ROAST TURKEY my way :))

   Turkey ready to go in the oven
Buy the best quality turkey available (organic, free-range, etc.) and cook it “breast-side down”. Cooks the turkey stuffing separately, not in the cavity, which makes it easier t...o cook the turkey more evenly.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours

Ingredients
1 turkey, approx. 15 lbs.*
Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Olive oil or melted butter
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
Tops and bottoms of a bunch of celery
2 carrots
Parsley
Sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme

12-15 lb turkey for 10-12 people
15-18 lb turkey for 14-16 people
18-22 lb turkey for 20-22 people

Method
1 To start, if the turkey has been refrigerated, bring it to room temperature before cooking. Keep it in its plastic wrapping until you are ready to cook it. While in the refrigerator, and or while you are bringing it to room temp, have the bird resting in a pan, so that if the plastic covering leaks for any reason, you are confining the juices to the pan. If you get a frozen turkey, you will need to defrost it in the refrigerator for several days first. Allow approximately 5 hours of defrosting for every pound. So, if you have a 15 pound turkey, it will take about 75 hours to defrost it in the refrigerator, or around 3 days.

Handle a raw turkey with the same amount of caution as when you handle raw chicken - use a separate cutting board and utensils to avoid contaminating other foods. Wash you hands with soap before touching anything else in the kitchen. Use paper towels to clean up.

Remove the neck and giblets (heart, gizzard, liver). Use the heart and gizzard for making stock for the stuffing. The neck can be cooked along side the turkey or saved for turkey soup. Or all of the giblets can be used for making giblet gravy.

Note that if your turkey comes with a plastic piece holding the legs together, check the instructions on the turkey's package. Most likely you do not need to remove those plastic ties for cooking (unless you plan to cook your turkey at a very high temperature). If you remove the plastic ties, you will need to use kitchen string to tie the legs together.

2 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

3 Wash out the turkey with water. Pull out any remaining feather stubs in the turkey skin. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Lather the inside of the cavity with the juice of half a lemon. Take a small handful of salt and rub all over the inside of the turkey.

4 In this method of cooking a turkey, we don't make the stuffing in the turkey because doing so adds too much to the cooking time. For flavor, put in inside the turkey a half a yellow onion, peeled and quartered, a bunch of parsley, a couple of carrots, and some tops and bottoms of celery. You may need to cap the body cavity with some aluminum foil so that the stuffing doesn't easily fall out. Close up the turkey cavity with either string (not nylon string!) or metal skewers. Make sure that the turkey's legs are tied together, held close to the body, and tie a string around the turkey body to hold the wings in close.

The neck cavity can be stuffed with parsley and tied closed with thin skewers and string.

5 Rub either melted butter or olive oil all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle salt generously all over the outside of the turkey (or have had it soaking in salt-water brine before starting this process). Sprinkle pepper over the turkey.

6 Place turkey BREAST DOWN on the bottom of a rack over a sturdy roasting pan big enough to catch all the drippings. Cooking the turkey breast down means the skin over the breast will not get so brown. However, all of the juices from the cooking turkey will fall down into the breast while cooking. And the resulting bird will have the most succulent turkey breast imaginable.

Add several sprigs of fresh (if possible) thyme and rosemary to the outside of the turkey.

7 You can chop up the turkey giblets (gizzard, heart). Put into a small saucepan, cover with water, add salt. Bring to simmer for an hour or so to help make stock for the stuffing (if you are making stuffing).

8 Put the turkey in the oven. Check the cooking directions on the turkey packaging. Gourmet turkeys often don't take as long to cook. With the turkeys we gets, we recommends cooking time of about 15 minutes for every pound. For the 15 lb turkey, start the cooking at 400 F for the first 1/2 hour. Then reduce the heat to 350 F for the next 2 hours. Then reduce the heat further to 225 F for the next hour to hour and a half.

If you want the breast to be browned as well, you can turn the bird over so that the breast is on top, and put it in a 500°F oven or under the broiler for 4-5 minutes, just enough to brown the breast. Note that if you do this, you will have a higher risk of overcooking the turkey breast.

Start taking temperature readings with a meat thermometer, inserted deep into the thickest part of the turkey breast and thigh, an hour before the turkey should be done. You want a resulting temperature of 175°F for the dark meat (thighs and legs) and 165°F for the white meat (breast). The temperature of the bird will continue to rise once you take it out of the oven, so take it out when the temperature reading for the thigh is 170°F, and for the breast 160°F. If you don't have a meat thermometer, spear the breast with a knife. The turkey juices should be clear, not pink.

9 Once you remove the turkey from the oven, let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Turn the turkey breast side up to carve it.

Making Turkey Gravy
Scrape all the drippings off of the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour drippings into a smaller skillet. Ladle off excess fat with a gravy spoon and save for possible use later. In a separate small bowl take a quarter cup of corn starch and add just enough water to dissolve the corn starch. Beat cornstarch with a spoon to remove lumps. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the drippings, stirring constantly. You may not end up using all of the cornstarch mixture. Only add as much as you need to get the desired thickness. Allow time for the cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, or other seasonings to taste.

