Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 turkey, approx. 12-15 lbs.
Salt and pepper
Olive oil – about ½ to ¾ cup
Melted butter – about 1 stick
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1 orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
Parsley
1 pound of bacon (for wrapping)
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Directions: |
Directions:1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Wash out the turkey with water. Pull out any remaining feather stubs in the turkey skin. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Lather the inside of the cavity with the juice of half a lemon. Take a small handful of salt and rub all over the inside of the turkey.
3. In this method of cooking a turkey, we don't make the stuffing in the turkey because doing so adds too much to the cooking time. For flavor, put in inside the turkey the yellow onion, peeled and quartered, the quartered orange, and the quartered lemon. Close up the turkey cavity with either string (not nylon string!) or metal skewers. Make sure that the turkey's legs are tied together, held close to the body, and tie a string around the turkey body to hold the wings in close.
4. Melt the butter, add the olive oil and the finely chopped garlic to the mixture. Rub all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle salt and pepper generously all over the outside of the turkey.
5. Place turkey BREAST DOWN on the bottom of a rack over a sturdy roasting pan big enough to catch all the drippings. This is the main difference between the way mom makes turkey and everyone else. Cooking the turkey breast down means the skin over the breast will not get so brown. However, all of the juices from the cooking turkey will fall down into the breast while cooking. And the resulting bird will have the most succulent turkey breast imaginable.
6. Put the turkey in the oven. Check the cooking directions on the turkey packaging. Typically, the recommended cooking time of about 15 minutes for every pound is recommended. For the 12-15 lb turkey, start the cooking at 400 F for the first 1/2 hour. Then reduce the heat to 350 F for the next 2 hours. Then reduce the heat further to 300 F for the next hour to hour and a half.
7. Start taking temperature readings with a meat thermometer, inserted deep into the thickest part of the turkey breast and thigh, an hour before the turkey should be done. You want a resulting temperature of 175°F for the dark meat (thighs and legs) and 165°F for the white meat (breast). The temperature of the bird will continue to rise once you take it out of the oven, so take it out when the temperature reading for the thigh is 170°F, and for the breast 160°F. If you don't have a meat thermometer, spear the breast with a knife. The turkey juices should be clear, not pink.
8. Once you remove the turkey from the oven, let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Turn the turkey breast side up to carve it. (See Epicurious video on carving a turkey or Alton Brown video on how to carve a turkey.) |
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