Slow-Roasted Turkey Recipe

[Alan]

Here's a recipe of Slow-Roasted Turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients
1(14-pound) whole turkey
4 ounce(1 stick) softened butter (preferably something with high butter fat, like Plugrá or Kerrygold)
5lemons, halved
4 sprigrosemary
4 sprigsage
4 sprigthyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cupwhite wine

Directions
Step 1
OPTIONAL FIRST STEP: One of the keys to miraculously crispy skin is a VERY dry turkey. The best way to accomplish this is to air-dry your turkey (in the refrigerator) for 1 to 2 days before you roast. I know this sounds a little crazy, and I do have the luxury of a second fridge at home, but I do it with my chickens too—and it makes a huge difference. Unwrap the turkey, rinse it, and pat it dry inside and out with paper towels. Place the turkey onto a tray or in a roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 to 48 hours.

Step 2
Heat the oven to 250°F. Remove the wing tips or tuck them behind the turkey by bending them backward and securing them near the neck. Tie the legs tightly together. Place the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan.

Step 3
Using your hands, evenly cover the outside of the turkey with the butter. Make sure to get the sides.

Step 4
Stuff the inside of the turkey with the lemon, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Season well with salt and pepper (inside and out). Pour the wine into the roasting pan.

Step 5
Roast the turkey, basting every hour or so (you can go 2 to 3 hours safely without basting, but every hour is best), for about 10 hours, until the skin is crisp and evenly golden. (Basting often is the best way to ensure a crisp skin and a moist interior. You could not baste it as often, but the more you baste it, the crisper the skin, the more even the browning, and the juicier the interior.) At this point, the turkey can be safely cooled until you're ready to reheat and serve.

Step 6
Increase the oven temperature to 375°F. Continue to roast the turkey for about 40 minutes, until the skin is even crisper and more golden and the meat is fully cooked through. Let cool for at least 15 to 30 minutes before carving.

Source: https://food52.com/recipes/31910-slow-roasted-turkey

 

[El VMX]

If you are tired of a dry turkey. It is best to switch to a Juicy Roast Turkey Recipe.

Ingredients
Servings: 12 people

For the Turkey

• 12 lb turkey, (Anything from 11-15 lbs will work, but bake time will vary), thawed*
• Salt & Pepper, for the inside and outside of the bird

For the Flavored Butter

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened, (2 sticks)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil, not extra virgin, plus more to drizzle top
• 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon, plus 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
• 3 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
• 1/2 Tbsp salt, I used sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

For the Stuffing

• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1 lemon, quartered

Instructions

Prepping your Turkey

Remove thawed turkey* from the fridge about 30 minutes before you start working with it. If the turkey is closer to room temperature, it will bake more evenly. Remove the neck and bag of giblets and pat dry turkey with paper towels. Let it sit in a roasting pan lined with paper towels to soak up any excess water then discard the paper towels. Fold the wings behind the turkey so they don't scorch in the oven.

Seasoning, Stuffing, and Tying up a Turkey

Season inside of turkey cavity generously with about 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Make Flavored Butter – In a medium bowl or in a food processor*, combine: 2 sticks softened butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest, 4 Tbsp lemon juice, 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mash /stir with a fork until well combined (the lemon juice doesn't easily stir into butter but keep mixing and it will happen after a few minutes).

Separate the skin from the turkey breast by pushing your fingers under the skin. Do this from the front and the back of the turkey; being careful not to tear the skin.

Stuff 2/3 of the butter mixture under skin then spread the butter around by massaging over the top of the skin. This butter keeps the turkey breast tender, juicy and provides rich flavor.

Pat skin dry and rub remaining butter over the outside of the turkey (breast, legs, wings). Drizzle all over the top of the turkey with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper; I just love a crisp, salty skin.

Stuff turkey cavity with quartered onion, 4 halved garlic cloves, 1/2 bunch parsley and quartered lemon. Use kitchen string to tie turkey base and legs together; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity, plus it looks extra fancy on the table.

How to Roast a Turkey

Prep – Pre-heat the oven to 430˚F on the bake mode. Place oven rack in the lower part of your oven (mine was on the second level from the very bottom).

Make Foil Shield – to protect the turkey breast and keep it juicy: Fold a large square sheet of foil into a triangle. Rub one side of your triangle with olive oil and shape the foil (oil-side-down) over the turkey breast, then remove foil; it will shield your turkey breast and keep it from getting dry. You'll apply this shield later in the roasting process.

Place an oven-safe meat thermometer into the bird; beneath the drum stick; deep into the dark meat. Start roasting uncovered at 430˚F for 20 min.

Baste – Remove from oven; quickly baste with butter from the bottom of the dish. You can use a baster or tilt one side of the pan and collect drippings with a large spoon. Now apply prepared foil triangle to turkey breast area.

Reduce oven to 350˚F and bake for another 2 hours 30 min for a 12 lb bird. (Once you have reduced the oven to 350˚F, you will bake about 13 min for every pound of turkey). The turkey thigh should register at 170˚F on the temperature probe and the breast at 160˚F to make sure it's fully cooked through then remove from the oven (keep in mind the turkey temp continues to rise slightly after it's out of the oven*).

Rest Turkey – Transfer turkey to serving platter and cover loosely but fully with foil. Let turkey rest for at least 1 hour. It will become more tender and easier to carve, the longer it sits. Keep the drippings from roasting pan for turkey gravy. Now you can decorate around your turkey and make it festive. I used kale for my greens, then added small apples, sliced oranges and quartered lemons.

Notes

*To Thaw Turkey – If using a frozen turkey, defrost it in its plastic bag in the refrigerator 1 day for every 4-5 lbs (thaw a 12lb turkey for 3 days before roasting).
*A food processor makes it much easier to blend the lemon juice into t he flavored butter, saving time and effort.
*Final Temperature – As the turkey rests, it will continue to rise to a final temperature of 165˚F at the breast and 175-180˚F at the thigh.
*Nutrition label is a rough estimate – remember that most of the butter and oil will remain in the pan when the turkey is done roasting.

 

[bear pickles]

My family loves the Texas State Fair Pecan Pie. Here's the recipe that we found online.

Ingredients

Pie shell

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the pastry
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

Filling

1 1/2 cups pecan halves (5 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs
Unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving


Directions

Make the pie shell

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the ice water and pulse until the pastry is evenly moistened. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead two or three times, just until it comes together. Form the pastry into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry 1/8-inch thick; transfer into a deep 10-inch glass pie plate and trim the overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold the edge of the pastry under and crimp the edges. Prick the bottom with a fork in a few places. Freeze for 30 minutes.
3. Line the pie shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edge. Remove the paper and weights and bake the shell for 15 minutes longer, or until it is lightly golden. Leave the oven on.

Make the filling

1. In a pie plate, toast the pecans for 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, corn syrup, milk, flour, vanilla seeds, and salt. Cook over moderate heat just until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. In a heatproof bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the hot sugar mixture until thoroughly blended. Spread the toasted pecans in the bottom of the pie shell and pour the filling on top. Bake until the center is just barely set and the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. (If the pie is browning too quickly, loosely cover with foil and continue baking. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes of baking.) Transfer the pie to a rack to cool completely. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.