Bacon Roasted Turkey Recipes

BACON WRAPPED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Sprinkle sage and garlic powder over the entire turkey. Wrap turkey completely with bacon. Place turkey on a roasting rack and place roasting rack in a large baking dish. Pour water into the base of the dish.
• Bake turkey in the preheated oven, basting every 45 minutes with juices in baking dish, until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

BACON WRAPPED ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 325°F
• Remove giblets and neck from Turkey. Rinse turkey with cold running water and drain well. Blot dry with paper towels.
• Chop Onion and Garlic and mix together. Once chopped and mixed, stuff the Onion and Garlic mixture into Turkey.
• Tie up the Turkey's wings, legs, and drumsticks with Kitchen Twine as desired.
• Chop Sage and mix in with softened Butter.
• Rub Sage/Butter mixture under the skin and over the skin of the Turkey.
• Salt and pepper Turkey to taste.
• Place uncooked, Bacon slices all over the skin of the uncooked Turkey. They will stick onto the buttered Turkey.
• Insert an Oven-Safe Meat Thermometer into the inner thigh area near the breast of the Turkey but not touching the bone.
• Place Turkey in a roasting pan and use Foil to tent the uncooked Turkey.
• Remove foil tent for last hour of cooking Turkey.
• Continue to let bacon cook on Turkey for an additional 15 minutes, then remove. (OPTIONAL - Bacon can then be chopped and placed in a separate dish of your choice).
• Remove Turkey from oven once 160 degrees is reached internally in the Turkey.
• Allow Turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes, then carve (during the rest period, Turkey will continue to cook to 165 degrees).

BACON ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Using a boning knife, remove the legs and thighs in one piece from each side of the turkey. Cut the meat away from the thigh bone. Holding the thigh bone, use your other hand to carefully cut the meat from around the leg-thigh joint without cutting through the skin. Use the blade of the knife to scrape away the meat from the leg bone up to 2 inches from the tip end. Using a cleaver, break the leg bone, leaving the tip end intact. Remove the leg and thigh bone in one piece. Refrigerate until ready to stuff. Remove the breast meat, with the skin intact, from each side of the turkey; set aside. Using the cleaver, chop all of the bones into 3-inch pieces and set aside
• For the breasts: Lay 15 slices of bacon horizontally and overlapping slightly, on a clean work surface. Repeat with remaining 15 slices of bacon (the bacon should be equal in length to the breasts). Sprinkle the bacon with sage, rosemary, orange zest, sea salt and the peppercorns. Center each breast, skin-side down, vertically on the bacon. Wrap the slices around each breast very tightly to enclose. Using kitchen twine, truss each breast to secure the bacon to the breast. Chill for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• For the legs: In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion, apples, chestnuts, garlic, orange zest, rosemary, sage, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and coriander. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the reserved chopped liver and gizzard. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes more. Meanwhile, combine in a large bowl the bread, raisins, and almonds. Add the cooked vegetable mixture. Gently stir in eggs. Add chicken stock, slowly, until the stuffing is moist but not wet. If necessary, add more chicken stock to moisten. Sprinkle with parsley; stir to combine.
• Firmly press about 1 1/2 cups of the stuffing into the center of each leg. Wrap the meat tightly around the stuffing to enclose. Truss with kitchen twine to enclose. Chill for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Transfer any extra stuffing to a buttered baking dish, and bake, covered, for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes more in 400 degree oven.
• Roasting the breasts and legs: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the racks in the lower third and upper third of the oven. Combine 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and reserved turkey bones in a large roasting pan. Transfer to the bottom rack in the oven and roast until well-browned, about 45 minutes.
• In a large saute pan, heat remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and the butter over medium-high heat. Add the chilled turkey breasts, and cook until golden brown all over. Remove and set aside. Repeat with the chilled legs; reserving any accumulated fat in the saute pan. Remove the roasted turkey bones from the oven, and set wing pieces aside. Add wine to the roasting pan; stirring to loosen bones from the bottom of the pan. Add shallots, celery, carrots, herbs, and zest to the roasting pan, stirring to combine. Place the browned breasts and legs on top of the roasted bones. Return to the oven, and roast for 45 minutes, basting every 15 minutes, with the pan juices. Remove the breasts; set aside and keep warm. Continue to roast the legs, basting and turning, until the legs are cooked through, 1 to 1 1/2 hours more. When done, remove the legs; set aside and keep warm. Strain the pan juices through a fine sieve, skimming off any excess fat, and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, prepare roasted vegetables. In a large heavy-bottomed roasting pan over medium-high heat, melt butter with olive oil. Add the reserved wing pieces, squash, endive, onions, celeriac, mushrooms, and herbs. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved fat, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned. Drizzle with honey. Transfer to the top rack in the oven, and roast until the squash and the endive are fork-tender, about 1 hour.
• Remove the twine from the breasts and legs. Slice crosswise into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange the slices on the platter with the roasted vegetables. Drizzle with the strained pan juices. Serve remaining juices on the side.

