No holiday feast is complete without the bird of honor, the turkey. An admirable foe for even the most seasoned of chef’s to tackle, and an all together humble experience for any novice. After spending years watching both my mother, and father, and a variety of frazzled friends and family, prepare their own bird, I at last decided to tackle this holiday tradition on my own. I’d prepared roast chicken, cornish hens, and even duck, but never a bird of this size, or importance. Amazingly, you don’t have to be a 5-Star chef to cook a moist, flavorful, and picturesque turkey- with a little help from Tavern on the Green USA, and my specially designed (unconventional) walk-through, you’ll have a gourmet bird on the table in no time!
Tavern on the Green USA Plump And Juicy Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 Thawed,or Fresh, Whole Turkey (15-18lbs)
- 1/2 C Lemon Juice
- Salt & Pepper
- 1/2 C Tavern On The Green Garlic and Rosemary Oil
- 1/2 Yellow/White Onion, Peeled, Quartered
- 4-5 Celery Stalks, Cut to 4″ Slices
- 1 Jumbo Carrot (or 2 Small)
- 2 TBS Fresh Crushed Garlic
- Fresh Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley
In general, a 12-15lb turkey will feed 10-12 people, though most turkey companies would have you believe each pound is equal to one person, it’s important to account for excess water and bone weight. Always deduct 2-3 lbs from your serving estimate and utilize the 1lb= 1 person method. Keep in mind a larger turkey will have a larger breast, yielding more substantial portions.
When selecting a turkey, many prefer to go as fresh as possible, and organic when within budget. While the discerning foodie can detect the differences between such, I have seen birds of all walks prepared, and assure you the method of flavor and cooking is far more important than any origin. In fact, most recently I purchased a big brand value bird, frozen, at 18lbs, with 3 day fridge thaw. This ‘generic’ bird, proved to be so flavorful and moist, I had the staunchest of turkey snobs ready to make the switch! My secret? Well that lies in 2 unconventional cooking steps; 1.) cooking the bird breast down, and 2.) Preparing my stuffing separate.
To begin, if the turkey has been defrosted or in the fridge, bring it to room temperature prior to preparing. Handle a turkey with the same caution you would, with any other poultry, and be sure to keep it in the wrapper until ready to handle. I suggest placing a thawed, or refrigerated bird in a roasting pan, while resting, to avoid any contamination of juices. In concerns to average defrosting rates, expect your bird to take about 5 hours, per pound, in the fridge. This equates to about 3.5 days for an 18-20lb turkey.
Depending on how ‘commercial’ your turkey is, you may already have the convenience of having the innards removed, or bundled. Be sure to clear both the neck and bottom cavities of any gizzards and loose parts. These may be saved for separate cooking, or as part of a full bodied gravy. Your turkey may also come with convenient plastic ‘ties’ which serve to lock the legs in place once stuffed. If your turkey is not preset with this plastic cage, be sure to invest in food grade cooking twine to bind the hefty drumsticks during cooking.
Preheat your oven to 400F and thoroughly wash, both the inside and out of, the turkey. This should be done with luke warm water, and free of any chemicals or cleansers. As equally important, for those with ‘fresh’ birds, is the art of removing loose feather stubs. Once the bird has been rinsed pat it dry with paper towels, inside and out, (we don’t want raw turkey juice on nice linens!) Combine 1/4 parts lemon juice and rosemary oil and baste the inside of both cavities. Next, rub the exterior with remaining half wet mixture, and 1 TBS Fresh Crushed Garlic. Salt and Pepper the exterior as desired, to taste. Combine the remainder of the Tavern on the Green Garlic Rosemary Oil Mixture with the Fresh Cut Vegetables. Loosely stuff the lower and neck cavities with the vegetable compound, and tie/pin/seal them. I’ve found pins work well for the lower cavity, though some find a simple cap of foil will do an equally good job of insulating and containing.
Ensure that the legs are bound to the turkey, through either a wrap around string based tie, or with the provided turkey clamps. Place the entire turkey BREAST DOWN on an accommodating Roasting Pan. Make sure your pan is deep enough to safely support the weight of the bird, and collect the drippings (for gravy). In my recipe the bird is roasted breast down, which many consider taboo- In truth, the only reason to roast breast up is to achieve a golden, crispy ‘photo’ finish skin. The bird will, in fact brown in the oven on it’s own, perhaps not to your traditional finish, and in roasting the bird breast down this will allow all the juices to bake into the breast. The result is the most succulent, and rave worthy breast meat you’ve ever tried! *Note: You may initially brown the breast at 400F, breast up, fir 5 minutes, upon initial entry in the oven. It is not my suggestion, as this increases the likelihood of overcooking the surface breast meat.
Place the turkey in the oven. It’s always best to consult turkey packaging for important notes on timing and preference. Gourmet (fresh) birds will often cook faster than those frozen, but I will give you a general guide to follow. It’s my practice to cook a turkey 15 minutes, per pound. With a 15 lb turkey, cook the entire bird at 400F for the first 1/2 hour. Next, reduce the heat to 350F for approximately 2 hours, and further reduce to 225F for the remainder of cooking. Begin reading your internal temperature about an hour prior to the expected finish time (and always allow for an additional hour of unexpected cooking, when planning to serve). To produce an accurate reading, insert the proper meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast or thigh. Remove the turkey from the oven when the breast meat has reached about 160F, or the thigh/dark 170F, and allow to sit for 30 minutes. The bird will continue to cook internally and should reach a desired temperature 5F higher than removal. Regardless of temperature, the turkey should always produce clear juices when cut into! Be sure to remember to turn the turkey breast side up when carving!
