I love Thanksgiving, but preparing a whole turkey for company can be daunting. It’s actually an easy meal if you have a good recipe. This recipe is one of my favorites because the turkey comes out juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside – savory and oh so delicious!
If you are buying a pasture raised turkey, you might want to consider soaking it in a brine for at least 12 hours the day before cooking. I find that this helps to keep the meat very moist and juicy. Here’s how I brine a pastured chicken. Just increase the brine ingredients in relationship to the larger pot you will need and greater volume of water.
Recipe: Roasted Turkey
Ingredients
- One 12- 14 pound turkey (pastured if possible)
- 4 - 6 Tbsp ghee or butter
- 5 - 6 stalks of fresh marjoram and fresh tarragon each (set aside an additional 2 - 3 strands of each for the gravy)
- 1/2 lemon quartered
- One small apple quartered
- 4 cloves garlic squashed
- One shallot broken open
- 3 - 4 bay leaves
- Turkey Gravy
- Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken stock
- a few strand of the fresh marjoram and tarragon
- all the dripping and natural gravy from the turkey
Instructions
- Rinse the turkey well in cold water -- cleaning out the cavity and removing any giblets (save for stock or gravy)
- Dry the turkey with paper towels
- Place turkey in your roasting pan breast side up, tucking the wings under the chest
- Run your finger under the skin and between the flesh -- this is to loosen the skin from the meat so that you can put ghee under the skin -- take care not to break the skin
- Place chucks of the ghee under the skin in various places
- Stuff the turkey with all the above ingredients
- Tie the legs together with twine
- Season the outer skin with salt and pepper and put some more ghee or butter on the outer skin
- Place in a 325 oven and roast covered for about 15 - 18 minutes per pound
- A 14 pound turkey will take about 4 hours
- Uncover the turkey for the last 55 minutes to brown the skin
- Remove and check temperature with a thermometer -- the internal temperature should be 165 degrees F
- Remove the items from inside the cavity and discard
- Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing
- Turkey Gravy Instructions
- Soak the strands of fresh herbs in the chicken stock and warm up
- Pass the natural gravy from the turkey through the gravy separator and add to the chicken stock
- Mix well and warm up
- Serve in a gravy bowl
Equipment
- Large roasting pan (where to buy)
- Gravy separator (where to buy)
