Greek Lemon Turkey Recipes

GREEK TRADITIONAL TURKEY WITH CHESTNUT AND PINE NUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Make a small incision on sides of each chestnut, and place in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until toasted. Remove from heat, peel, and chop.
• Melt 2/3 cup butter in a saucepan, and mix in the orange juice, tangerine juice, and lemon juice. Rub the turkey inside and out with the mixture, reserving some for basting. Season turkey with salt and pepper.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef, ground pork, and onion until beef and pork are evenly brown and onion is tender. Drain grease. Mix in the rice. Stir in the chestnuts, pine nuts, raisins, 1/3 cup butter, broth, and brandy. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking until all liquid has been absorbed. Stuff all turkey cavities with the mixture, and tie in place with kitchen twine.
• Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, and loosely cover breast and thighs with aluminum foil. Pour about 1/4 inch water into the bottom of the pan. Maintain this level of water throughout cook time. Roast turkey in the preheated oven 3 to 4 hours, brushing occasionally with remaining butter and juice mixture. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) during final hour of roasting, and remove foil. Cook turkey to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).

FESTIVE ROAST TURKEY WITH ROSEMARY, GARLIC AND LEMON SAUCE

Steps:

• To ensure your amazing festive turkey is thoroughly cooked the first thing you need to do is let it sit at room temperature for about an hour. That-way the meat will be the same temperature throughout and cooked evenly.
• Preheat your oven at 400F (200C) with the rack placed in the lower third of the oven. You don't want this amazing festive turkey to get burned, do you?
• Now its time to prepare the glazing. In a small saucepan heat the oil till hot but not enough to cause the ingredients to sizzle. Place the rosemary, garlic and lemon zest and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the lemon is slightly shriveled and garlic is soft. It should take about 2-3 minutes.
• Remove the glazing from the heat and let it cool.
• Now its time to start preparing your amazing festive turkey! Start by tucking its wing tips underneath the body. Season on the inside with plenty of pepper and some salt - careful not to make it too salty though!
• Fill stuff the turkey with your stuffing, fold the neck skin over the opening and tie the legs together with a kitchen twine.
• Now for the glazing. Brush your amazing festive turkey with 1/2 cup of the rosemary-lemon oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper.
• Peal your onions in quarters and layer them on the bottom of a heavy roasting pan. Place your roasting rack on top followed by your perfectly seasoned and glazed festive turkey!
• Roast until the turkey is golden brown. It will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour. To keep it nice and moist reduce heat to 375F (190C), add 1 cup of water to the pan, brush with the rosemary oil. Remember to cover with a lid or foil at this stage. Repeat every 30 minutes. If the pan becomes dry remember to add some more water.
• The best way to know when your festive turkey is done is using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. If it reads 165F (73C) it's done!
• Once ready, transfer your amazing festive turkey to a platter or carving board and loosely tent with foil. Remember to let it rest for 30 minutes as the juices are still hot on the inside and if carved straight away they will simply run out of the meat...
• You can use your roasting pan glazing as a base for an amazing white wine gravy. Just add 1 cup of white wine and let it simmer for a few minutes for an amazing sauce...

GREEK LEMON TURKEY

Steps:

• Make several deep slits in the turkey; insert a garlic slice into each slit. Combine the oregano, lemon juice, salt and pepper; rub over turkey. Place flour in oven bag and shake well. Place turkey in bag and close. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight., Place oven bag in a roasting pan at least 2 in. deep. Add onions, potatoes and carrots to bag. Close bag with nylon tie provided (do not allow oven bag to hang over pan). Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until thermometer reads 180°. Remove turkey from bag. Let stand for 20 minutes before carving. Keep vegetables warm. Serve turkey and vegetables with drippings.

LEMON-HERB ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and minced thyme. Pat turkey dry. Sprinkle salt and pepper over skin of turkey and inside cavity; brush with butter mixture. Place the lemon, onion, garlic and thyme sprigs inside cavity. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together., Place flour in oven bag and shake to coat. Place bag in a roasting pan; add turkey to bag, breast side up. Cut six 1/2-in. slits in top of bag; close bag with tie provided., Bake at 350° for 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 hours or until a thermometer reads 180°. Remove turkey to a serving platter and keep warm. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving. If desired, thicken pan drippings for gravy. Freeze option: Freeze cooled turkey and gravy in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered skillet, gently stirring and adding a little broth or water if necessary.

GREEK LEMON POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange potatoes in a single layer in a large baking dish or roasting pan.
• Mix water, lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, oregano, salt, and pepper together. Pour over the potatoes and stir to coat.
• Bake in the preheated oven, carefully turning over halfway through, until potatoes are tender and nearly all excess liquid has evaporated, 75 to 90 minutes.

