Roasted Turkey – Thanksgiving Roast Turkey

Thanksgiving=Turkey!

In USA, thanksgiving is in November, less than a month away from today. However, in Canada, it was in October so I’ve already roasted the big bird. This was the first time I’d roasted the whole turkey. Roasting a turkey might seem like a daunting task, honestly it’s not that hard as we think. All you need is some preparations and you will have a stunning bird ready on your dining table. The best part is that all the roasting is done inside the oven so just place the big bird in the oven, put the timer on and relax till it has roasted to perfection.

Here are some preparations you have to do:

• It’s better to choose medium-sized turkey rather than gigantic ones as it’s easier to roast and also medium ones will be moist and juicy.
•  If you are buying frozen turkey, you need to defrost it. Defrosting can be done by keeping the bird in the refrigerator or by placing the bird without removing its packaging in a large pot filled with cold water.

How to roast turkey: 

Ingredients:

• Whole turkey, 10 lbs or 5 kgs- 1, thawed if frozen ( I used young turkey and it was one legged)
• Butter, melted- 3 tbsp + 3 tbsp
• Ground black pepper- 1 tsp
• Salt- 1 1/2 tsp

To stuff inside the turkey: (Optional)

• Onion, chopped large- 1
• Carrot, diced-1
• Celery, diced-1 stalk
• Thyme leaves- 1 stalk
• Lemon, quartered- 1
• Butter, unsalted and melted- 1 tbsp
• Salt- 1 tsp

Instruction

• In a large bowl, combine the above-mentioned ingredients to stuff inside the turkey.
• If using frozen turkey, defrost it by keeping it in the refrigerator the previous day or by placing it in a large pot filled with cold water for 5 hours or till it’s thawed.
• Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C.
• After the turkey has thawed well, rinse under running water, squeeze some lemon juice inside and out of the turkey, and rinse under running water.
• Pat dry with kitchen paper towels, discard giblets, liver, and neck.
• Spoon the stuffing inside the cavity of the turkey, don’t overstuff it.
• Spread the outside of the turkey with ground black pepper and salt.
• Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Don’t place the turkey directly on the roasting pan, keep it on a rack so that the bottom side won’t burn.
• Brush all over the turkey with 3 tbsp melted butter.
• Roast the turkey uncovered for a total of 2 hours 30 minutes.
• After every hour, brush the turkey with the remaining melted butter.
• Take the turkey off the oven, place it on a large platter, and cover it with aluminum foil to keep it warm.
• Allow the turkey to stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
• Before carving the turkey, if you want you could remove the vegetables from the cavity.
• Carve using a large carving knife.
• Save the drippings that are on the roasting pan for making the gravy.
• [b]Making the gravy[/b]
• Add the dripping into a saucepan and place over medium heat, let come to a slight boil.
• In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water, combine well and let the cornstarch dissolve. Add the cornstarch slurry to the gravy, combine well and cook for 2 minutes till the gravy thickens.
• Remove the pan from the heat, pour the gravy over the turkey and enjoy.

Tips:

• Thaw the frozen turkey well.
• Rinse the turkey inside out under running water.
• Place the turkey on a rack first, then keep it in the roasting pan.
• Brush with butter frequently to have a golden browned skin.
• Let the turkey stand for 20 minutes before carving.

Roasted Turkey - Thanksgiving Roast Turkey

 

Print

Cook time

2 hours 30 mins

Total time

2 hours 30 mins

 

Author: Thasneen

Ingredients

• Whole turkey, 10 lbs- 1, thawed if frozen ( I used young turkey and it was one legged)
• Butter, melted- 3 tbsp + 3 tbsp

To stuff inside the turkey: (Optional)

• Onion, chopped large- 1
• Carrot, diced-1
• Celery, diced-1 stalk
• Thyme leaves- 1 stalk
• Lemon, quartered- 1
• Butter, unsalted and melted- 1 tbsp

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the above mentioned ingredients to stuff inside the turkey.
2. If using frozen turkey, defrost it by keeping it in the refrigerator or by placing it in a large pot filled with cold water for 5 hours or till it's thawed.
3. After the turkey has thawed well, rinse under running water, squeeze some lemon juice inside and out of the turkey, and rinse under running water.
4. Pat dry with kitchen paper towel, discard giblets, liver and neck.
5. Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C.
6. Spoon the stuffing inside the cavity of the turkey, don't overstuff it.
7. Spread the outside of the turkey with ground black pepper and salt.
8. Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
9. Don't place the turkey directly on the roasting pan, keep it on a rack so that the bottom side won't burn.
10. Brush all over the turkey with 3 tbsp melted butter.
11. Roast the turkey uncovered for a total of 2 hours 30 minutes.
12. After every hour, brush the turkey with the remaining melted butter.
13. Take the turkey off the oven, place on a large platter, and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
14. Allow the turkey to stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
15. Before carving the turkey, if you want you could remove the vegetables from the cavity.
16. Carve using a large carving knife.
17. Save the drippings that are on the roasting pan for making the gravy.
18. Making the gravy
19. Add the dripping into a saucepan and place over medium heat, let come to a slight boil.
20. In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp cornstarch with ½ cup cold water, combine well and let the corn starch dissolve. Add the corn starch slurry to the gravy, combine well and cook for 2 minutes till the gravy thickens.
21. Remove the pan from the heat, pour the gravy over the turkey and enjoy.

Notes

Thaw the frozen turkey well.
Rinse the turkey inside out under running water.
Place the turkey on a rack first, then keep it in the roasting pan.
Brush with butter frequently to have a golden browned skin.
Let the turkey stand for 20 minutes before carving.

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