Let’s talk turkey.
I know roasting a turkey isn’t the springiest of cooking tasks, but I had a craving for apple stuffing. Let’s forget the fact that you can stuff smaller things like chickens, quails, or pork loin. I wanted apple stuffing, and I wanted a turkey to stuff it with, and so I decided to cook us up a feast of a Sunday supper. We really needed a feast, too, after hiking our butts off and coming back to do spring cleaning {seriously, our yard is a gorgeous metaphor for the decline of civilization into wild nature}. So just in case you’re ever seized by the same urge and don’t decide to stuff something small, I’m going to tell you how to roast a turkey. You might as well try it, too, for those of you who haven’t done it before. The first time you roast a turkey should never be right before your family is coming to visit {I have an epic disaster from my teens to share someday}.
So first, let’s go ahead and make the stuffing. There are a zillion varieties of stuffing out there, but I usually default to this recipe I posted last harvest for apple stuffing. Only this time, I {gasp} subtracted the bacon. I’ve got nothing against bacon, believe me – I just don’t have any in the house right now. So I made this recipe, only this time it turned out a lot prettier {or maybe I just have better camera skills – yay!}. And this time, I actually made it with freshly baked bread. I’ll have to post some of my bread recipes – I posted my 7-grain bread earlier but I have a couple other tasty recipes I want to share, too.
Okay, stuffing done. Let’s tackle the turkey.
You don’t need much to roast a turkey. The most daunting part is just getting it out of the bag, getting all the giblets out, getting it stuffed and trussed, and getting it in the oven. I am more than a little obsessive-compulsive about keeping my hands clean, so the idea of pulling all the guts out of the turkey and getting all slimy – blaargh! Anyway, let’s just say I have latex gloves. Anyway, most turkeys you buy, unless you buy direct from a butcher, will tell you how to prep them for cooking, but basically all you have to do is put it in the sink and cut the bag open. Wash the turkey off with cold water and gently pat it dry. Figure out where they stashed the giblets {i.e. heart, liver, lungs, neck, and whatever other grossness they wanted to include – some people use them for recipes, but I, clearly, do not}. Get the giblets out. If you have cats, this is where you make it their best day ever. Then open the cavity and stuff the turkey.
See? Like so.
Truss the sucker up so that the stuffing can’t get out. And just a hint – if you don’t want to make my stuffing, or any other stuffing, just season the cavity liberally with salt and pepper and stuff in a couple sliced onions, a sliced lemon, half a head of garlic, and a couple bay leaves, and it will season the meat fabulously!
Okay, now let’s try a little trick. We’re going to season the turkey with lemon parsley garlic butter. To make this little treat, all you need is a couple sticks of butter that you’ve allowed to soften at room temperature. Mix these with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, three minced garlic cloves, and a small bunch of flat leaf parsley that you’ve chopped up nicely. This is pretty tasty on steak, too.
Gently use your hands to pry the skin on the turkey breast away from the flesh so that you make a kind of pocket. You’re going to take small handfuls of butter and stuff it under the skin. Don’t let the skin rip in the process, and when you have the butter in, press down and massage it in. My OCD screamed the entire time I had butter and turkey skin on my hands, of course, but believe me, I’m braving this for a reason. It’s delicious.
Once you’re done, place the turkey in a roasting pan – breast side down. Down, you say? Yes, down. Everyone and their mother will tell you to put the breast side up, but if you put the breast side down, all the delicious juices will end up in the breast of the turkey, not wasted in the skin on the back. It’s a surefire way to keep the meat moist and flavorful. Seriously, try it.
Now it’s time to decide at what temperature and how long to cook a turkey. There are many rules of thumb you can use, but check out this neat infographic – it explains things better than I would.
So my 14 pounder cooked at 350F for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, and when I checked the temperature, it was well above the recommended 170F. Not to mention, it looked pretty tasty!
Remove the stuffing and serve on the side. Then carve the turkey. Carving a turkey is just a matter of practice. My husband and I are mostly white meat fans, which means I carve up the breast meat for us, pull off the legs {occasionally someone wants to try something new}, and serve. It’s all to your preference.
In the meantime, if you’re a gravy fan {and we are}, make yourself up some gravy! You’ll need a stick of butter, a quarter-cup of flour, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of black pepper, a tablespoon of brandy and a tablespoon of white wine, and then about two cups worth of turkey drippings {if you don’t have two cups, add chicken stock until you have two cups}. Melt the butter and make a roux with the flour {i.e. whisk it in}, then add the spices, stock, brandy, and whine, and cook over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Yum.
To go with our feast, I served potato puree {boil a couple sliced potatoes, then throw in the blender with a few slices of butter and some salt and garlic pepper and hit chop until it’s soft}, some parmesan asparagus, some buttermilk dinner rolls, and, of course, the gravy. Naturally, we only put a little bit of a dent into this – but we’ve been enjoying turkey sandwiches and my Thanksgiving salad the last couple of days, so we’re not complaining!
