A Picture Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

I know that I explained how to fix a turkey in this post, Thanksgiving Preparation but sometimes pictures are so much more easily followed. So, when I fixed the turkey for OUR Thanksgiving I took pictures. I did not use the exact ingredients as in the other post. This year I decided to season it with Herbs de Provence rather than the cranberry sauce, however the techniques pictured can be used with any recipe. Ready?

Step 1- after the bird is thawed take the neck and bag of giblets out of the abdominal cavity and the chest cavity. Set aside. Rinse bird thoroughly in warm water. Dry with paper towels.

Step 2-Gather your ingredients together. Salt, pepper, herbs, the turkey, turkey bags, oil, etc.

Step 2 1/2 Use the peelings from the vegetables you used int he stuffing, a couple of pieces of celery, celery leaves, the neck and gizzard an heart (I don’t use the liver but some people do) and put in a pan covered with water. simmer until neck is done, a couple of hours, adding water as necessary. Once the neck is done, simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain and remove the vegetables and meat, and set broth aside.

Step 3- Make a mixture of salt, pepper, and seasoning in your hand and rub the inside cavity of the turkey.

Step 4 – Stuff the abdominal cavity of the turkey loosely with stuffing of choice. For my sage stuffing recipe click here

Step 6- Some people use twine to truss the turkey. I don’t bother. Just fold the flap of skin over and pull the legs in place.

Step 7- Turn the pan around and pull the flap of skin up to reveal the chest cavity. Stuff it loosely. You can even use a different stuffing if your family like 2 kinds.

Step 8- Now, very gently begin to loosen the skin from the meat on the breast.

Step 9- Make a mixture of the seasonings you plan to use (or cranberry sauce) and rub it over the meat. I sometimes will lay thin slices of garlic in here, or fresh herb leaves.

Step 10-Now, oil the skin lightly. I used olive oil, but anything will do.

Step 11-Prepare the roasting bag by adding a tablespoon or so of flour and shaking it well.

Step 12- carefully put turkey in roasting bag and tie up. Lay in a sturdy pan.

Step 13 – Cut 6 slits in roasting bag for steam to escape. Put turkey in the oven.

Now…here is where you have to make some decisions. The recommended way to roast a turkey is at 350 for about 4 hours for a 20 lbs stuffed turkey. Personally I roast mine at 325 for 8 hours, or about 20 minutes a pound. This was a 23 lb turkey and I put it in the oven at 12:00 noon.

at 3:00 p.m. it was starting to brown and smell good but no where near done.

At 8:00p.m. it was perfect. Meat falling from the bone, drumstick moved easily.Remove from oven at this point and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Open the bag (watch for steam). Pour the broth carefully into a bowl, adding the broth you made earlier.. Remove stuffing and put in a bowl and carve turkey.

Now, I have to admit that once I was ready to carve the turkey I totally forgot about taking pictures. Trust me, it looks wonderful.