*Warning: Images may be disturbing to some viewers especially turkeys.
So the bird. I was kinda sort of unsure about cooking the turkey. This was my first time roasting a turkey and I was nervous about timing, moistness, crispyness, of it being flavorful... I had a whole laundry list of doubt. So I googled and youtubed and scoured the internet for recipe ideas, tips and advice on how to cook the most delicious turkey. I ended up settling on a mix between Sandra Lee's Herb Roasted Turkey and Bobby Flay's Traditional Turkey Recipe and a spin of my own making. As a turkey roasting virgin, I was pretty pleased with the end result.
Here is the recipe for my Herb Smothered Roasted Turkey.
I purchased a frozen 13 lb. turkey because it was free with my points at my local food store and my dad always taught me that free is for me. So I put it in the refrigerator on Sunday night to make sure that it would be defrosted by Thursday. I didn't brine my turkey following Bobby Flays advice that as long as you don't over cook your turkey it won't be dry. So Wednesday night I made my herb butter. This was based off of Sandra Lee's recipe where you softened butter and mix in dried seasonings and herbs. I used fresh herbs though; rosemary, sage, parsley, basil, and thyme. I also added minced garlic, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Then I put the butter in a ziploc bag in the freezer allowing it to re solidify. Thanksgiving morning I took the bag out and let the butter get to room temperature so it would be easier to spread.
And this is where the fun began...
Next time I make a turkey, I am going to try brining it. I think it's always good to try new techniques and recipes to build my cooking skills and my recipe book.
Eva has mastered the skills of the turkey coma. After she ate her thanksgiving feast consisting of way to much turkey for a 10lb mini dachshund she proceeded to sleep it off on the hubbies lap, snuggled under the blankets.
Ohh to have a Diva's life. Eat till your full, sleep when your tired.
Stick your tongue out at people without any repercussions.
She's most certainly the cutest Diva I've ever gotten the tongue from. OK that sounds bad. I'm talking about her sticking her tongue out at me nothing more. Just look at that face.
And this is where the fun began...
If you're disturbed by the fact that I enjoyed the experience of carefully shoving my hands under the turkey's skin and slowly massaging the butter into it's every nook and cranny, you're not alone. My husband thought I was crazy. But it's kind of fun! It was sort of like giving a person a massage (minus the part about having to go under its skin) but with really grainy, herbal oils. I smothered the entire bird in this herb butter, over the skin and under. I then stuffed the inside of the turkey with one large onion, 1 lemon, and more fresh herbs. At the bottom of the roasting pan I placed carrots and celery.
Then I stuck it in the preheated 325 degree oven for 4 1/2 hours, basting ever 20 minutes after the first 45 minutes till the thermometer read 165 Fahrenheit. The end result was a golden brown, well seasoned turkey. The skin was crispy, the breast meat juicy, and the drippings had a perfect blend of flavors making for perfect gravy.
Eva has mastered the skills of the turkey coma. After she ate her thanksgiving feast consisting of way to much turkey for a 10lb mini dachshund she proceeded to sleep it off on the hubbies lap, snuggled under the blankets.
Ohh to have a Diva's life. Eat till your full, sleep when your tired.
Stick your tongue out at people without any repercussions.
She's most certainly the cutest Diva I've ever gotten the tongue from. OK that sounds bad. I'm talking about her sticking her tongue out at me nothing more. Just look at that face.
Herb Smothered Roasted Turkey
Ingredients
13 lb fresh or frozen Turkey (defrosted)
1 cup butter
2 bunches of fresh rosemary
2 bunches of fresh sage
2 bunches of fresh basil
2 bunches of fresh parsley
2 bunches of fresh thyme
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 large onion
1 lemon
5 carrots
5 celery stalks
14 oz of chicken broth
*The herb butter should be prepared the day prior to cooking your turkey
Begin by softening the butter. Chop half the rosemary, sage, basil, parsley, and thyme and mix into the butter. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning and continue mixing well. Put butter mixture into a ziploc bag and push butter to the bottom of the bag and store in the freezer to re solidify.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove the butter from the freezer and let it stand out till room temperature. Prepare turkey by carefully pulling the skin away from the meat making sure not to tear the skin. Cut top of ziploc bag and remove butter log. Cut discs of butter off the log and insert between the skin and the meat. Smear the rest of the butter all over the turkey skin; the breast, the legs, the wings, underneath. This will help the skin become that beautiful golden brown color.
Cut the lemon and onion in half. Stuff both into the center cavity of the turkey along with the leftover herbs.
Cut carrots and celery into 4 inch pieces and place at bottom of roasting pan. Pour chicken broth into roasting pan. This will help create enough drippings for basting throughout the cooking process and ensure enough drippings to make gravy later on.
Put the turkey in the roasting pan and put in the preheated oven. Cook for 4.5 hours or till the interior temperature of the turkey reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure to baste your turkey ever 20 minutes after the first 45 minutes. If your turkey skin begins to burn, lower oven temperature and cook lower and slower.
Once done slice and serve. Reserve dripping from the bottom of the roasting pan to make gravy.