MAPLE-ROASTED TURKEY WITH SAGE, SMOKED BACON, AND CORNBREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and remove the top rack.
• Combine the butter and sage in a mixing bowl, mash with a fork or spoon until the sage is well incorporated and the butter has flecks of green in it; season with salt and pepper.
• In a saute pan, melt 4 tablespoons of the sage butter, add the onions, cook and stir for 15 minutes until soft and golden. Remove from heat. Put the cornbread in a large mixing bowl and scrape the sauteed onion mixture on top. Add the egg, heavy cream, and just enough chicken stock to moisten the stuffing without making it soggy (about 1/2 cup.) Toss well to combine, season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the neck and gizzards from the inside of the turkey and discard. Rinse the bird thoroughly inside and out with cold water, pat dry. Sprinkle the cavity and skin liberally with salt and pepper. Using your fingers, gently lift the skin from the breast and legs, and slip pieces of the sage butter underneath; massaging it in as you go. Fill the bird with the cornbread stuffing without packing too tightly; cook the remaining stuffing separately in a buttered baking dish. Truss the turkey; place it on a rack in a large roasting pan, and put into the oven.
• Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and hot water to thin the glaze out a bit; use this to baste the turkey every 30 minutes. The turkey should take about 3 hours to cook (i.e. 15 to 20 minutes per pound.) If the legs or breast brown too quickly, cover with foil. About 2 hours into cooking, shingle the strips of bacon oven the turkey breast to cover; continue to roast and baste for another hour or so. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meatiest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F (the thigh juices will also run clear when pricked with a knife.) Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before carving, so the juices can settle back into the meat.
• Skim off the excess fat from the pan drippings with a spoon and place the roasting pan over 2 burners set on medium-high heat. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up brown bits stuck to bottom of pan. Whisk the flour into the drippings, stirring as it thickens to prevent lumps. Add the remaining chicken stock and bring to a simmer; season with salt and pepper and hit it with a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Simmer for 5 minutes and then strain to remove any particles. Serve the gravy with the maple-roasted turkey and cornbread stuffing.

ROAST TURKEY, AVOCADO AND BACON SANDWICH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• To prepare the Roast Turkey: toss the herbs and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until green and smooth. Rub the turkey breast with half of the herbed butter and with salt and pepper. Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan and put in the oven. Let the turkey cook for 1 hour, basting every 20 minutes with the butter and pan juices. The turkey is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Let rest for 15 minutes on the cutting board.
• To assemble the sandwich: spread a thin layer of the remaining butter on 1 piece of the bread. Place 1 slice of the cheese and several slices of the turkey breast on unbuttered side of the bread. Peel and slice the avocado, toss with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add avocado slices, crispy bacon slices, lettuce and another slice of fontina cheese to the top of that. Sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Slather the remaining piece of bread with the butter and place on unbuttered side out, on top of the bacon.
• Heat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and let it melt, swirling the pan around to coat. Put the sandwich in the pan and weigh it down with a heavy pot or can (or wrap an ordinary brick in aluminum foil and set it on top to compress the sandwich.) Toast for 1 minute, turn the sandwich over before the bread begins to burn. Repeat with remaining sandwiches. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve.