Save Bones for Stock
When you are finished with your turkey, save the bones from the carcass to make a delicious turkey soup.

SPINACH TURKEY ROLLS

(RECIPE POSTED BY MANON VEILLEUX)

2 turkey cutlets or turkey breasts
1 bag (400g) spinach
2 tbsp. oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
4 shallots, peeled and cut into 4 pieces
2 tbsp. Tarragon leaves
6 carrots, peeled and cut in 4 pieces lenghtwise
1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon and minus 1 teaspoon water

Flatten cutlets with rolling pin or the palm of your hand.
Rinse spinach and discard stem.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in pan and fry the spinach leaves for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once in a while. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Season turkey cutlets with salt and pepper on both side, layer spinach on top and roll up jelly-roll style and seal with toothpicks or tie cutlets with food string to keep it together.
Fry shallots in 1 tablespoon of oil. Once shallots are clear, add the turkey rolls with tarragon leaves and carrots.
Add water and let simmer covered for 40 minutes.
Turn meat once in a while and add water if necessary.
Once the meat is cooked, remove string or toothpicks. Slice the cutlets and arrange on a platter. Surround the cutlets with carrots, shallots and sauce.
Decorate with Tarragon leaves.

THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS CASSEROLE

2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cups of leftover vegetables (green beans and mushrooms are my favorites in this)
2 cups of leftover stuffing
2 cups leftover turkey (or any other meat)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (optional, I don’t add it, but it’s in the original recipe)
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2-Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining vegetables and the turkey. Mix together and remove from heat.
3-In a casserole dish (9×13-inch), spread the stuffing over the bottom. Add the turkey and vegetable mixture and spread evenly on top of the stuffing. If using, add the can of cream of mushroom soup and spread on top of the meat and vegetable mixture. In a medium bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes and the eggs until thoroughly combined. Spread this on top of the turkey and vegetable mixture (or the cream of mushroom soup, if you used it). Top with the shredded cheese.
4-Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH GROUND BEEF AND TURKEY

(RECIPE POSTED BY DARLENE FALLS) 

I like the sweet potato version, but I am the only one at my house who does, so I made 2 kinds.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 Large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
1 parsnip, coarsley chopped
1 Cup of green beans, cleaned and in 1 inch pieces
1 Cup of corn
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp salt and pepper
2 pounds sweet potatoes, or white potatoes
chopped parsley (optional)

Brown meat in a Dutch oven until cooked, stirring frequently. Drain meat and set aside.
In same Dutch oven, add chopped vegetables and saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Return the meat to the pan. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally about 25 minutes until a rich stew has formed.
Meanwhile cook and prepare mashed potatoes.
Preheat oven to 400.
Transfer meat mixture to casserole dish. Smooth out to an even layer.
Spread the mashed potatoes over the surface and smooth with a spatula.
Bake 12-15 minutes until heated through and the bubbling around edges.

TURKEY LOAF

 slow-cooker recipe

1 large egg, fork-beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
Pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. prepared horseradish
1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. prepared mustard

Combine first 6 ingredients in bowl. Mix well. Add ground turkey. Mix.
Turn into greased slow-cooker.
Mix ketchup and mustard in small cup. Spread over top.
Cover. Cook on Low for 5 to 6 hours or on High for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
Serves 6.

TURKEY POTPIE

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley or 1 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
Pinch of salt and pepper

Crust:
3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup ice water
Half-and-half cream

In a bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients. Stir in turkey, vegetables, salt and poepper. Spoon into a greased 11 x 7 baking pan.
For crust:
combine potato flakes, flour and Parmesan in a bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Add water, 1 tbsp. At a time, tossing lightly with a fork until the dough forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to fit baking dish. Cut vents in crust.

Place over filling; flute edges. Brush pastry with cream. Bake at 400'F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. If necessary, cover edges of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning.
Yield: 6 servings.

BBQ TURKEY BURGERS

(recipe from Chef Claire Robinson)

2 pds ground turkey
1/4 cup Water
Pinch of salt and black pepper
3 tbsp. oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup BBQ sauce of your choice
Potato rolls, split in 1/2

Add the turkey to a large bowl along with 1/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and mix to combine. Mold the turkey into 16 patties. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the patties and cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions and caramelize over medium heat, adding water as needed, to deglaze the pan. Add the BBQ sauce and keep warm.
Top each potato roll bottom with a turkey patty and spoon some of the BBQ caramelized onions over the top.
Cover with the roll tops and enjoy!
Note: Don't buy extra-lean turkey.

BAR-B-QUE CHICKEN

1 whole chicken or turkey
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup vinegar
1/8 cup margarine
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika

In a saucepan on medium heat, mix all ingredients except chicken until well blend, till sugar
dissolves.
Place chicken or turkey in roasting pan.
Remove fat from bird.
Pour half of the sauce inside chicken cavity, then spread remaining sauce evenly over chicken.
Cover with foil, then lid.
Cook at 325’F for 3 hours. Thicken gravy.
Yummy!!! :))