Sunset Magazines Dry Cured Rosemary Turkey Recipes

Steps:

• Let the turkey sit out for about 1 hour to come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Remove the packet of neck and giblets and set aside. Cut away any fatty pieces near the cavity or neck of the bird and discard. Pat the turkey dry inside and out with paper towels and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper inside and out. Combine the butter and chopped rosemary. Loosen the skin over the breast of the turkey and push half of the butter mixture under the skin and over the breast meat. Rub the skin of the turkey with the rest of the butter mixture. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with the lemons and rosemary sprigs. Tie the legs together with twine. Tuck the wings under the body of the turkey and put it, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Roast the turkey until it begins to turn golden, about 25 minutes. Loosely tent the breast with foil, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Continue cooking until the internal temperature near the thigh joint reaches about 155 degrees F. Remove the foil and continue roasting until it reaches 165 degrees F in the thigh joint, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer the turkey and rack to a cutting board and let rest about 30 minutes.
• Present the turkey whole on a platter garnished with the lemons from inside the cavity. To carve, first remove the wishbone, then legs, thighs and wings, and thinly slice the breast meat on an angle to serve.

Steps:

• THREE DAYS BEFORE serving, finely grind salt, marjoram, thyme, juniper berries, peppercorns and anise seeds.
• Remove and discard leg truss from turkey. Pull off and discard any lumps of fat. Remove giblets and neck and save them for gravy if desired. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Cut off wing tips to the first joint and reserve for gravy. Rub half of the herb mixture all over turkey; sprinkle remaining in body cavity. Cover and chill for 3 days.
• ON TURKEY DAY Preheat oven to 325 F (convection not recommended). Put rosemary sprigs and garlic inside body cavity. Gently separate skin from breast. Spread about half of the butter over breast under the skin. Melt remaining butter and brush lightly over top of turkey. Coat a V-shaped rack with cooking-oil spray and set in roasting pan. Place turkey, breast down, on the rack. Roast turkey for about 3 hours.
• Meanwhile you can boil the wing tips and giblits if you are making gravy.
• After 2 hours, turn turkey breast side up. Roast until a meat thermometer insterted into the thickest part of breast or thigh registers 185F (original recipe stated 160F but I got major flack for having an underdone turkey!).
• Tip turkey to drain juices from cavity into pan and transer to a platter. Let rest in a warm place, uncovered, for 15-30 minutes. Finish gravy, then carve turkey.