How to cook a turkey. Best ever turkey recipe adapted after many years of trial and error (oh, the errors!). Make this your best Thanksgiving yet, with this tried and true turkey recipe.
This turkey recipe from EncinoMom serves 6 to 8 people and takes approximately 3 1/2 hours. I cook my turkey unstuffed. Here's what you'll need: 1 turkey, 14 1/2 lbs., 1 orange, 10 Tablespoons unsalted (room temp) butter, 2 Tablespoons Molasses (I use Black Strap), 1 Cup of Red Wine with a little water in it, 1/4 Cup of Kosher Salt, 2 springs fresh sage, 1/4 Cup coarsely ground black pepper, 2-3 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Use a fork to combine 8T butter, molasses, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Set aside.
Rinse turkey, remove gizzards, pat dry. Rub mixture between skin and meat, being careful not to pierce the skin. Any extra goes inside the cavity with the whole orange (I usually poke a few holes in the orange to release some of the juice).
Rub the skin on the outside of the turkey with the remaining 2 T of butter. Place some of the sage leaves between the skin and the breast meat. I like to arrange them in a sort of chevron pattern which looks beautiful when the turkey is finished cooking. Any extra sage goes in the cavity with the orange.
Put the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour the wine over the bird. Cook 1/2 hour breast side down, 1/2 hour more breast up (to brown). Tent loosely with foil and baste during remainder of cooking time. Serve with grapes. (Make sure to let the bird rest for about 10 or 15 minutes before carving.
This makes a succulent, beautiful turkey with exceptional flavor. Happy Thanksgiving.
If you're interested in more information, please visit my website: EncinoMom.com Please remember to "like" EncinoMom.com on FaceBook, too! Thanks in advance, enjoy!
photo by Lisa Keating
I love your ideas on How to Cook a Turkey. I think this recipe would really turn out great. It is so important to find good turkey recipes this time or year. A great resource for these types of recipes is Better Recipes. They have given me some great ideas for turkey, as well as for all the turkey leftovers. Though I do work for them, I honestly use them myself because they have a wide array of delicious recipes. You should take a look.
ReplyDeleteLisa, this sounds so simple. Although I don't have to cook this Thanksgiving I 'd like to give this a try around the Christmastime. I bet it will be a show stopper.
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