YOUVARLAKIA AVGOLEMONO (LEMONY GREEK MEATBALL SOUP)

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, 1/4 cup dill, onion, carrot, rice, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Gently mix with your hands until well combined.
• Gently form the mixture into 24 meatballs, each about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, placing them on a plate or baking pan. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. This helps the meatballs keep their shape while cooking.
• In a large pot, bring stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium and use a slotted spoon to carefully add meatballs to the pot. The broth should cover the tops of the meatballs by about 1/2 inch. If not, add a little water. Simmer gently, adjusting the heat so the broth doesn't boil, until meatballs are cooked through and rice is tender, 25 to 35 minutes. (Break open a meatball to test it.) Remove pot from heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and lemon juice until just mixed. Slowly add a ladle of warm broth to egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in another two ladles of broth to temper the egg mixture.
• Slowly drizzle the egg-lemon mixture back into the pot with the meatballs, stirring gently so you don't break apart the meatballs. Return the pot to medium-low heat until it just starts to simmer. (Wait for a bubble or two to appear, but don't let the pot boil.) The broth should be silky. Remove from heat, stir in remaining 1/2 cup dill. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. (It may need quite a bit of salt if you are starting with unsalted broth.) Garnish with nutmeg, if you like, and dill, and serve.

LEMON GREEK CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine first 7 ingredients and set aside.
• Spray a 10x13 pan with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (Use a larger pan if you have it. The more room the stuff has to spread out the better it cooks).
• Rinse potatoes and cut into fourths. Leave skin on if you like. Place in pan.
• Add bell pepper strips, onion wedges and mushrooms to pan.
• Drizzle half the lemon juice mixture over veggies and toss to coat.
• Place chicken on top and drizzle the remaining lemon mixture on top and brush or rub into meat. I use the back of a spoon or my fingers.
• Bake until chicken is no longer pink in center basting after 15 minutes.
• Note: To reduce fat and calories reduce the olive oil as much as you desire and use boneless skinless chicken. Bake for 1 hr if using the bone in chicken.
• IMPORTANT:::: If the potatoes are still not DONE but the chicken IS -- Remove the chicken and cover with foil- keep warm -- Continue to cook the potatoes until done and return the chicken to the pan to serve -- This WILL keep the chicken from getting dry if the potatoes need extra baking time! AND you can toss the foil for no mess clean up!
• Use a stoneware pan if you have one. They conduct the heat better and the dish cooks faster. You may need to adjust the time if using a metal or glass pan.
• I always add more onions, peppers and mushrooms and get my pan WAY too full! Do not be tempted to do the same- I have found it works better to double the sauce and veggies when I want and cook them separately from the meat. Everything gets done faster and more evenly.

QUICK THANKSGIVING TURKEY WITH LEMON-GARLIC BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Cook butter, garlic, lemon zest, and rosemary in a small pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted. Reduce heat to low and let simmer to infuse flavors, about 5 minutes.
• Brush turkey generously with butter mixture on all sides and under skin, getting some garlic and lemon zest under skin-that'll make it taste so much better. Season turkey with 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. salt and 1 Tbsp. pepper on all sides and arrange skin side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour 1/2 cup wine around turkey pieces.
• Cover with foil and roast turkey 20 minutes. Uncover, brush tops of each piece with butter mixture, and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of each piece registers 165°F, 40-50 minutes. Some pieces might be done before others, so test each one. Let turkey rest 20 minutes before slicing.
• Meanwhile, strain pan drippings through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof measuring cup or bowl. Skim fat off surface (or use a fat separator if you have one). You should have about 1/2 cup drippings. Whisk in cornstarch until smooth.
• Bring remaining 1/2 cup wine to a boil in a large skillet over high heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add broth and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in turkey drippings and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer turkey to a platter. Serve with pan sauce alongside.

SALT-ROASTED TURKEY WITH LEMON AND OREGANO

Steps:

• For salt rub:
• Mix all ingredients in small bowl.
• For turkey:
• Rinse turkey. Pull out metal insert that holds legs and remove fat pads from neck and main cavities. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons salt rub inside cavities. Slide bird into turkey-size oven bag. Sprinkle remaining salt rub over bird. Close bag; place on rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate turkey 18 to 24 hours.
• To roast turkey:
• Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 350°F. Place rack in large roasting pan. Rinse turkey; pat dry. Combine lemons, next 6 ingredients, 1/4 cup oil, and 3 tablespoons lemon juice in large bowl; spoon into main cavity. Whisk remaining oil and lemon juice in small bowl. Tuck wing tips under; tie legs loosely. Place turkey on rack; brush with some lemon oil.
• Pour 2 cups stock into roasting pan. Roast turkey 1 hour. Brush all over with remaining lemon oil. Roast turkey 45 minutes; pour 1 cup stock into pan. Roast 45 minutes; add 1/2 cup to 11/2 cups stock to pan to maintain liquid level. Turn pan around. Roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°F, about 45 minutes longer. Transfer turkey to platter; reserve pan with juices. Tent turkey loosely with foil; let rest 30 to 45 minutes (internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees).
• While turkey rests, prepare gravy.