You can be assured of the best, most juicy & tasty turkey with these three recipes. (And, btw, these recipes fit the food safety standard for the least risk of bacteria, cause as you know, food poisoning is at its highest after Bird-Day):
Best Turkey EVER!
· 9:00 p.m. Wednesday: Submerge a frozen turkey in a bucket of water with 1-1/2 cup Kosher or Hawaiian salt. (You may have to weight the turkey with a heavy bowl.)
· 9:00 a.m. Thursday: Remove turkey. If you’re not ready to cook, store in fridge.
· 4 hours before dinner: Preheat oven to 500º. Rinse, pat turkey dry and rub it with a whole stick of butter.
· Insert two onions, celery, garlic into the cavity and a few ice cubes in the cavity.
· Cut off wing tips and reserve for gravy. Place foil around drumstick and wing ends, then place foil lightly over bird.
· Cook for one hour at 500º. Remove foil.
· Reduce temp to 350 º and cook for two hours. Basting every 20 minutes.
· After 3 hours total cooking time (the minimum internal temperature must reach 165° F for safety), remove bird from oven and cover tightly in foil for 30 minutes.
· Carve away!
Best stuffing EVER! (Serves 8 – 10)
· 1 loaf day old French bread (must be dried out), cut into cubes
· 1 cup walnuts
· 2 cups each chopped onion and celery
· 1 green apple, chopped
· ¾ cup dried cherries
· 5 – 10 chopped green martini olives
· 1 – 2 cups stock from giblets (or chicken broth) – reserve neck for gravy
· ¼ chopped fresh parsley
· 1 teas poultry season or sage
· Salt and pepper
1. Toast walnuts in pan then roughly chop.
2. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in pan, add bread cubes and toast lightly.
3. In large Dutch over, sauté onions and celery in 3 Tbsp butter till cooked. Add bread, walnuts, apple, cherries, olives and parsley. Add one cup stock or chicken broth, sage, poultry season, salt & pepper.
4. Cover. Cook on low for about an hour until apples are cooked through. Add water or stock as needed to keep moist.
Best gravy EVER!
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Neck and wing tips from turkey
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 8 cups turkey stock or chicken stock
- 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Add the neck and wing tips and sear until brown. Remove from pan and reserve.
Lower heat and sauté the onions. Add the stock, scrapping up the fond on the bottom of the pan. Add the neck and wing tips into the saucepan. Cover and let simmer until it comes to a boil; about 1 hour. Sauce will reduce down greatly. Remove turkey parts. Add BBQ sauce to pan and whisk together. Gravy will thicken. Season with salt and pepper.
