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Prep Time: 1560 Minutes Cook Time: 360 Minutes |
Ready In: 1920 Minutes Servings: 24 |
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This is my roast turkey for Thanksgiving or other festive occasion prepared using ingredients available to our founding fathers, or maybe we should say mothers. I decided, after living in Europe for many years, and consuming much garlic, paprika and delicious olive oil, that I needed to Get my Thanksgiving On . I consulted my mother and cousins state-side, and my favorite cook book - the 1933 edition of Fanny Farmer, and from those beginnings I came up with my own preparations, based on what I believe would have been the ingredients available to a cook at around the time the first thanksgiving was celebrated. I usually roast a turkey weighing 16-18 pounds cuz I can't fit a larger bird in my oven. This is a great size for serving up to 24 reasonably hungry adults with a sprinkling of children. I have always been able to get a fresh bird, and once even fattened my own for about 2 months on veggie scraps from soup makings, fruit parings and shucked corn. That was a memorable bird. I do recommend cooking your stuffing in the bird. It is just so much better. I don't have a favorite stuffing recipe per se but like my stuffing to be mostly pork and walnuts, chestnuts, sage and thyme. Ingredients:
1 medium whole turkey |
1 gallon warm water |
1/4 lb sea salt |
6 -8 lemons (or 4 lemons and 3 cups cider vinegar) |
1 cup butter (the real stuff) |
3/4 cup lard (real lard, not veggie substitute) |
1/2 cup sea salt |
1/3 cup fresh ground pepper |
3 tablespoons sage |
3 tablespoons rosemary |
3 tablespoons thyme |
Directions:
1. 24 hours prior to baking:.
2. clean turkey inside and out using cold water and a soft brush and tweezers for getting out those more stubborn feathers.
3. place the bird in a deep tub.
4. heat enough water to cover the bird, dissolve the sea salt in the water.
5. Pour the water over the bird and add the lemons in slices (and the vinegar).
6. Weigh down the bird so that it doesn't float and is completey submerged.
7. (I usually place a wooden carving board on the bird, upon which I place heavy rocks).
8. After 24 hours preheat oven to high (I don't have a thermostat on my oven so I can't be very accurate here, but the oven needs to be hot).
9. Remove the bird from the brine and dry very thoroughly with paper towels inside and out.
10. Blend the lard and butter and spread over the bird, inside and out.
11. Mix in a bowl the sea salt, pepper, sage, rosemary and thyme, crush gently with a pestle.
12. Rub this mix all over the bird inside and out.
13. You should place your stuffing in the neck and chest cavities and truss in the usual manner, protecting the leg and wing tips with aluminum foil. You can prepare your stuffing well ahead.
14. Place on a roasting rack, over a drippings tray, and put in the oven. I like to get the bird going at a very high temp for about 30 mins, turn down the temperature to medium, pour a little white wine in the drippings tray, and time out the bird to roast approximately 20 minutes per pound.
15. Start basting after about an hour and 15 minutes.
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