Heritage Turkey Recipes

ROAST HERITAGE TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• A day ahead of roasting, remove neck and giblets from turkey. Mix cider, salt, lemons, bay leaves and 3 quarts water together in a large bowl or stockpot; stir to dissolve salt. Submerge turkey in the bowl or pot, cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. Alternatively, put turkey and brine in two clean, unscented plastic garbage bags (one bag inside the other), tie well and place in a cooler with ice or ice packs.
• When you are ready to roast, heat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse turkey and pat dry. Stuff apple, onion, garlic and most of the thyme into turkey. Lift skin at neck and gently use your hand to separate skin from breast meat. Rub half the butter under skin and slip in remaining thyme and two rosemary sprigs. Use remaining butter to rub outside of bird, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Set a rack into a roasting pan and place four rosemary sprigs on top of the rack. Place bird on top of rosemary. Add turkey neck and giblets to bottom of pan. Take two pieces of heavy foil cut to the length of the pan. Fold the two together to create a single sheet to tent the bird.
• Transfer to oven and roast. Roasting time will be 3 to 3 1/2 hours for an 18-pound bird. Add 10 minutes per pound for larger birds. Subtract 10 minutes per pound for smaller birds. Midway through cooking time, remove giblets and neck and add wine and 1 cup water. Twenty minutes before roasting time is complete, begin to test for doneness with a digital probe thermometer inserted at the deepest part of the thigh. It is done when thigh registers 160 degrees. Remove bird from oven and transfer to a serving platter.
• Place roasting pan over low heat on the stovetop and add 2 1/2 cups stock. Scrape all the browned turkey bits from bottom of pan. Skim 2/3 of the fat from top of drippings and discard. Bring drippings to a boil; reduce to a simmer. You may wish to strain at this point to remove stray bits, but they add character to the finished gravy.
• Finely chop giblets and neck meat. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup stock. Add slurry to drippings, stirring constantly, until thickened. If gravy seems too thick, whisk in a bit more stock. Add chopped egg and giblets and neck meat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

THANKSGIVING PIONEER-STYLE HERB ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting.
• Combine the butter, sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper and fill the cavity with half of the carrots, celery, and onion. Rub the entire turkey with herb butter and season liberally with salt and pepper.
• Put 4 cups of the chicken stock in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
• Place the remaining vegetables on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Put the turkey on top of the vegetables, put in the oven, and roast in the oven until lightly golden brown, 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue roasting, basting with the warm chicken stock every 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 160 degrees F, about 2 to 2 1/4 hours longer. Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer to baking sheet and tent loosely with foil, and let rest 20 minutes before slicing.
• For the sage gravy:
• Strain the cooking liquid from the roasting pan into a medium saucepan (should be about 4 cups, if not, add more stock to make 4 cups). Add the neck, bring to a boil, add the sage leaves, remove from the heat, and let steep for 15 minutes. Remove the sage leaves.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until reduced. Whisk in the stock and cook until thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper and chopped sage.

CITRUS-ROASTED HERITAGE TURKEY

Steps:

