Roast Turkey Complete Dinner Recipes

Steps:

• Remove any feathers and quills with pliers (kosher turkeys tend to require this more than others).
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly in turkey cavities and all over skin. Fold neck skin under body and, if desired, secure with metal skewer, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.
• Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F). Cut off and discard string from turkey.
• For a stuffed turkey:
• Twelve cups of stuffing will fill both cavities and leave you extra to bake separately. Just before roasting, spoon room-temperature stuffing loosely (stuffing expands as it cooks) into the neck (smaller) cavity. Fold the neck skin underneath the body and secure with a small metal skewer. Then loosely fill the body (larger) cavity, and tie drumsticks together. If you don't want any stuffing to spill out, cover the opening with a slice of fresh bread, tucking it inside the cavity before tying the drumsticks. Follow roasting directions above. (Timing for a stuffed bird may be slightly longer, but start checking the temperature at 1 3/4 hours.) Immediately transfer stuffing from body cavity to a shallow baking dish (separate from one for stuffing baked outside the turkey). Take temperature of stuffing in neck cavity and if less than 165°F, add it to the baking dish. Bake (covered for a moist stuffing or uncovered for a crisp top) until it reaches a minimum of 165°F. This can take 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven, which you may have lowered to reheat side dishes.
• For a roast turkey breast:
• The same method used above can be applied to a whole turkey breast (instead of the entire bird). For a 6- to 8-pound breast (with skin and bone), reduce amount of salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons and pepper to 3/4 teaspoon. Use a V-rack instead of a flat rack. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted in thickest part of each breast half (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let stand 30 minutes (temperature in breast will rise to between 175°F and 180°F). (For a grilled turkey option, see Grilled Whole Turkey.)

Steps:

• Remove any giblets from the cavity and reserve for stock or gravy. Pat turkey and turkey neck dry with paper towel; rub turkey all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey, the pepper and the lemon zest, including the neck. Transfer to a 2-gallon (or larger) resealable plastic bag. Tuck herbs and 6 garlic cloves inside bag. Seal and refrigerate on a small rimmed baking sheet (or wrapped in another bag) for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, turning the bird over every day (or after 12 hours if brining for only 1 day).
• Remove turkey from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, uncovered, back on the baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours to dry out the skin (this helps crisp it).
• When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for one hour.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add the cider and enough wine to fill the pan to a 1/4-inch depth. Add half the onions, the remaining 6 garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Stuff the remaining onion quarters and the lemon quarters into the turkey cavity. Brush the turkey skin generously with oil or melted butter.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside the roasting pan. Transfer pan to the oven and roast 30 minutes. Cover breast with aluminum foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches a temperature of 165 degrees, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
• Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.
• Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
• Slice the turkey and serve.

Steps:

• DIRECTIONS FOR TURKEY:.
• NOTE: Even though you may have purchased a Butterball or a butter basted bird, you should still follow these directions, as they inject very little butter into the bird, just so that they can legally get away with saying that it is butter basted. Trust this recipe of mine, and I guarantee that you and your guests will have the best and juiciest turkey ever. The cook time and the amounts of ingredients will vary, depending on the size of the bird.
• Remove giblets from both cavities at both ends and set aside. Rinse the bird inside and out and pat dry with paper towel. Place a rack into a large roasting pan, and then place the turkey onto the rack with the breast and legs up.
• Place your hand between the skin and the flesh from the rear of the turkey and slide a palm full of the butter all the way up to the front of the bird, so that the entire bird has butter between the skin and the flesh.
• Then place a glob of butter into the palm of your hand and generously rub the entire outside of the turkey with the butter.
• Generously sprinkle the entire bird with salt, freshly ground black pepper, onion powder, granulated garlic powder, tarragon, parsley flakes, thyme, basil and paprika. Pour about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of chicken broth in the bottom of the roasting pan, being careful not to wash any of the seasonings off the turkey. Completely tent the turkey with aluminum foil and place into a preheated 325°F oven for about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the foil tent and wrap foil around the legs and wings. Baste the turkey and return it to the oven for the remainder of the cooking time, which will be when the interior temperature of the bird reaches 180 degrees, or until the juices run clear and not red when you puncture the bird between the thigh and the breast. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the turkey. NOTE: I always cook my turkey unstuffed. I place my stuffing into baking dishes to bake.
• DIRECTIONS FOR BREAD STUFFING:.
• Place 2 Tablespoons butter into a hot skillet. When the butter is melted, add the small dices of celery, lightly sprinkle with salt, and sauté until the celery pieces are tender.
• Transfer the celery with the pan juices to a large pot or a very large mixing bowl. Add the turkey or chicken stuffing. Tear the white bread into small, but not too small, pieces and add the bread to the mix. Add the 4 eggs. Season to taste with the herbs. Add a little water if necessary, but be careful not to make it too mushy, otherwise you will need to add more torn up white bread. Mix it well.
• Preheat oven to 325°F Spray baking dishes with Pam or a non-stick spray, and fill the baking dishes with the stuffing mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 to 45 minutes.
• DIRECTIONS FOR CANDIED YAMS OR SWEET POTATOES:.
• The other way is to place all of the ingredients into a large pot and cook the potatoes on top of the stove over medium heat and stirring every so often until potatoes are soft. Also, do not be afraid of adding more brown sugar and/or orange juice if needed.
• DIRECTIONS FOR CRANBERRY SAUCE SUPREME:.
• In a large bowl, place the whole cranberry sauce and mix it well, so that there are no large jelled sections. Drain the blackberries and add them to the bowl. Add 1 cup of raisins. Mix well and it is ready to serve.
• DIRECTIONS FOR GIBLET GRAVY:.
• In a large skillet, pour in the chicken livers with their juice. Sauté the livers, turning them, until they are done. Allow to slightly cool, and cut the livers into small, but not too small, pieces.
• Place the gravy into a large pot. Add the cut up chicken livers. Heat, stirring every so often. Add about 1 cup of the turkey drippings.
• NOTE: You can also serve mashed potatoes and rolls if desired.