Maxs Favorite Turkey Recipes

MAX'S TURKEY GUMBO

Steps:

• For the turkey stock: Remove any meat from the turkey carcass and shred or roughly chop the meat so there are no large chunks. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Put the turkey carcass in a large pot with 10 cups of water (feel free to use any leftover turkey stock in the place of water if you want to), the bay leaves, celery, bouillon cubes, carrots and onions. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and simmer for about 1 hour.
• For the gumbo: In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and reduce the heat to low. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is chocolate brown, about 15 minutes. Do not let it burn. Stir in the onions, celery and green peppers and cook until the vegetables are soft, an additional 5 minutes.
• Strain the turkey stock through a fine-mesh sieve and add it to the Dutch oven along with the reserved turkey meat and sausage. Bring the mixture back to a boil and lower to a simmer; simmer for 1 hour.
• Stir in the Creole seasoning and season with salt and pepper. Serve with steamed rice.

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.

HOMESTYLE TURKEY, THE MICHIGANDER WAY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Rinse and wash turkey. Discard the giblets, or add to pan if they are anyone's favorites.
• Place turkey in a Dutch oven or roasting pan. Separate the skin over the breast to make little pockets. Put 3 tablespoons of the butter on both sides between the skin and breast meat. This makes for very juicy breast meat.
• In a medium bowl, combine the water with the bouillon. Sprinkle in the parsley and minced onion. Pour over the top of the turkey. Sprinkle seasoning salt over the turkey.
• Cover with foil, and bake in the preheated oven 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). For the last 45 minutes or so, remove the foil so the turkey will brown nicely.

THE WORLD'S BEST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey's cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour Champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
• Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.