perfect roast turkey

It seems I try a new turkey recipe every year. 
This year will be Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Turkey.

recipe

pioneer woman turkey

It seems I try a new turkey recipe every year

This year I adapted one from the Pioneer Woman

{minus the brining}

{photo credit: Pioneer Woman}

Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey

Ingredients

1 15 pound whole Turkey
1/2 cup (1 Stick) Butter, Softened
1 whole Orange zested
1 tsp Rosemary
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 275.

Pat the turkey dry and place it on a roasting rack, breast side up. Place the peeled orange in the cavity. Cross the legs and tie them together with kitchen twine. Pour a cup of water in the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover the whole pan with heavy aluminum foil, tucking it underneath the pan.  Roast for the first stage for about 10 minutes per pound (so, for a 15 pound turkey, about 2 1/2 hours)

Using a zester or vegetable peeler, shave off thin slices of orange peel and dice them very thin. Combine with butter, rosemary, salt and pepper.

After the first stage of cooking, remove the turkey from the oven and remove the foil (turkey will still be pale.) Smear the butter mixture all over the skin, in crevices, etc so that it's totally covered.

Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh, increase the oven temperature to 350, and return the turkey to the oven, basting every 30 minutes. Continue roasting the turkey until the thermometer reads 165 to 168, then remove the turkey from the oven.

Cover loosely with clean aluminum foil until you're ready to carve.

(Save the beautiful juices from the pan to make gravy)

twenty-ten turkey

It seems like every year I am in search of
a new recipe for our Thanksgiving Turkey.
This year (2010) it will be a recipe {slightly adapted} from
Chef Jason Franey ( Canlis Restaurant ~ Seattle, Washington)

Slow-Roasted Turkey with Orange and Sage
by Serves 6

Ingredients
1 (14-pound) turkey
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 navel oranges, washed
1 bunch fresh sage
1 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 small onion

Directions
One day before roasting turkey:
Salt both cavities. Prick oranges all over with the tines of a fork and stuff inside turkey cavity along with sage to keep the turkey’s plump shape. Put a small onion in the neck cavity.

Using a piece of kitchen twine truss the legs and wings close to the turkey body.

Place turkey on a rimmed baking pan, breast side up, and refrigerate uncovered overnight to begin dehydrating the skin



On Thanksgiving morning:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Fit a roasting pan with a rack and transfer turkey to rack; season with salt and pepper. Let stand 15 minutes.

Brush turkey with clarified butter and transfer to oven.

Clarified butter:
Place butter in a saucepan over a very low heat. Let the butter melt slowly; do not stir the butter while it is melting. Let it sit for a bit to separate. Skim off the foam that rises to the top, Let the butter sit a few minutes to allow the milk solids to settle to the bottom.

Roast, rotating every hour 1/2 hour and brushing with browned butter, for 2 hours.

Using a digital thermometer, check temperature of turkey by inserting into the largest part of the thigh. Continue cooking turkey until it reaches 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 1 to 1 1/2 hours more.

Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes before carving.

Garnish platter with sliced oranges and sage leaves and serve.

I am hoping it will look like one of these . . .


from google images (click for larger view)