Thursday, April 11, 2013

Roast Turkey

If you remember, I said last week that I was going to roast a turkey.  Well, I did indeed roast a turkey.  I found a 21 pound Butterball turkey in the freezer section of my local Aldi.


I did not want to thaw it in the refrigerator alone because it would take days.  Three to four days according to the label instructions.  Another option to thaw the bird more quickly is the cold water method where you submerge the entire turkey in cold water for five hours or so, depending on the weight.  So I used the cold water method and placed it in the kitchen sink for five hours and then placed it in the refrigerator overnight.  The next morning it was completely thawed.  There was a tiny bit of ice inside the cavity when I removed the neck and giblets.

The next order of business was to rinse it well, inside and out, pat it dry and then get to seasoning.  The first thing I did was to generously salt the cavity.  Then I rubbed him down with Carapelli Extra Light (In Taste)Olive Oil.


Then it was time for seasoning.  You can use whatever type of seasoning you like.  Season-all would work nicely.  I had a meat rub in the cabinet that I think I picked up at Aldi some time ago called "Meat Rub."




This handy container has four different flavors, but I decided on this particular rub for no particular reason.  It was a good choice, but I am certain that any of the other three would have been just as good.  There will be other turkeys to roast.


Here he is, cleaned and oiled and seasoned and ready to be roasted.


I decided I would use my electric roasting pan.  I have had this for quite a few years and I do not use it nearly often enough for things like roasting a turkey.  I decided it was high time to put it to use.

So, into the oven it went at 450 degrees for the first half hour and then back to 325 degrees for 5 hours for this 21 pound bird.  And how did it turn out?



Done to absolute perfection.  A beautiful color and so incredibly moist and delicious that you would not believe it.  The main problem I have had in the past when roasting a turkey in the oven is that they turn out dry.  I pull it out of the oven and baste and baste and baste and it is still dry.  The other problem with taking them out of the oven to baste is that is interrupts the cooking.  The temperature of the oven goes down with each opening of the oven door.  The bird is out of the oven on the counter while you are basting.  And in the end, it is still sometimes dry.  When using the electric roasting pan, you must not remove the lid even once, even for a minute to take a look because of the effect that has on the temperature inside the roaster.  If you do not lift the lid until the cooking time has ended, you too will have a perfectly roasted turkey.  I will post the recipe under the Food Design page.  Good luck to everyone who decides to roast a turkey in this way.  You will be very pleased with the final result.

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