• Place turkey neck and giblets, carrot, three 2-inch pieces of celery, 4 onion wedges, 1 bay leaf, and 6 cups water in a saucepan; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (you should have about 4 cups). If desired, pull meat from neck, chop giblets into bite-size pieces, and reserve for gravy (discard other solids).
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Season both cavities of turkey with half of salt mixture. Stuff large cavity with 3 satsuma halves, half of remaining celery, and 5 bay leaves. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Stuff small neck cavity with 1 satsuma half. Rub 4 tablespoons butter evenly all over skin, then season with remaining salt mixture. Tuck wings under turkey.
• In a saucepan, stir together satsuma juice and 4 tablespoons butter. Cook over medium heat until butter melts and mixture is warm; remove from heat. Cut a 17-by-68-inch piece of cheesecloth; fold in half to form an approximately 17-by-34-inch rectangle. Submerge in satsuma-butter mixture, then lift out, allowing excess to drip back into pan (do not wring; cloth should be very wet). Reserve remaining satsuma-butter mixture.
• Starting at opening of large cavity where drumsticks and breast meet, drape one short end of cloth over turkey, pressing and stretching as necessary to adhere snugly to skin (about half of cloth should be overhang, extending beyond neck cavity). Place remaining 20 bay leaves over turkey in an evenly spaced single layer.
• Lift excess cheesecloth up and over turkey to fold in half again and secure bay leaves in place, pressing and stretching to adhere snugly. Rub remaining 4 tablespoons butter evenly over cheesecloth. (Turkey can be prepared to this point and refrigerated, uncovered, up to 1 day ahead; remove 2 hours before roasting.)
• Place remaining onion, celery, and satsuma halves, cut-sides down, in a large roasting pan in a single layer; line with a roasting rack. Transfer turkey to rack; pour 1 cup stock into pan. Roast turkey 1 hour (if bottom becomes dry and begins to blacken, add more stock to pan, 1/4 cup at a time). Reduce temperature to 350 ̊F and continue roasting, basting occasionally with reserved satsuma-butter mixture, until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh (nearest but not touching bone) registers 165 ̊, 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes more. Transfer turkey to a carving board or platter; let stand at least 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove rack, onion, celery, and satsumas from roasting pan. Tilt pan and skim excess fat from drippings with a spoon (or pour drippings into a fat separator, then back into pan, discarding excess fat). Place pan across 2 burners; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add wine; boil until mostly evaporated, about 1 minute. Add all but 1/2 cup remaining stock to pan; bring to a boil. Whisk remaining 1/2 cup stock with flour. Slowly add flour mixture to pan, whisking constantly. Continue boiling until thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Season gravy with salt and pepper, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in reserved neck meat and giblets, if desired. Remove and discard cheesecloth, carve turkey, and serve with gravy.

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.

ROASTED HERITAGE TURKEY

Steps:

• Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Transfer to a large roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack, and place breast side up. Bring to room temperature, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Tuck wings under turkey. Gently separate skin from breast, and rub butter under the skin on each side. Season outside of turkey generously with salt and pepper. Fill cavity with herb sprigs, bay leaves, apple cores, and onion; tie legs together with kitchen twine. Scatter apples and celery around rack. Place neck and giblets in pan. Add water to pan.
• Roast turkey for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Baste with pan juices, and tent with foil. Roast, rotating pan, adding more water if pan is dry, and basting halfway through, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reaches 160 degrees, about 2 1/2 hours more. Let turkey stand for 30 minutes before transferring to a platter and carving. Reserve pan with contents if making gravy.

SIMPLE HERITAGE ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• At least four hours before roasting, rub turkey inside and out with salt and pepper; refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator 45 minutes before roasting. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Set turkey in roasting pan fitted with a V-shaped rack. Slip your fingers under skin to loosen it. Rub butter over breasts. Stuff vegetables, apple and thyme into cavity. Tuck wingtips under bird.
• Pour broth or water into pan, around bird. Put turkey in oven and roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325, baste turkey with pan juices, cover with a foil tent and return to oven. Cook for another 30 minutes. Remove foil, baste again and place foil back on turkey. Cook for 30 more minutes. Remove foil.
• When turkey has roasted for a total of two hours, insert a meat thermometer straight down into fleshiest part of thigh, where it meets drumstick. Check a second spot, then remove thermometer. (Do not let thermometer touch bone.) Thigh meat should reach no more than 165 degrees. Juices should run clear. (If bird is larger than 14 pounds, keep foil on longer and begin checking meat temperature at two and half hours.) To assure perfectly cooked white and dark meat, you may remove bird when meat thermometer shows thigh temperature at 155, then remove legs and roast them separately for another 15 to 30 minutes, depending on size of bird.
• When bird has reached desired temperature, remove from oven and let rest for at least 30 minutes, covered in foil and with a damp towel on top of foil, to retain heat and allow juices to return to meat. Remove foil and towel and serve.