| My TOP SECRET Roast Turkey | ||||||
| I fought long and hard with myself, about divulging this recipe to the masses. But so many are subjected to dry, overcooked, tasteless turkey... I felt it as my duty! Before I get into this, I have to say one thing. If you are a cook that is afraid to get your hands dirty, Turkey making is not for you. You have to get your hands under the skin and in the cavities. This is important. If you are squimish-buy some turkey breasts and make those instead. |
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| Ingredients: Turkey: 1 20 lb. Turkey salt and pepper 2 Granny Smith Apples 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp allspice 1 orange, quartered twine skewers toothpicks Basting Sauce: |
Directions: First thing, count how many lbs. you've got there. Figure 20 minutes per lb. stuffed, and count backward from when you want to serve dinner. That is when you have to get the turkey in the oven, at 375º. Now count a half hour to 45 to prep the turkey, and count that in your schedule as well. One more thing I want you to add. One hour to soak the turkey in a water bath before you prep it. That's right. This gets all the blood out, and draws out some of the gamey flavor, It also finishes defrosting it in areas. Just get a big vat of cold water ( I use a Rubbermaid storage bin) and in goes the turkey, out of it's plastic and all the stuff out of it's cavity. As it is soaking, turn on your oven, quarter you apples and sprinkle the spices over them. Set aside. Quarter your orange and set aside. Make your basting sauce by whisking all your liquids together into the melted butter, and add your spices and mix again. Set aside with a basting brush. Take all the gizzards, and neck, rinse, and put them in the bottom of your roasting pan. These things are the basis for a great gravy, not to mention- my mother LOVES the neck bone (go figure). I drizzle a little olive oil over the organs at the bottom of the pan, place the rack in the middle of the pan. Now you are ready to go. Take the turkey, dry it and sprinkle the outside and cavity with salt and pepper. Put 1/2 of apple mixture inside turkey under the white meat. Then take your other orange and apples and stuff them in in the back inside of the turkey. This fruit creates moisture from the inside and keeps things very moist. Truss the turkey legs together with twine, use the skewers to cinch in the wings, and the neck flap fold over and hinge with toothpicks. (If you need help with trussing.. www.butterball.com is great) With your hands, loosen the skin from the meat everywhere you can. With a knife. prick the leg skin, make a big enough hole to get a basting brush under the skin. With your basting brush under the skin with your basting sauce. Then brush the outside too. I need some extra hands when moving this turkey. With help, I put the turkey on the rack in the pan, but I cook it upside down, meaning breast side down. Trust me, this works. Cook it for half the cooking time, using the basting sauce every half hour. Now after half the time, take the turkey out. WITH HELP, use some long, strong utensils and flip the turkey so it is breast side up. Add a thermometer in the section where the thigh meets the breast (the thickest part of the turkey) Cook it this way for the remaining time, using the basting sauce until done. Then use a baster as well to baste. If the turkey is browning too fast, cover it with tin foil. Watch your thermometer when you baste. You want it to hit 175º. If you are at 170º and your guests aren't due for a couple of hours, you can hold it at that temp by lowering your oven temp to about 250º. You must baste if you do this, or else your turkey will dry out. Take it out at 175º. Your turkey needs to sit for 10-15 minutes before carving, and it continues cooking, so don't be alarmed if it creeps up to 180...that is the temp it should be technically, but if you get it just under, it will be perfect when carved. While waiting, I drain the pan into a fat skimmer and make gravy out of the pan drippings with chicken stock, cornstarch mixed with chicken stock, and a little amaretto. Cook until thickened, and serve with turkey. |
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