Never Fail Roast Turkey Recipes

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY 101

Steps:

• Rinse turkey with cool water, and dry with paper towels. Let stand for 2 hours at room temperature.
• Place rack on lowest level in oven. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine melted butter and white wine in a bowl. Fold a large piece of cheesecloth into quarters and cut it into a 17-inch, 4-layer square. Immerse cheesecloth in the butter and wine; let soak.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack in a heavy metal roasting pan. If the turkey comes with a pop-up timer, remove it; an instant-read thermometer is a much more accurate indication of doneness. Fold wing tips under turkey. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper inside turkey. Fill large cavity and neck cavity loosely with as much stuffing as they hold comfortably; do not pack tightly. (Cook remaining stuffing in a buttered baking dish for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.) Tie legs together loosely with kitchen string (a bow will be easy to untie later). Fold neck flap under, and secure with toothpicks. Rub turkey with the softened butter, and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper.
• Lift cheesecloth out of liquid, and squeeze it slightly, leaving it very damp. Spread it evenly over the breast and about halfway down the sides of the turkey; it can cover some of the leg area. Place turkey, legs first, in oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Using a pastry brush, baste cheesecloth and exposed parts of turkey with butter and wine. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to cook for 2 1/2 more hours, basting every 30 minutes and watching pan juices; if the pan gets too full, spoon out juices, reserving them for gravy.
• After this third hour of cooking, carefully remove and discard cheesecloth. Turn roasting pan so that the breast is facing the back of the oven. Baste turkey with pan juices. If there are not enough juices, continue to use butter and wine. The skin gets fragile as it browns, so baste carefully. Cook 1 more hour, basting after 30 minutes.
• After this fourth hour of cooking, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. Do not poke into a bone. The temperature should reach 180 degrees (stuffing should be between 140 degrees and 160 degrees) and the turkey should be golden brown. The breast does not need to be checked for temperature. If legs are not yet fully cooked, baste turkey, return to oven, and cook another 20 to 30 minutes.
• When fully cooked, transfer turkey to a serving platter, and let rest for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the gravy. Pour all the pan juices into a glass measuring cup. Let stand until grease rises to the surface, about 10 minutes, then skim it off. Meanwhile, place roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup dry red or white wine, or water, to the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the pan until liquid boils and all the crisp bits are unstuck from pan. Add giblet stock to pan. Stir well, and bring back to a boil. Cook until liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the defatted pan juices, and cook over medium-high heat 10 minutes more. You will have about 2 1/2 cups of gravy. Season to taste, strain into a warm gravy boat, and serve with turkey.

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.

VERY MOIST AND FLAVORFUL ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces, quarter the pieces, and refrigerate butter until needed.
• Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the turkey breast and thighs. Cut a hole in the turkey skin between tail and body (to affix legs); cut a hole on each side of the turkey beneath each wing (to affix wings). Rub the entire skin with vegetable oil.
• Toss apple and onion wedges, garlic cloves, and celery in a large bowl until combined; sprinkle poultry seasoning over the apple mixture and toss again to coat. Stuff the body and neck cavities with the apple mixture. Insert each wing tip into the hole under the wing to secure wings; insert both legs into hole near tail to secure legs.
• Place turkey onto a rack and set in a roasting pan. Insert cold butter pieces under the loosened skin, distributing the butter as evenly as possible.
• Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 3 1/2 hours. Check for doneness after 3 hours.
• Remove roasting pan containing turkey from oven and cover with aluminum foil, lightly pressing the foil directly onto the bird. Let the turkey rest for 40 minutes before carving.

NO-FAIL ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• NOTE: You can skip the brining step if you wish -- the turkey just will not be quite as juicy.
• Prepare the brine. In a large, well-cleaned cooler, blend 4 gallons of water, the kosher salt, the brown sugar, the beer, and the bay leaves. Stir until all the salt and sugar has been dissolved. There is no need to boil this blend.
• Trim up the turkey. There is usually excess fat and skin around the neck and around the body cavity opening. Just trim off this excess tissue, remove any giblets from the inside of the turkey and rinse it in cold water, inside and out.
• Place the turkey in the brine and dump in the ice. Close the cooler and allow the turkey to brine for 12-24 hours. Check it after 12 hours to see if it needs more ice. If you don't have a long time before baking, even 4 hours of brining will improve the turkey.
• After brining, remove the turkey from the cooler, (discard the brine), and pat it dry with paper towels, inside and out. Blend the Vegetable Magic seasoning, the seasoned salt, and the Mrs. Dash seasoning and then rub the turkey all over with this blend, inside and out. Use all the seasoning.
• Place the onion and parsley inside the body cavity. Mash chunks of butter with your hands and carefully shove it under the skin of the breast of the turkey.
• Preheat the oven to 350-°F -- you will roast the turkey at this temperature.
• Line a roasting pan with wide aluminum foil. Spray it with the cooking spray. Place the turkey in the lined roasting pan, breast up, tie the legs together with some cotton string, and then cover the top loosely with another piece of aluminum foil. Do not seal it shut. Cover the roaster and place it in the oven. I use the second rack from the bottom but ovens vary -- you want the roasting pan to be near the middle.
• Bake the turkey for 4 1/2 hours and then remove the turkey from the oven and check it with a thermometer, if you have one, by shoving the probe tip to the deepest part of the meat. In my experience, it is best if your turkey has an interior temperature of 185°F If your turkey has been brined, this temperature will yield a juicy and tender turkey and all the meat is done nicely at this point.
• If your thermometer registers anything less than 185°F, or if you don't have a thermometer, bake the turkey, (again, covered), for one more hour, increasing the oven temperature to 375°F If it's 185°F or better at the end of the 4 1/2 hours, allow the turkey to "rest", uncovered for at least 30 minutes prior to carving.
• If you have returned your turkey to the oven for a final hour, then remove it from the oven at the end of that time and allow it to "rest" for at least 30 minutes prior to carving. My turkeys usually end up somewhere around 190°F when they come out of the oven and mine always take the full 5 1/2 hours. If the wings are so tender that they fall off, I just stick them inside the body cavity to keep them from drying out any during supper. (Some people will argue that 190°F is too hot, but if your turkey is tender, very juicy, delicious, and nicely done all the way through at that temperature, what makes the difference?).
• NOTE: I'm not a big fan of stuffing the turkey with dressing, but if you do, be aware that this alters the cooking time.
• Enjoy your perfect turkey.

NEVER FAIL ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Place turkey in large roasting pan.
• Stuff with carrots and celery.
• Mix all other ingredients and pour over turkey.
• Bake in 375 degrees F oven for 3 hours.
• Turn turkey every half hour.