipes

THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• First things first. Make sure that you thoroughly wash all of the fruit, veggies, and herbs prior to anything else. Then set to the side.
• Preheat the oven on 350 F.
• Clean the turkey. Make sure that the cavity is emptied, and all of the excess skin if trimmed.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, toss in the softened butter.
• Sprinkle in the onion powder, garlic powder, sage, salt, and pepper.
• Mix everything until it is nice and cream.
• Loosing up the turkey skin by using a spatula.
• Make sure that the skin is loose enough to place your hands underneath.
• Divid the butter mixture in half.
• Rub half of the butter mixture under the turkey skin, and in the cavity.
• Stuff as much of the mixed veggies, herbs, and fruit into the turkey cavity.
• Toss the remaining apples, celery, and etc in the bottom of your roaster pan.
• Once the turkey is stuffed, tie the legs with butcher string.
• Paint the turkey with the remain butter.
• Make sure that you get all surfaces, sides, and the bottom.
• Next place the turkey on a rack, and place it into the roaster. If you don't have a rack you can put the turkey in the center of the fruits, veggies, and herbs.
• Put turkey in the oven, on the lower rack, uncovered for 1 hour.
• Remove the turkey from the oven and baste.
• Cover the turkey with foil, and cook for another 2 hours and 15 minutes. Remove and baste every hour.
• Once the turkey is done, remove it from the oven, baste, cover, and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.
• Enjoy!

BRINED AND ROASTED WHOLE TURKEY

Steps:

• To Brine: Combine Kosher Salt and sugar in cool water in a large, clean stockpot until completely dissolved.
• Place the whole turkey in the brine until completely submerged.
• Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours.
• Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse inside and out under cool running water for several minutes to remove all traces of salt; pat dry with paper towel.
• To Roast: Mix the softened butter with the pepper.
• Place turkey on rack in roasting pan.
• Rub the seasoned butter under the skin.
• Brush the skin with the melted butter.
• Pour the 1 cup liquid (wine, broth or water) over the pan bottom to prevent drippings from burning.
• Roast turkey at 450° F.
• ,for 25 minutes, baste and then rotate the roasting pan.
• Continue roasting until the skin turns golden brown, an additional 25 minutes; baste again.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325° F; continue to roast, basting and rotating the pan once about halfway through cooking, until the*internal temperature reaches 170° F.
• ,for turkey breast meat and 180° F.
• ,for turkey thigh meat.
• Remove the turkey from the oven.
• Let stand 20 minutes before carving.
• Tips:*Internal temperature guidelines courtesy of USDA Food Safety Facts.
• Do NOT brine turkey if it includes?
• basting?
• liquids that contain salt.
• If pressed for time, use twice as much salt and sugar in the brine and cut soaking time to just 2 hours.
• If you purchase a turkey with a pop-up timer, leave it in place and ignore it.
• If removed, the timer will leave a gaping hole for juices to escape.
• Serves: 10 to 12.
• Preparation Time: 5 hours.
• Recipe by Morton Salt.

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.

WHOLE ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove neck, giblets and liver from turkey. Wash inside and out with cold water and pat dry.
• Mix 1/2 pound of butter with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. With your hands, carefully separate breast skin from the meat and spread rosemary butter in between.
• Rub turkey inside and outside with salt and black pepper. (If desired, stuff with mushroom stuffing)
• Place onion, carrots, celery, garlic, giblets, neck and liver on the bottom of your roasting pan. Place turkey on top of mixture. Rub turkey with 1 cup of olive oil and transfer to preheated oven. Roast for 45 minutes, then baste every 20 minutes. Add chicken stock as needed so that the vegetables don't burn.
• Roast between 15 and 20 minutes per pound until internal temperature is at least 165 and no more than 180 degrees F. in the thickest part of the thigh.
• Remove and let rest in warm place before serving.
• Add the pomegranate juice to the roasting pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into small saucepan and with a ladle, remove excess fat and reduce until the sauce is slightly thickened.
• Place turkey on serving platter. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Spoon tablespoons of sauce over turkey.
• Render foie gras or chicken liver in saute pan. Remove and pour rendered fat over bread. Dice and reserve. (If you use chicken liver instead or foie gras, add 4 tablespoons of butter).
• Rinse dried porcini and soak in warm water. Drain and chop mushrooms, reserving liquid.
• Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium heat and add onions, celery and pancetta. Cook until vegetables become translucent. Combine dried mushrooms and fresh mushrooms and add reserved mushroom liquid and stock. Cook over medium heat and reduce until almost dry. Set aside.
• Place foie gras or chicken liver and dried bread crumbs in a large bowl. Add herbs, beaten eggs and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
• Stuff turkey according to recipe (or place stuffing in a buttered gratin dish and bake in preheated 350 degree F. oven for 30 minutes).

PERFECT ROASTED WHOLE TURKEY

Steps:

• 1. Set oven to 325 degrees F, convection oven heat set to 320 degrees F. Set oven rack to lowest position. Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity. Rinse the turkey well with cold water inside and out then pat dry with a paper towel. Place the turkey on a rack on a roasting pan. In a small bowl mix together the melted butter with oil (I also like to add in 1 teaspoon garlic powder with the oil/butter mixture if you are a garlic-lover then use it). Fill the inside cavity loosley with prepared stuffing (if you are not using stuffing then tie the legs together with cotton butchers twine). Using clean hands rub the outside of the turkey with the oil/butter/garlic mixture. Season the turkey all over with salt and lots fresh ground black pepper. If you are NOT stuffing the bird place breast-side down on the rack, if stuffing leave breast-side up. Place/tent a large piece of heavy foil over the turkey. Place the pan in the oven, then pour about 4-5 cups chicken broth in the pan. Keep basting the turkey about every 30-40 minutes with the pan juices on the bottom of the pan (removing the foil and re-tenting every time you baste). If you see the juices starting to evaporate then add in more broth to the pan about 2 cups at a time. After about 2-1/2 hours of cooking time remove the foil. Keep roasting (325 degrees F) until the internal thermometer reads 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). The total cooking time for this 18-pound stuffed bird should be about 4 hours. Transfer the cooked turkey to a large serving platter, cover loosley with foil and let rest 30 minutes before carving (DO NOT slice the turkey before 30 minutes or all juices will flow out of the bird!). --------------------------------------------. **NOTE** cooking times for whole turkeys cooked at 325 degrees are as follows. For an 8-12 pound turkey, roast for 2-3/4 to 3 hours. For a 12-14 pound turkey, roast for 3 to 3-3/4 hours. For a 14-18 pound turkey, roast for 3-3/4 to 4-1/4 hours.