Recipes/Turkey_Roast

Roast Turkey

roughly 12-16 lbs / 5.5-7kg Turkey

Note: If you want to brine the turkey - putting a frozen turkey in the fridge overnight, and then in the brine around 8:30am seemed to work well. The brine I used was 1 cup sea salt, 1 cup sugar, 5 bay leaves and a healthy dose of sage, garlic powder and ground coriander. Even with a mostly frozen turkey you need to get the brine quite cold for it to stay cold. I’d recommend making the brine the night before and leaving it in the fridge overnight next time.

  1. pre-heat the oven to 450F / 230C
  2. Remove the neck and any organs inside, and put the bird breast up on a grill above a shallow roasting pan
  3. cut up a small apple (can leave skin on)
  4. mix together a teaspoons of salt, a couple teaspoons of ground sage, a teaspoon of garlic powder, and a teaspoon of ground coriander, and rub it all over the outside, and inside of the bird, try to get some of it up under the skin where you can.
  5. loosely put some of the apple chunks inside the cavity - add any remaining spice mixture. You can put some fresh herbs as well, sage, etc - although it isn’t necessary.
  6. put about 1 cup of cold water into the roasting pan
  7. spray the birds skin with a small amount of veggie oil
  8. put it in the oven and let it cook for 30m, then turn the temp down to 350F.
  9. let it cook for the remaining time at 350F. total time should be roughly 9m per pound / 20m per kg. insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh at least 30m before it should be done, since the time will vary. The bird should come out when the temperature is 165F / 74C - it will continue to heat up as it rests.
  10. let the bird rest for at least 30 minute. prepare the gravy during this time. Take the drippings from the pan and scrap the bottom, add 2 cups of veggie or chicken broth, and a bit more sage / salt / garlic as needed, and bring to a boil - add 2-3 tbsp of cornstarch mixed in a bit of water until thickened.

You can prepare the stuffing and mashed potatoes earlier in the day and put them in the oven as soon as the Turkey comes out to heat them up.