Thanksgiving dinner – the table, set with lovely linens, is graced by your turkey sitting in all its glory upon a beautiful platter. This is the point where problems generally begin to occur at our dining table.
We are usually serving between 20 and 30 people. After a lovely, thought-provoking prayer my husband carves frantically hoping to serve everyone a delicious, moist slice of turkey before it begins to cool down. All I can say is that it has led to sufficient frustration in the past. So a few years ago I followed a suggestion from a lovely woman in my church. It has transformed our holiday dinners.
The key is to prepare two birds – one in the traditional manner and a second prepared a day ahead of time. The first one will take its rightful place at the center of your feast. The second bird will be your “work horse”. You will roast it, carve every inch of turkey off of it, make your gravy ahead of time from its savory juices and serve the fruits of this labor re-warmed to your eager family and guests. The ”glory bird” can be beautifully presented and admired as you dine on the “work horse” bird. Later, you can carve and enjoy the first bird as well in a more leisurely manner.
Today I will share the recipe for the “working” bird. This is, once again, the turkey that you will prepare a day ahead of your feast.
Roasted Turkey
1 12-15 lb. turkey (either fresh or thawed)
Salt
1 tbl. pepper
1 tbl. granulated garlic
2 tbl. crushed thyme
2 tbl. crushed basil
2 tbl. crushed sage
2 tbl. Fresh thyme
Fresh sage
Fresh basil
2 roasted garlic cloves, crushed
2 lemons
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
1 cup Chardonnay
Butter
Remove the neck and giblets from the body cavity and discard or save in the refrigerator for another use ( I do use the neck for gravy – I’ll post that recipe later this week).
Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Remember to keep your work area clean.
Place your turkey on a roasting rack in a large roasting pan. You can utilize foil pans but I recommend that you double them for safety. The traditional positioning is breast side up. However, I have positioned it breast side down to ensure juicy white meat.
Salt the cavities of the turkey and sprinkle the crushed herbs, pepper and granulated garlic in the cavities.
Wash the lemons and cut them in half. Squeeze the juice of the lemons into the body cavity and place the lemons inside the cavity.
Place the onions inside the cavity. Be careful – do not pack the cavity too tight. Utilize enough onions and lemons to loosely fill the cavity.
Pour the wine into the cavity. It will drain out into the roasting pan on its own.
Rub butter all over the outside of the turkey (you can utilize olive oil rather than butter if you wish). Place the fresh herbs and crushed garlic under the skin, being liberal. I do not truss the cavities; the lemons and onions can be seen.
Place the roaster in an oven at 325° and roast for about 4 hours, basting with the bird’s juices every now and then. It’s great if you can do this every 30 minutes! The thermometer should reach 170° – 175º when inserted into the breast without touching the bone. The internal temperature will rise about 3° once it has been removed from the oven. Cover the turkey with foil after 2 hours to prevent over-browning. Cooking times are approximate. You should monitor the temperature of your turkey closely. Your goal is to roast it properly without over drying the meat.
Let the turkey sit for 30 minutes. Pour the juices through a strainer or cheese cloth so that you have a clear liquid to work with.
Pour the clear turkey liquid into a roasting pan. Carve the turkey and place all of the meat into the liquid in the roasting pan. Discard the lemons and the onions that were cooked in the cavity. Add chicken broth and white wine (usually 1 cup of each) so that your meat is generously covered.
Refrigerate the turkey. 45 minutes before serving, place the roaster filled with turkey meat in a oven at 350°, covering tightly with foil. Remember, you are simply reheating the turkey meat. Place the carved pieces on a serving platter with beautiful aromatic fresh herbs. After your guests have been sufficiently awed by your “show bird”, bring out this platter and serve your feast in a timely manner.
The “show bird” is prepared and cooked in the same manner. Simply prepare it within 5 or 6 hours of your feast. You can pull it out of the oven in time to allow you to warm up the “work-horse” turkey. This is helpful if you are working with one oven. Let it rest as you prepare your table for your dining experience. Present it on a lovely platter surrounded with fresh herbs, grapes, and a pomegranate or two. Exchage it for your carved platter of meat when you are ready to eat. Be certain to carve and store this turkey within two or three hours of cooking.
I do not cook my turkeys with stuffing in the cavity. This is not recommended by USDA. They suggest for uniform doneness and optimal safety, cook stuffing separately. I will share stuffing recipes this week.
A 12 – 15 pound turkey should serve 10 -12 people.
Enjoy!
“A cook she certainly was, in the very bone and centre of her soul. Not a….turkey….in the barn-yard but looked grave when they saw her approaching, and seemed evidently to be reflecting on their latter end; and certain it was that she was always meditating on trussing, stuffing and roasting, to a degree that was calculated to inspire terror in any reflecting fowl living.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
