Best Turkey recipe for the Host With The Most

November 27, 12:07 AMLA Social ExaminerShannon Marie

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This recipe is part of the LAST-MINUTE HOLIDAY GAMEPLAN, giving you tips on planning, shopping for, and preparing your own Holiday Dinner in less than a day, under $100!

Depending on the size of the bird, roasting times vary.  The turkey packaging will come with a cooking time table.

INGREDIENTS
Celery leaves, plus a few stalks
2 carrots
Small bunch of parsley
Half of a Yellow Onion
Lemon
Salt
Pepper
12 lb. Turkey
Turkey timers
1.5 cup Chicken Broth
A few heaping tablespoons of Cornstarch

COOK THE BIRD
-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

-Remove the turkey from the packaging.  If it has a metal piece holding the legs together, remove that too.  Reach into the cavity and pull out anything you can get your hands on -- literally.  The cavity should be empty.  There are gizzards and giblets in there.  On the opposite opening, at the neck cavity, there will be a plastic bag of goodies hidden there too.  Remove that as well.  Some save those parts to make a tasty gravy, but that is optional.

-Wash the turkey inside and and out with water

-Rub the juice of a lemon all over the inside of the cavity

-Stuff the cavity with the celery, carrots, parsley, and onions

-Tie the legs together with cooking twine (you can also improvise by tightly twisting some foil into a thin rope)

-Rub olive oil all over the turkey top and bottom

-Generously sprinkle salt all over the turkey, then sprinkle pepper

-Set on the roasting pan upside down, with the breasts facing down (This is not typical, but it will result in a moist turkey breast.  You will have to flip it later.)

-Roast the turkey at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  You will notice a very slight browning.

-Reduce the heat to 325 degrees, and loosely cover the turkey with foil to prevent overcooking of the skin.  This will not brown the turkey.

-Depending on your total cooking time, about one hour before your turkey is scheduled to come out, remove the foil and VERY CAREFULLY flip the turkey over right-side up.  (I used a new pair of heavy duty yellow kitchen gloves.  They delay the "hot" feeling coming to your hands, so if you work quickly, you won't feel a thing.  Flip the turkey at your own risk.  If you are not comfortable with this, you can roast the turkey breast-up the whole time if you please)

-Insert the Turkey timer at an angle, right in the meatiest part of the breast, being sure that it is not touching any bone

*If it is browning too fast, you can cover it with foil again
*While the turkey is cooking, periodically baste it with its drippings.

-Roast the turkey until the turkey timers pop out, or the breast temperature is 165 degrees, and the thigh is 175 degrees

-Collect drippings and set aside

-Let turkey sit for about 20 minutes to settle, and you're ready to put onto a display plate!

MAKE THE GRAVY
-Boil the drippings and chicken broth

-Skim off any excess fat and turkey particles

-Add a little bit of water to the cornstarch to dissolve it, and stir until there are no lumps

-Add one spoonful at a time of the corstarch liquid to thicken the gravy.  You will likely not use it all.  Add one spoonful, stir and wait a moment until you can really get a feel for the consistency.  Remember, gravy also thickens when it sits.

WINE PAIRING
Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio is great with turkey.  If you only drink red, you can break the white/red rules and pick up a Pinot Noir, Beaujolais (only available in the Fall), or another lighter red varietal.

MAKING SMALL TALK
1.  How some red wines pair well with poultry regardless of the classic "rules"
2.  How funny it looked when a friend walked in on you, while you were elbow-deep into the turkey cavity during preparation.