There are already many pages on how to roast a turkey. Here's my addition to the crowd. I like to roast my turkey unstuffed, so this usually takes up the oven for 4-5 hours. I make everything else that would need to go in the oven the day or night before, and then put the turkey in, in the late morning. I don't stuff my turkey because I like for there to be a nice flow of hot air from the inside. I also salt the turkey more from the inside than the outside, and stuffing would interrupt that. It might come out too salty, or add too much salt to the turkey.
You will need:
- a small to medium sized turkey
- a black enamelled roasting pan with a cover
- 300 g. goose fat or butter
- 3-5 black peppercorns, coarsely smashed
- 1 teaspoon of gray salt for every kg. of the turkey's weight
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar for every kg. or even better concord grape vinegar if you can find it
Instructions:
- Thaw your turkey starting the day before in the bottom of the refrigerator with the breast side down.
- Take it out about an hour to a half hour before you actually need to start roasting it. It's okay if when you take it out, the breast is still a little frozen. It makes it easier to work with. If other parts are not thawed by the time you take it out, give it another half hour to an hour at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, heat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
- Clean out any organs that might have been clinging to the inside of the carcass, and rinse it out.
- Trim off any excess fat hanging around the back end or neck, and reserve it to render for other things.
- From the inside, poke some holes between the ribs with a knife, and stuff the bits of goose fat or butter into the breasts this way.
- Mix the salt, vinegar, and pepper, and rub the inside of the bird with 2/3 of it. The remaining 1/3 should be rubbed all over the outside of the bird.
- Place the bird in the roasting pan, breast side down. Optionally, you can tie the legs together. The wings should be secured with a couple of toothpicks.
- Cover the pan with its cover, or with some aluminum foil with the reflective side down so that it reflects heat towards the turkey.
- Roast for 3 hours and prepare for the next phase.
- Turn the turkey over and return it to the oven uncovered. Continue roasting another hour, at which time a meat thermometer stuck in the thigh should read 170 degrees Farenheit.
...and that's it! |
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