So You Are Going to Roast a Turkey...

How many of you are about to roast your first turkey (thanks to the pandemic and everyone staying at home instead of going to Grandma's where she provides the turkey!)? Last year I took lots of pictures of how I do it, intending to share this year (look at me preparing ahead) before knowing that sucky Covid would be in the picture and more people might need some directions! This is not complicated, I keep my turkey prep pretty simple - yes if you Google there are SO many ways to roast a turkey but this is what I do and it turns out great every year. So read thru these steps, change the seasonings if you want, heck you can even omit or add steps if you want to combine recipes (cuz I've never done that hahahha).  

Oh, a couple things before you begin (if you're making it my way) - you need a thawed turkey, herb butter, olive oil, salt and pepper, veggies and fruits to stuff in the cavity and lay under the bird, and an oven bag.

To make herb butter: stir chopped herbs into softened butter. See, easy so far! Think poultry seasoning flavors like thyme, sage, rosemary, etc. 

1. This is my least favorite part but just suck it up and do it, don't think about it! When you take the wrapper off the turkey it'll look something like this. The neck and giblets are usually in bags stuffed in both ends of the turkey. Remove both (if the neck isn't in a bag you'll just have to fish it out with your hand, don't get all wussy on me - just grab it!), empty the contents into a large saucepan. Put aside.

2. Rinse inside and out, pat dry with paper towels. 

3. Gently slide your fingers underneath the breast skin to loosen it, creating a pocket between the meat and skin. Try to not rip the skin, loosen as far down as you can go. 

5. Now it's time to add the softened herb butter underneath the skin. I scoop it up with my fingers and push it into the pocket, press down on top of the skin to smooth and spread it around. 

6. Take a second to make sure your helper is paying attention!

7. drizzle the entire bird with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

                                            

8.  Insert fruit or veggies into the empty cavity - I just use what I have on hand, usually I'll insert an apple cut in half, or halved lemons, or whole herbs, you can also do chunks of onions, etc. This is really just a wing it step, it's fine if you don't add anything but I feel like it helps to keep the meat moist and adds some additional flavors. Note: I don't usually put stuffing in the bird, if you want that tho I'd use a stuffing bag to make removing it easier, and skip the fruit/veggies.

9. Tesha gave me the tip years ago to roast the turkey in a large oven bag - it really works!

10. From now on I just follow the package directions: open the bag and place in a roasting pan fitted with a rack, add a little flour and shake it around, add a few veggies or fruit that you'll rest the turkey on top of - carrots, celery, onions, apple...whatever you have.

11. Tuck the legs under the loose skin at the bottom if you can. Add the turkey to the bag on top of the veggies. Tie according to package directions.

12. Cut a few slits in the top of the bag.

13. Roast according to package directions for the size of your bird. 

14. While the turkey is roasting make turkey broth for the gravy using the neck and giblets you took out in step one. Put them in a pot and fill it up with water. If you have the time and inclination you can add other things to the pot for additional flavor - like onions, celery, peppercorns...bring it to a boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer, cover, let it cook for a couple hours making sure it doesn't boil over or reduce too much  (add more water if it does). Strain the broth into a glass measuring cup (you need 4 cups for this recipe, if you have more than that you can save it for other uses), discard the solids. Reheat the broth when you're ready to make the gravy. Click here for yesterday's post about how to make gravy. 

You can do it!! Good luck, let me know how it turns out! Happy Thanksgiving!