Worlds Best Roast Turkey Recipes

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.

THE BEST AND JUICIEST ROAST TURKEY EVER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 F.
• Remove turkey neck and giblets and set aside for your homemade gravy (it is used for the turkey stock).
• Wash and pat dry turkey with paper towels. Place turkey on roasting tray and tuck the wings underneath the turkey.
• Coat the turkey skin both on top and underneath (if possible) generously with olive oil or butter. You can add some chopped herbs (rosemary, thyme and/or sage) on top of the bird as well (optional).
• Insert apple, cinnamon and fresh herbs into the turkey's cavity.
• Roast the turkey on lowest rack for 30 minutes.
• Lower the oven temperature to 350 F and roast until the internal temperature of turkey reaches 165 F. You can check the internal temperature by inserting the thickest part of the turkey breast with a cooking thermometer. For a 14-16 pound turkey, this should take approximately 2 to 2.5 hours.
• Remove from oven and loosely cover the turkey with aluminum foil. Let turkey rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the turkey drippings and set aside for your gravy.
• Serve and carve!

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
• Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.
• Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
• Slice the turkey and serve.

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 BEST TURKEY IN THE WORLD

Steps:

• In my books, the perfect bird is 14 to 18 pounds/ 6.5 kg to 8 kg in weight because that's a good size to handle, feeds about 10 to 14 people and has better flavour than bigger birds. If you're buying from a small producer, like the lovely turkey I used from my mate Paul Kelly, you'll often find these birds come with their own cooking instructions. Really good-quality birds do cook in a shorter time so follow the instructions if it has them.
• This year I'm using a flavoured butter to give a bit of extra love to my turkey, and this is a job you can do the day before. Get your turkey and use a spoon to work your way between the skin and the meat. Start at the side of the cavity just above the leg and work gently up towards the breastbone and towards the back so you create a large cavity. Pick up half of your butter and push it into the cavity you've created. Use your hands to push it through the skin right to the back so it coats the breast meat as evenly as possible. Do the same on the other side then rub any leftover butter all over the outside of the bird to use it up. If you've got any herb stalks left over, put them in the cavity of the turkey for added flavour as it cooks. Cover the turkey in cling film/ plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until you need it.
• Take your turkey out of the refrigerator a few hours before you are ready to put it in the oven so it has time to come up to room temperature. That flavoured butter will already be under the skin so you'll only need a few tweaks to finish it off. Halve 2 to 4 clementines and pop them in the cavity with a few more sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, bay and thyme. The fruit will steam and flavour the birds in a really lovely way. Take a sprig of fresh rosemary, pull off the leaves at the bottom then spear that through the loose skin around the cavity to hold it together and keep it from shrinking back as the turkey cooks.
• Open up the neck cavity and pack as much stuffing as possible in there, then carefully pull the skin back over the cavity, tuck it under the bird and pop it in the roasting tray. If you've already made your gravy like I've done, you won't need a vegetable trivet, if not, do that now by roughly chopping 2 or 3 carrots, 3 peeled onions, and 2 celery sticks. Preheat your oven to full whack and get the turkey in the roasting tray. As soon as it goes in the oven, immediately turn the heat down to 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees C/ Gas 4.
• As a rough guide, you want to cook the turkey for about 35 to 40 minutes per 2.2 pounds or 1 kilogram, so a 15 1/2 pound/ 7 kg turkey will want about 4 to 4 1/2 hours in the oven. But there are so many variables such as the sort of oven you have and the quality of your bird. Check on your turkey every 30 minutes or so and keep it from drying out by basting it with the lovely juices from the bottom of the pan.
• After 3 1/2 hours, remove the foil so the skin gets golden and crispy. If you are at all worried just stick a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. When the internal temperature has reached 150 degrees F/ 65 degrees C for a good quality bird, and about 180 degrees/ 82 degrees C for a cheaper bird, it's ready to come out.
• Carefully put a metal skewer in the cavity and use it to lift the bird and angle it over the roasting tray so all of the juices from the cavity run out. Move the turkey to a platter then cover it with a double layer of tinfoil and 2 tea towels to keep it warm while it rests for at least 30 minutes.

CLASSIC ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 500. Rinse the turkey and remove the giblets. Loosely pack the turkey cavity with stuffing, then tie the legs together to enclose the vent. Smear the bird all over with butter or brush it with olive oil, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Put the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add ½ cup water to the bottom of the pan along with the turkey neck, gizzard, any other trimmings, the vegetables and parsley. Put in the oven, legs first if you can.
• Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top begins to brown, then turn the heat down to 350. Continue to roast, checking and basting with the pan juices every 30 minutes or so; if the top threatens to brown too much, lay a piece of aluminum foil directly onto it. (If the bottom dries out, add water, about ½ cup at a time; keep at least a little liquid in the bottom of the pan at all times.) The turkey is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh measures 155 to165 degrees. If, when the turkey is nearly done, the top is not browned enough, turn the heat up to 425 for the last 20 to 30 minutes of cooking.
• Remove the turkey from the oven. Take the bird off the rack and let it sit for about 20 minutes before carving.

BEST TURKEY IN THE WORLD - JAMIE OLIVER.

Steps:

• For the Butter:.
• You need to finely chop the carrots, onion and celery. Chop rosemary and thyme.
• Mix into the butter thoroughly.
• The Turkey:.
• Using a tablespoon, gently seperate the skin from the meat through the cavity up towards the breastbone of the bird.
• Once the skin is separated, take half of the flavoured butter and push in between the skin and the meat. Massage so that the butter is evenly distributed.
• The other half of the butter is to be smoothed over the outside of the turkey.
• Using a skewer or rosemary sprigs, secure the cavity, so that the skin doesn't slide.
• Cover in cling film and keep in the refridgerator until ready to be cooked.
• Before cooking, chop 2-4 clementines and place in the cavity.
• Stuff the neck of the bird with as much stuffing as possible.
• Cook the bird on 350 / Gas Mark 4. Time scale is approx 30 minutes per kilo, plus 20 minutes at the end.
• For best results, baste the turkey every 45 minutes.
• Enjoy.

ALWAYS-TENDER ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine butter and garlic. Pat turkey dry. Carefully loosen skin of turkey; rub butter mixture under the skin. Sprinkle salt and pepper over skin of turkey and inside cavity. Skewer turkey openings; tie drumsticks together., Place flour in oven bag and shake to coat. Place oven bag in a roasting pan; add celery and onions. Place turkey, breast side up, over vegetables. Cut six 1/2-in. slits in top of bag; close bag with tie provided., Bake at 350° for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until a thermometer reads 180°. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving. Skim fat and thicken drippings if desired., If preparing turkey the day before, pour drippings into a measuring cup; skim fat. Arrange slices in an ungreased shallow roasting pan; pour drippings over turkey. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight., The next day, bake at 350° for 45-65 minutes or until heated through.

SEASONED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a small bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan; pat dry. Brush with butter mixture., Bake, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, 2-3/4 to 3-1/4 hours. (Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly.) Cover and let stand 20 minutes before carving.

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.