Thanksgiving Turkey

My father is good at many things. One of my favorite things that he’s good at is making the Thanksgiving Turkey. With my family, we usually have 2 turkeys both between 20 to 24 lbs. That’s a lot of bird, and my dad is in charge of it all. So when it was requested that I make a video on how to do a Thanksgiving Turkey, I knew he was the man for the job. It’s finally happened, my father is finally sharing all of his turkey making secrets with you all in the video we created. I won’t go into too much detail in this blog post as it’s all in the video (and I get the impression most people skip this bit anyway…lol). I will, however, tell you something that was cut out of the video for time.

Not only can you do this recipe in a conventional oven, but you can also do it in an electric roaster. You would follow the same instructions as you would for the oven, except you would just use the rack that comes with the roaster and omit the pan. You can also omit the vegetables as they’ll have a greater chance of burning in the roaster than in the pan in the oven. A word of warning though. This turkey will not be very pretty. One of the downsides of using the electric roaster is that you cannot get a crispy brown skin. It won’t look dead like a boiled turkey skin, but it also won’t be winning any prizes for show. However, it will taste just as good.

I hope that you’ll enjoy the video that goes along with this recipe as it is chock full of great tips for your Thanksgiving bird. I also hope that you’ll give this recipe a try and let me know how it goes!

Remember you don’t have to be a professional chef to make magic in the kitchen.

Joe the Blue Wizard

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Thanksgiving Roasted Turkey

Author

Frank, The Blue Wizard Sr.

Is it your first Thanksgiving hosting for family or friends? Has your regular turkey recipe lacked luster in the past? Look no further than this video to help you out! My father, Frank, shares all his tips and tricks for making the most phenomenal Thanksgiving Turkey you've ever put past your lips!

Ingredients

• 1 12-24 lb Whole Frozen Turkey
• 3 tbsp. Kosher Salt, divided
• 1 tbsp. Baking Powder
• 2-3 medium Onions, diced
• 3 ribs Celery, chopped
• 3 large Carrots or 2 cups Baby Carrots, chopped
• 2-4 sprigs Fresh Thyme
• 2 sprigs Fresh Sage (optional)
• 12 oz. pkg Salt Pork

Instructions

Before the day

1. Defrost turkey ahead of time by leaving in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 day for every 4 pounds of turkey.

On the day,

1. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Prepare a roasting pan large enough to fit your turkey, with a V-rack that is wrapped in foil and sprayed with non-stick spray. Poke some holes in the foil wrapping to allow for air flow.
3. Using fingers or the handle of a wooden spoon, separate the turkey skin from the meat of the breast, legs, thighs, and back of the turkey. Avoid breaking the skin. If that should happen, pin back together with a toothpick.
4. Spread 2 tbsp. of the kosher salt between the skin and meat of the turkey, all over the bird.
5. Using paper towels, dry off the entire surface of the turkey.
6. Using toothpicks or metal skewers, poke any fat deposits 3 or 4 times through the skin.
7. In a small bowl, mix together remaining salt and baking powder. Sprinkle this mixture over the entire surface of the turkey skin and rub mixture in.
8. Using kitchen twine, tie together the legs of the turkey to keep them from flopping about.
9. In the bottom of the roasting pan, mix the onions, celery, carrots, thyme and sage (if using).
10. Pour enough water into the pan to cover the vegetables halfway.
11. Place the prepared v-rack over the vegetables.
12. Place the turkey, breast-side down, on the V-rack.
13. Cover the back of the turkey with slices of salt pork.
14. Place the pan and turkey into the pre-heated oven and roast until the turkey breast has an internal temperature of 130 degrees F. For a 12 lb turkey this should take about 1 1/2 hours. For larger, 20-24 lb, turkeys this could take anywhere from 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Check periodically throughout the cooking to add water to the vegetables so they do not burn.
15. Once the turkey has reached temperature remove it from the oven and adjust the oven to 450 degrees F.
16. Remove the salted pork from the turkey and flip the turkey over using clean kitchen towels or heat resistant gloves over your hands.
17. Replace the turkey in the oven and roast for a further 30 to 45 minutes, until the skin is brown and crisp, the internal temperature of the breast meat is around 160 degrees F, and the internal temperature of the thigh meat is around 175 degrees F.
18. Remove turkey from the oven and allow to rest, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes before carving as desired.
19. Enjoy!

Optional

1. Strain juices from the bottom of the pan, remove the fat and use the juices to make turkey gravy!

See us make this recipe on YouTube!