Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Perfect Bird


Thanksgiving is around the corner! If you are planning a dinner, you should order your turkey soon. You can order from William Sonoma and it will be delivered to your door, fresh, free-range, etc. Or, you can usually order form your local grocer. However you get your bird, fresh is best - not frozen.


Ingredients
1 10-12lb fresh turkey
Turkey Brine (William Sonoma brine mix with apple base)
Buttermilk
Turkey Herb blend (William Sonoma)
1 stick of butter
Canola Oil
Paprika
2 Yellow Onions
2 Heads of Garlic
2 Celery Stalks
Handful of fresh Rosemary and Thyme sprigs
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Kitchen twine, or strong cotton thread, and strong needle

Method
24-36 Hours before you will be roasting your bird, start your brine. Follow the instructions on the brine jar, but substitute Buttermilk for Apple juice.

Pull out the neck and giblets, rinse out and drain the inside of the turkey, and quickly wash off the outside. Put the turkey back in your fridge while the brine cools enough to put in your turkey. I use my canning pot to brine my turkey, and turn it over every 8 hours or so.

Pull out of the brine, clean, and pat dry.

Mix your stick of butter with 1 Tablespoon of the turkey herb blend, and rub the compound butter all over the bird - under the skin and over the breasts, and massage it in everywhere. Season with salt and pepper under the skin as well. Let sit for a while while you prepare the vegetables for stuffing.

Quarter the onions, slice the garlic in half crosswise, rough chop the celery, and bruise the herbs.

Generously season the cavity with kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper, and stuff with the herbs, and vegetables. Fill it as much as you can, sew the cavity shut, and bind the legs.

Rub the outside of your turkey with canola oil, and sprinkle the entire surface with paprika, which will give your bird a beautiful golden brown crust.

Roast your turkey on a rack, in a roasting pan at 325 for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Tent the turkey with tinfoil for the first hour, then remove.

Allow the turkey to rest, covered in foil for 30 minutes before cutting into it. And when you serve the Turkey, cut off the whole breast first, then slice it into pieces for serving.

4 comments:

Christy Dyer said...

I am doing turkey for all the temple missionaries from North America. I need directions without WS products! Do you have a brine recipe? amazingly we do have turkeys here! And I found a few cans of pumpkin and bought them all!

Brooke Eriksen said...

I was going to try to make a turkey this Thanksgiving.. until I read how you do it. I don't think I can do the whole cleaning out thing. I can barely look at frozen chicken. Want to come visit for Thanksgiving;)

Lauren Dyer said...

Brooke! You are pregnant - you dont have to touch anything! I can't even go grocery shopping for the first 5 months.

Bridgett said...

Hi, I'm an old friend of Shane's from Utah State and I love your recipes.
I looked up that Apples and Spices Brine from William Sonoma online and they no longer carry it anymore. Is there anything else you suggest?