Turkey prep has gotten interesting, what with brining, a real pain to do, and salting, which I haven't tried yet. Last week I watched the Barefoot Contessa roast a turkey, using truffle butter. She rubbed it on the breast meat, under the skin; I confess I have done that with chicken, only not with truffle butter. After calling a likely market for truffle butter (which I imagine is expensive) and they were out, I opted to make a compound butter. I let a cube of butter soften and used a fork to mix in fresh minced lemon thyme and a little Penzey's shallot salt. The hard part is separating the skin from the breast (it tore in a couple places - just a little) - it's darned cold under that skin too!
I've always had trouble with frozen turkeys; how long do you take up half your refrigerator while it thaws out? Well, I have my answer. I bought a 15 1/2 pounder on Monday and set it in the roasting pan to catch any juices and then set it on a shelf in my refrigerator. On Friday I cut open the wrap to let the air get to it. Saturday morning it was good to go. Per the Barefoot One I only stuffed it with salt, an onion cut into eighths, a head of garlic cut crosswise and a handful of thyme. Rubbing the turkey with olive oil helps with browning, generous amounts of salt and pepper are a must. The neck, a cut up carrot, onion and celery were put in the roaster to add flavor to the drippings. I added some chicken broth for moisture. It baked at 325 and was done in about 3 hours.
I made the gravy per my previous post and all were delicious. The turkey was moist, tender and flavorful. This is so easy I highly recommend it. Go get your turkey and gobble!
Hi Kathy, love your blog. I look forward to your ideas for Christmas.
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