Grandmas Roasted Turkey Recipes

ROAST TURKEY THAT MAKES MEMORIES

Steps:

• Take the turkey out of the fridge in the morning. Remove the giblet bag and neck from the inside of the turkey cavity. Save the giblets and neck in the fridge for making stock later. Rinse the turkey in the sink under cold, running water. Then take a teaspoon of herbed salt and wipe the inside of the turkey cavity and under the neck skin with salt. Spread the salt thinly.
• Firmly stuff the turkey with the prepared stuffing. Truss up the legs over the cavity to keep the stuffing inside the bird. Some people sew the legs together with twine. Others just tie them at the top of the drumsticks or tuck the drumsticks under the neck skin to hold the legs together
• Place the turkey, breast side up, on top of the roasting rack, inside the roasting pan. Pour water into the roasting pan so that it comes up to the top of the rack. Cover the roasting pan with a lid. Place in the oven.
• Start checking the turkey for doneness about an hour before it is supposed to be done. Use an instant-read thermometer to gauge the doneness of the turkey. Insert the thermometer into the deepest part of the muscles without touching a bone. Check the temperature in the breast and in the thigh. When the turkey is done the breast will be 170 degrees and the thigh will be 180 degrees.
• When the turkey is done, take it out of the oven and remove it from the roasting pan, onto the carving platter or carving board, and let it rest.
• Place the flour or starch called for in your gravy recipe into one cup of cold water. (Use tapioca starch or potato starch if you have a guest who has gluten allergies.) Beat the water and starch with a fork until there are no lumps.
• Pour the water-starch slurry into the bottom of the roaster with the meat drippings. Add the remaining amount of water called for in the gravy recipe, while beating the mixture with a whisk.
• Turn on the burner and cook the gravy over medium heat, while whisking to prevent lumps from forming. Stop whisking when the gravy thickens and begins to bubble.
• Transfer the gravy to a gravy boat or other container with a pour spout.

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.

JUICY HERB-ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Chop 8 sage leaves and leaves from 2 thyme sprigs. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup oil, garlic, salt and pepper with chopped herbs. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub mixture under skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks., Cut onions into wedges and the celery, carrots and parsnips into 2-in. pieces. Place about a fifth of the onions, celery and carrots in the turkey cavity; add 4 sage sprigs and remaining 4 thyme sprigs to cavity. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly in a roasting pan. Place turkey, breast side up, over vegetables. Brush with remaining 1/4 cup oil., Bake, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 170°-175°, 3 to 3-1/2 hours. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly. Cover and let stand 20 minutes before carving. Discard vegetables. If desired, use drippings to make gravy.

A SIMPLY PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.
• Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
• Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 4 hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

NO-BASTE, NO-BOTHER ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Adjust the oven racks so the covered roasting pan fit easily inside. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Rub the butter on the outside and in the cavity of the turkey. Sprinkle the salt and pepper on the inside and the outside of the turkey. Put the celery, onion and carrot in the cavity. Place the turkey, breast-side up, in a large roasting pan. Pour the boiling water into the pan. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and put the pan in the oven.
• Start a timer when the oven temperature returns to 500 degrees F. Bake for exactly 1 hour and turn off the oven. Do not open the oven door! Leave the turkey in the oven until the oven completely cools; this may take 4 to 6 hours. Reserve the pan juices and refrigerate the turkey if it will not be served soon after roasting.

GRANDMA'S HOLIDAY TURKEY COOKED IN ROASTER

Steps:

• 1. Defrost turkey in refrigerator. This takes a couple of days. Remove the neck and giblets (heart, gizzard, liver). You can save these and use the heart and gizzard for making stock for the stuffing. The neck can be cooked along side the turkey or saved for turkey soup. Or all of the giblets can be used for making giblet gravy. Preheat the roaster oven to 400 degrees. Wash out the turkey with water. Pull out any remaining feather stubs in the turkey skin. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
• 2. Fill body cavity with stuffing. Grandma used home made but you can also use a packaged mix. Close up the turkey cavity with either string (not nylon string!) or metal skewers. Make sure that the turkey's legs are tied together, held close to the body, and tie a string around the turkey body to hold the wings in close. The neck cavity can also be stuffed and tied closed with thin skewers and string. Rub melted butter all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle salt generously all over the outside of the turkey Sprinkle pepper over the turkey. Place turkey up on the rack of the roaster.
• 3. For the 15 lb turkey, start the cooking at 400 degrees for the first 1/2 hour. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees for the next 3 hours. Start taking temperature readings with a meat thermometer, inserted deep into the thickest part of the turkey breast and thigh, an hour before the turkey should be done. You want a resulting temperature of 175 degrees for the dark meat (thighs and legs) and 165 degrees for the white meat (breast). Once you remove the turkey from the oven, let it rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.
• 4. MAKING TURKEY GRAVY Scrape all the drippings off of the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour drippings into a smaller skillet. Ladle off excess fat. In a separate small bowl take a quarter cup of corn starch and add just enough water to dissolve the corn starch. Beat cornstarch with a spoon to remove lumps. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the drippings, stirring constantly. You may not end up using all of the cornstarch mixture. Only add as much as you need to get the desired thickness. Allow time for the cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, or other seasonings to taste.

TURKEY WITH GRANDMA'S STUFFING

Steps:

• Place giblets in a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until tender. Chop giblets; set broth and giblets aside. , In a large skillet, saute celery and onion in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, celery mixture, giblets, egg substitute and seasonings. Stir in 1 cup giblet broth., Just before roasting, loosely stuff turkey with 8 cups stuffing. Place remaining stuffing in a greased 2-qt. baking dish; refrigerate until ready to bake. Skewer turkey openings; tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Place breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour 1 cup giblet broth over turkey. Melt remaining butter; brush over turkey. , Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until a thermometer reads 165° when inserted in center of stuffing and the thigh reaches at least 170°, basting occasionally. (Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns to quickly.), Bake additional stuffing, covered, for 30-40 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Cover turkey and let stand for 20 minutes before removing stuffing and carving turkey. , Pour pan drippings into a 2-cup measuring cup; skim fat. Add water or remaining giblet broth to measure 2 cups. In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Gradually stir in broth mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with turkey.

GRANDMA'S TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Pour drippings into a 2-cup measuring cup. Skim fat, reserving 1/4 cup. Add enough broth to the drippings to measure 2 cups., Saute shallot in reserved fat in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour, salt, onion powder, poultry seasoning and pepper until blended; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until browned (do not burn). Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

SIMPLE ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove any giblets from the cavity and reserve for stock or gravy. Pat turkey and turkey neck dry with paper towel; rub turkey all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey, the pepper and the lemon zest, including the neck. Transfer to a 2-gallon (or larger) resealable plastic bag. Tuck herbs and 6 garlic cloves inside bag. Seal and refrigerate on a small rimmed baking sheet (or wrapped in another bag) for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, turning the bird over every day (or after 12 hours if brining for only 1 day).
• Remove turkey from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, uncovered, back on the baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours to dry out the skin (this helps crisp it).
• When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for one hour.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add the cider and enough wine to fill the pan to a 1/4-inch depth. Add half the onions, the remaining 6 garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Stuff the remaining onion quarters and the lemon quarters into the turkey cavity. Brush the turkey skin generously with oil or melted butter.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside the roasting pan. Transfer pan to the oven and roast 30 minutes. Cover breast with aluminum foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches a temperature of 165 degrees, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.