Let’s get started today with the main attraction - roast turkey. First, buy a good one: you really can’t serve better than you buy, so get fresh not frozen, if possible.
Ingredients - garlic head, apple, onion; kosher salt & good black pepper; canola oil...
Ingredients - garlic head, apple, onion; kosher salt & good black pepper; canola oil...
Parsley, Sprigs of thyme & rosemary; white wine. Turkey - 2 lbs per persons being served.
Pull out the giblets & generously salt & pepper the cavity. Slice the garlic head in half, the apple into quarters, & the onion into chunks. No need to peel any of them.
Pull out the giblets & generously salt & pepper the cavity. Slice the garlic head in half, the apple into quarters, & the onion into chunks. No need to peel any of them.
Place all those in the cavity of the turkey, followed by the herbs. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
Using aluminum foil make a “shield” the size of the breast area of the turkey- a wedge shape- and spray that with non-stick treatment or butter. Turn the wings under.
Using aluminum foil make a “shield” the size of the breast area of the turkey- a wedge shape- and spray that with non-stick treatment or butter. Turn the wings under.
Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan and preheat the oven to 500. Brush the entire surface of the turkey with canola oil and then sprinkle generously with salt & add a little pepper. Add some white wine or turkey stock to the roasting pan along with...
... some more onion. Place the turkey in the oven at 500 degrees without the shield for THIRTY MINUTES ONLY. This will brown & crisp the turkey. Remove the turkey & place the shield over the breast area. Drop the temp to 350. Place the turkey back in the oven at 350...
And roast until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Use an inserted insta-read thermometer to measure that temp. That’s vital. Never trust those pop-ups that purport to indicate when it’s done - those are liars.
At 165 internal, remove from the oven and let the turkey rest for at least fifteen minutes, twenty if possible. Check out YouTube on carving that bird. Enjoy!
A note - make sure your oven is really clean before cranking to 500. That temp will make it smoke badly if not clean.
A note - make sure your oven is really clean before cranking to 500. That temp will make it smoke badly if not clean.
Ovens lie about their temp and usually aren’t even with heat distribution. You’ll have to turn the roasting pan front to back every 45 minutes or so to make sure the Turkey gets an even roasting treatment.
The shield protects the white meat from overcooking and drying out as that meat cooks much faster than dark meat. So don’t forget to put the shield on the bird when it goes back in the oven at 350 for the long cook.
The issue isn’t time - “cook two hours” - but TEMPERATURE - 165 and then rest it.
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