Special Roast Turkey Recipes

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.

"A PIECE OF TURKEY" EASY ROASTED THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• Ask your butcher to cut the turkey into pieces: legs, thighs and wings separate and an attached double breast. Put the pieces skin-side up on a wire-racked roasting pan and thoroughly rub the kosher salt under and over the skin. Leave lightly covered in the fridge for 2 days, but as all dry-brining methods go, uncover for the last 6 to 8 hours to "dry out" the skin.
• When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Put the turkey pieces skin-side up in the roasting pan (no rack), then arrange the celery, onions, herbs and garlic in between the pieces. Season with freshly cracked pepper and dot everything, especially the turkey skin, with tablespoon-size pats of butter.
• Roast the turkey for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 325 degrees F and continue to cook until the breast registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, another 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let rest, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes before serving.
• I recommend traditionally carving the breast, hand-shredding the thighs and serving the other pieces on the side.

SPECIAL ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place turkey on a greased rack in a roasting pan. Add water, giblets and neck to pan. Combine 1-1/4 cups broth, 3/4 cup orange juice and 2 tablespoons soy sauce; pour over turkey. Combine bouillon, onion and garlic powder; sprinkle over turkey. Bake, uncovered, 3-1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes. When turkey begins to brown, cover lightly with foil. Remove giblets and neck when tender; set aside for gravy. Combine remaining broth, orange juice and soy sauce. Remove foil from turkey; pour broth mixture over turkey. Bake 30 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175° , For gravy, remove meat from neck and discard the bones. Chop giblets and neck meat; set aside. In a saucepan, combine 2 cups pan juices, broth, orange juice and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Stir in thyme, sugar and pepper. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Whisk into broth mixture; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in reserved giblets and neck meat. Carve turkey; serve with gravy.

THE BEST ROAST TURKEY YOU COULD EVER EAT

Steps:

• Rinse the turkey and dry it well. Sprinkle the cavity well with salt. Stuff as desired.
• Rub the softened butter all over the outside of the bird, and sprinkled it lightly with salt.
• Place the turkey on the rack of a large roaster, which has a heavy bottom, pouring about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the pan.
• Lay the neck and giblets alongside, cover the pan tightly and put it on the large burner on top of the stove. Allow it to boil and then steam gently for 4 1/2 to 5 hours, approximately the same length of time that it would take to roast the same bird. Take care to see the pan does not cook dry.
• When the drumsticks are loosened and the meat thermometer indicates the bird is about done, dribble a bot of soft butter over the skin, sprinkled it with a bit of white sugar and flour and bang it into a 350*F oven to brown while theaccompanying vegetables are cooking on top of the stove.
• The drippings in the bottom of the roasting pan will be a rich dark brown. Skim off any fat and then use them to make a rich gravy.

THE SIMPLEST ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove any feathers and quills with pliers (kosher turkeys tend to require this more than others).
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly in turkey cavities and all over skin. Fold neck skin under body and, if desired, secure with metal skewer, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.
• Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F). Cut off and discard string from turkey.
• For a stuffed turkey:
• Twelve cups of stuffing will fill both cavities and leave you extra to bake separately. Just before roasting, spoon room-temperature stuffing loosely (stuffing expands as it cooks) into the neck (smaller) cavity. Fold the neck skin underneath the body and secure with a small metal skewer. Then loosely fill the body (larger) cavity, and tie drumsticks together. If you don't want any stuffing to spill out, cover the opening with a slice of fresh bread, tucking it inside the cavity before tying the drumsticks. Follow roasting directions above. (Timing for a stuffed bird may be slightly longer, but start checking the temperature at 1 3/4 hours.) Immediately transfer stuffing from body cavity to a shallow baking dish (separate from one for stuffing baked outside the turkey). Take temperature of stuffing in neck cavity and if less than 165°F, add it to the baking dish. Bake (covered for a moist stuffing or uncovered for a crisp top) until it reaches a minimum of 165°F. This can take 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven, which you may have lowered to reheat side dishes.
• For a roast turkey breast:
• The same method used above can be applied to a whole turkey breast (instead of the entire bird). For a 6- to 8-pound breast (with skin and bone), reduce amount of salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons and pepper to 3/4 teaspoon. Use a V-rack instead of a flat rack. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted in thickest part of each breast half (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let stand 30 minutes (temperature in breast will rise to between 175°F and 180°F). (For a grilled turkey option, see Grilled Whole Turkey.)

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.

ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Select a turkey that is plump and meaty with smooth, moist-looking skin. The skin should be creamy colored. The cut ends of the bones should be pink to red in color.
• If the turkey is frozen, thaw it either slowly in the refrigerator or in cold water or quickly in the microwave, following the manufacturer's directions. A turkey weighing 8 to 12 pounds will thaw in about 2 days in the refrigerator. A turkey weighing 20 to 24 pounds will thaw in about 5 days in the refrigerator. A whole turkey can be safely thawed in cold water. Leave the turkey in its original wrap, free from tears or holes. Place in cold water, allowing 30 minutes per pound for thawing, and change the water often.
• Remove the package of giblets (gizzard, heart and neck), if present, from the neck cavity of the turkey, and discard. Rinse the cavity, or inside of the turkey, with cool water; pat dry with paper towels. Rub the cavity of turkey lightly with salt if desired, but do not salt the cavity if you will be stuffing the turkey.
• Stuff the turkey just before roasting--not ahead of time. Fill the wishbone area (the neck) with stuffing first. Fasten the neck skin to the back of the turkey with a skewer. Fold the wings across the back so the tips are touching. Fill the body cavity lightly with stuffing; do not pack the stuffing because it will expand during roasting. Tuck the drumsticks under the band of skin at the tail, or tie or skewer the drumsticks to the tail.
• Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush with melted butter or margarine. It is not necessary to add water or to cover the turkey. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of thigh and does not touch bone. Follow Timetable for approximate roasting time. Place a tent of aluminum foil loosely over the turkey when it begins to turn golden. When two-thirds done, cut the band or remove the skewer holding the drumsticks; this will allow the interior part of the thighs to cook through.
• Roast until the thermometer reads 165°F (for a whole turkey) and drumsticks move easily when lifted or twisted. Thermometer inserted in center of stuffing should read165°F. When the turkey is done, remove it from the oven and let it stand for 15 minutes for easiest carving. Keep turkey covered with aluminum foil so it will stay warm.