Crispy Bacon Basted Turkey Recipes

Steps:

• Add 2 cups water to pan. Roast, uncovered, until bacon is lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, about 90 minutes longer. Cover loosely with foil if bacon browns too quickly., Remove from oven. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Three days before cooking the turkey, rinse, clean and dry the turkey thoroughly.
• In a food processor, pulse the salt, granulated garlic, black pepper, bay leaves, thyme, orange zest and rosemary until still coarse but uniform, about 10 times. Rub the inside of the turkey with the salt mix. Then carefully slip your fingers under the breast skin and rub a liberal amount UNDER the skin. Flip the turkey on its side and sprinkle more of the salt mixture on the thigh, wing and leg. Repeat on other side.
• Place the bird in a large zipper-top bag or brining bag. (If neither is available, cover in plastic wrap.) Place the bird on a wire rack on a sheet pan breast-side up, and place in the fridge away from any raw food (on a lower shelf). Leave in the fridge for 3 days.
• On the night before cooking, remove the turkey from the fridge and take it out of the plastic. The skin should be dry and the salt should be dissolved. If any large patches of moisture are present, wipe with paper towels. Place back in the fridge, uncovered, for another 8 hours to dry out.
• On the day of, take the turkey out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Fit a roasting pan with a wire v-rack.
• Put the turkey in the roasting pan and brush with the melted butter. Roast for 30 minutes. Turn the heat down to 325 degrees F and roast, basting occasionally, until the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about another 2 hours. Let the turkey rest for 30 to 45 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• If you have time the day before, salt the turkey. Make the salt mix by grinding the salt with the thyme leaves and pepper in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar. Sit the turkey in a roasting tin and season all over, inside and out, using about two-thirds of the salt. Leave the turkey in the tin, breast-side up, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for up to 24 hrs. If you don't have time, or there is no room in the fridge, simply prepare the salt and season the turkey generously before roasting.
• To make the bacon butter, gently cook the bacon in a dry frying pan for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the fat has seeped into the pan and is sizzling gently, and the bacon is crisp. Take off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Scrape the bacon and the fat into a food processor with the butter and maple syrup. Blitz to combine, scraping down the sides of the processor from time to time. Roll up the butter in cling film to form a log and place in the fridge. Can be made a few days ahead or frozen for 1 month.
• Remove the turkey from the fridge an hour or so before you want to cook it. Remove the bacon butter from the fridge to soften up. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Calculate your cooking time based on 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg of the turkey, plus 45 mins for every kg after that.
• Gently push your fingers under the skin of the turkey, starting from the neck, until you can push your whole hand in down the length of the breast. Take care not to tear the skin. Use your hands to spread the bacon butter under the skin so that it covers the entire breast area, and there is butter in the crevice between the thigh and the main body. Pop a sprig of thyme under the skin of each breast, then smooth the skin over with your buttery hands. Place the onion, lemon, bay leaves and garlic in the cavity.
• Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for the calculated cooking time - 30 mins before the end of cooking, increase the oven temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, remove the foil, baste the turkey and return to the oven. When the turkey is beautifully brown and cooked through, remove from the oven and leave to rest on a warm platter covered in foil for up to 1 hr.
• Pour the fat away from the roasting tin, leaving just the juices. If your tin is flameproof, pour in the Sticky Port gravy (see 'Goes well with', right) to reheat with the juices; if not, tip them both into a saucepan and reheat. Serve the remaining salt mix as a seasoning alongside the rest of the meal.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a shallow roasting pan or baking dish with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil.
• Place bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat; cook until bacon is crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon bacon fat. Let bacon cool.
• Finely chop bacon and transfer to a small bowl, along with garlic, sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a small spoon, mix until a paste is formed.
• Using your fingertips, gently loosen the skin on both sides of the turkey breast so that it is separated from the flesh. Divide herb paste in half and gently spread half of the paste between each half of the breast. Season turkey with remaining teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brush skin with reserved bacon fat.
• Place turkey in prepared pan and roast, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the breast reaches 165 degrees, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove turkey from oven and let rest 20 minutes before carving. Serve with any pan drippings.