ROAST HERITAGE TURKEY WITH BACON-HERB AND CIDER GRAVY

Steps:

• For bacon, dijon, and herb butter:
• Blend all ingredients in processor until bacon is finely chopped. Transfer to sheet of plastic wrap. Using plastic wrap as aid, roll butter mixture into 2-inch-diameter log; chill until firm. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• For cider gravy base:
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine turkey neck, 1/4 cup turkey fat, and turkey leg in heavy large ovenproof pot. Place in oven; roast uncovered until turkey parts are deep, dark brown, turning once, about 1 1/2 hours. Drain, reserving fat from pot. Reserve 1/4 cup fat for gravy; return 1 tablespoon fat to pot. Return turkey parts to pot; stir in celery, onions, thyme sprigs, and peppercorns. Return pot to oven; roast uncovered 10 minutes. Add apple cider and vinegar; roast 10 minutes longer. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Add 8 cups stock and sage to pot; cook in oven uncovered 1 1/2 hours. Strain gravy base through fine strainer; discard solids in strainer (there will be about 5 cups gravy base). DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.
• For turkey:
• Cut bacon butter into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Starting at neck end, carefully slide hand between skin and breast meat, then slide hand between skin and thigh meat. Carefully slide butter slices between skin and leg, thigh, and breast meat to cover (there will be a generous amount of butter mixture). Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1 teaspoon pepper over turkey, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in main cavity of turkey. Place turkey on rimmed baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap or foil; chill at least 1 day. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• Set rack at lowest position in oven; preheat to 350°F. Mix onions, celery, fennel, carrots, apples, oil, and bay leaves in large roasting pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place turkey atop vegetable mixture. Tuck wings under; tie legs together loosely to hold shape. Place turkey in oven; roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, basting with pan drippings every 30 minutes and tenting loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 4 hours total. Transfer turkey to platter (internal temperature of turkey will increase 5 to 10 degrees).
• Pour vegetable mixture and pan drippings into large strainer set over large bowl; press on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids in strainer. Spoon off fat from pan drippings; discard (there will be a large amount of fat in pan drippings). Reserve degreased pan drippings for gravy (about 1 cup). Remove fat from surface of gravy base; reserve 1/4 cup fat. Rewarm cider gravy base.
• Melt reserved 1/4 cup fat in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; stir 3 minutes. Gradually add warm cider gravy base and degreased pan drippings. Simmer until smooth, thickened, and reduced to 51/2 cups, whisking frequently, about 5 minutes. Season gravy with salt and pepper.
• Serve turkey with gravy.

CRISPY BACON-BASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• If you have time the day before, salt the turkey. Make the salt mix by grinding the salt with the thyme leaves and pepper in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar. Sit the turkey in a roasting tin and season all over, inside and out, using about two-thirds of the salt. Leave the turkey in the tin, breast-side up, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for up to 24 hrs. If you don't have time, or there is no room in the fridge, simply prepare the salt and season the turkey generously before roasting.
• To make the bacon butter, gently cook the bacon in a dry frying pan for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the fat has seeped into the pan and is sizzling gently, and the bacon is crisp. Take off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Scrape the bacon and the fat into a food processor with the butter and maple syrup. Blitz to combine, scraping down the sides of the processor from time to time. Roll up the butter in cling film to form a log and place in the fridge. Can be made a few days ahead or frozen for 1 month.
• Remove the turkey from the fridge an hour or so before you want to cook it. Remove the bacon butter from the fridge to soften up. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Calculate your cooking time based on 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg of the turkey, plus 45 mins for every kg after that.
• Gently push your fingers under the skin of the turkey, starting from the neck, until you can push your whole hand in down the length of the breast. Take care not to tear the skin. Use your hands to spread the bacon butter under the skin so that it covers the entire breast area, and there is butter in the crevice between the thigh and the main body. Pop a sprig of thyme under the skin of each breast, then smooth the skin over with your buttery hands. Place the onion, lemon, bay leaves and garlic in the cavity.
• Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for the calculated cooking time - 30 mins before the end of cooking, increase the oven temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, remove the foil, baste the turkey and return to the oven. When the turkey is beautifully brown and cooked through, remove from the oven and leave to rest on a warm platter covered in foil for up to 1 hr.
• Pour the fat away from the roasting tin, leaving just the juices. If your tin is flameproof, pour in the Sticky Port gravy (see 'Goes well with', right) to reheat with the juices; if not, tip them both into a saucepan and reheat. Serve the remaining salt mix as a seasoning alongside the rest of the meal.

BACON AND HERB ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a shallow roasting pan or baking dish with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil.
• Place bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat; cook until bacon is crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon bacon fat. Let bacon cool.
• Finely chop bacon and transfer to a small bowl, along with garlic, sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a small spoon, mix until a paste is formed.
• Using your fingertips, gently loosen the skin on both sides of the turkey breast so that it is separated from the flesh. Divide herb paste in half and gently spread half of the paste between each half of the breast. Season turkey with remaining teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brush skin with reserved bacon fat.
• Place turkey in prepared pan and roast, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the breast reaches 165 degrees, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove turkey from oven and let rest 20 minutes before carving. Serve with any pan drippings.

BACON-WRAPPED TURKEY

Steps:

• Add 2 cups water to pan. Roast, uncovered, until bacon is lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, about 90 minutes longer. Cover loosely with foil if bacon browns too quickly., Remove from oven. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

ROAST TURKEY WITH BACON, TARRAGON AND APPLEJACK GRAVY

Steps:

• Make turkey:
• Stir jelly, 1/2 cup butter, apple juice concentrate and 2 tablespoons tarragon in small saucepan over medium heat until butter and jelly melt. Remove glaze from heat. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature and rewhisk before using.)
• Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 375°F. Place small rack in center of large roasting pan. Melt 1/4 cup butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion and carrot; saut until dark brown, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle vegetables and turkey neck pieces around rack in pan.
• Stir remaining 6 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons tarragon in heavy small saucepan until butter melts. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey on rack in pan. Starting at neck end, slide hand between skin and breast meat to loosen skin. Brush 3 tablespoons tarragon butter over breast meat under skin. If stuffing turkey, spoon stuffing loosely into main cavity. Brush remaining tarragon butter over outside of turkey. Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper. Tuck wing tips under turkey; tie legs together to hold shape.
• Roast turkey 45 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; add 1 cup broth to pan. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180°F., adding 1 cup broth and basting with pan juices every 1/2 hour and brushing with 1/3 cup glaze twice during last 2 hours, about 4 1/4 hours longer if unstuffed or 4 3/4 hours longer if stuffed.
• Transfer turkey to platter. Tent with foil; let stand 1/2 hour. Reserve pan juices.
• Make gravy:
• Mix 1/2 cup glaze and flour in small bowl to blend. Strain pan juices into large measuring cup, pressing on solids; spoon off fat. Add enough broth to measure 6 cups.
• Sauté bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Pour off fat. Add broth mixture to saucepan and bring to boil. Whisk in glaze-flour mixture and tarragon, then applejack. Simmer until thickened to sauce, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

MUSTARD BUTTER-BASTED ROAST TURKEY WITH BACON

Steps:

• Weigh your turkey and calculate the cooking time by allowing 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg, then 45 mins for every kg of turkey over that weight. As a guide, a turkey this size should take 3½-4 hrs plus 30-45 mins resting time.
• To make the mustard butter, beat the butter with the mustards, thyme and some ground black pepper until soft and well mixed.
• Gently push your fingers under the skin of the turkey, starting from the neck, until you can push your whole hand in down the length of the breast - take care not to tear the skin. Spread the butter under the skin so that it covers the breasts. Lay the streaky bacon on your work surface in 2 rectangles of 6 overlapping rashers (for extra flavour, you can brush the bacon with a little wholegrain or English mustard first), and carefully push each rectangle of bacon under the skin to cover and protect each breast. This can be done the night before, but take out of the fridge for 1 hr before roasting so that it comes back to room temperature.
• On the day, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lift the turkey into a roasting tin, massage the olive oil into the skin and season well with flaky salt and pepper. Put the onion, thyme and bay inside the cavity of the turkey, then pour in the wine. Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for the calculated cooking time. For the final 30 mins, remove the foil and pour off all of the cooking juices (use for the gravy; recipe in 'goes well with'). Increase the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and roast for 30 mins more until the turkey is golden and the juices that run out of the thigh are clear, with no sign of pink, when pierced with a skewer. Leave to rest on a warm platter covered with foil and tea towels - it will keep like this for up to 45 mins.
• To serve, carve the turkey and arrange the meat on a hot platter with a little of the hot gravy poured over, or bring the whole turkey to the table garnished with herbs. To fill the platter, you could surround the turkey with potatoes, if you like. Any leftover meat can be frozen in the gravy.