Trisha Yearwoods Roasted Turkey Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• For the turkey: Pat the turkey dry, inside and out. Place the onion and orange quarters into the cavity, tie the drumsticks together and tuck the wings under the bird.
• Rub butter all over the skin, then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place the turkey on a rack set over a roasting pan. Roast for 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring the orange juice and maple syrup to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat.
• After 25 minutes, turn down the oven to 375 degrees F and glaze the turkey with the orange-maple mixture. Continue to roast, glazing the turkey every 25 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F, 3 to 4 hours more, depending on the oven. Let rest for 15 minutes.
• For the gravy: Meanwhile, Heat the olive oil and butter in a thick-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and thyme, and cook until brown. Add the flour; cook for 1 minute.
• While whisking, slowly add the turkey drippings. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until thickened, 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
• Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

Steps:

• 1. To Brine or Not To Brine - If you prefer to brine your turkey, do this the day before you plan to cook it. Brining helps season and draw moisture into the meat to keep it flavorful and juicy. A good rule of thumb is to use 1 cup of table salt and 1/2 cup sugar for every gallon of water. I allow at least 8-12 hours but no more that 24 hours. Add onions or herbs to the water and put into a container or brining bag so that the turkey is completely submerged. It must be kept cold, either in the refrigerator, or an ice chest with lots of ice around the brining bag or container. When finished discard the brine. If you don't want to brine the turkey then skip this step.
• 2. Remove giblets from inside of turkey and set aside. Thoroughly wash the turkey, removing any feathers or quills and clean out the inside of the cavity. Pat the inside and outside completely dry and set aside to continue air drying.
• 3. Peel onions and cut them into wedges or thick rings, do not separate the layers. Clean the carrots and celery and cut into 3-4 inch chunks. Cut the apple into wedges.
• 4. In a large roasting pan place most of the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and apple into the bottom of the pan. Add the stock or water and put the roasting rack into the pan. (Note) If you are not going to use the giblets and neck for anything else, put those pieces into the bottom of the roaster.
• 5. Put the dry turkey onto a large platter and liberally spread the butter all over the surface of the turkey, around the wings and legs, and inside the cavity. This works best when the butter is room temperature and soft, but if you prefer to work with melted butter that's fine. It will start to get solid on the cold turkey. Put butter inside the cavity and under the skin of the breast and thighs, being careful not to tear the skin. Secure large flaps of excess skin and fat with toothpicks to close up the neck cavity. Also leave on the big the tail piece. Put any remaining butter into the roasting pan. You need a lot of butter to create the fat for making turkey gravy later. If you like to inject your turkey, now is the time to do it. I don't.
• 6. Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper into the cavity and all over the outside of the turkey. Take the remaining onions, celery, carrot, garlic and apple and put that inside the cavity. If you like the flavor of rosemary, thyme, or sage then add a little fresh pieces to the cavity. These are strong herbs so a little goes a long way.
• 7. Set the turkey on the roasting rack BREAST SIDE DOWN. This allows the butter and fat from the skin and cavity work its way into the breast meat to keep it super moist. If you MUST, you can put the breast side up. Tie the legs together with string to hold all of the vegetables on the inside.
• 8. Put the oven rack on the lowest position inside your oven and put the turkey into a COLD oven. Close the door and set the temperature to 500 degrees. Once the oven has reached 500 degrees set your timer for 1 hour. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! After 1 hour of baking turn the oven off and leave the door CLOSED. NO PEEKING! I do this right before going to be and in the morning the whole house will smell like roasted turkey and it will be completely cooked and juicy.
• 9. *THIS IS THE TRICK TO A BEAUTIFUL BIRD: Use heavy duty aluminum foil and double it. Use a piece long enough to tent the turkey over the top leaving an opening on both ends for the air to flow through. I just tuck the foil between the pan and rack to hold it in place and fix it so that the foil isn't actually touching the bird.
• 10. This is optional, but in the morning if you want to, carefully drain the liquid from the cavity into the baking pan and turn the turkey over. Put it back in the oven on 500 degrees and cook for about 15 minutes to brown the breast. The turkey will remain somewhat warm in the oven but it can be reheated briefly without getting dried out.
• 11. Use the fat and drippings in the pan to make your turkey gravy.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chopped onion and saute until softened and brown, about 6 minutes. Add the parsley and cook for another minute. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the turkey with the breadcrumbs, egg, 1/4 cup of the ketchup, cooked onion mixture, salt and pepper. Mix until fully combined. Form into a loaf and transfer to a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon, brush the remaining 3 tablespoons of ketchup over the loaf.
• Evenly scatter the sliced onions over the loaf, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until the meatloaf is cooked through, 55 to 60 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small skillet over medium-low heat, add 2 teaspoons of the oil and heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened and brown, about 10 minutes. Add the parsley and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the mixture and set aside to cool. Add the remaining teaspoon of oil to the same skillet. Add the carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Place the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, ketchup, egg, the onion mixture, 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper in a food processor and pulse until fully combined. Transfer to a large bowl and add the carrots. Mix until combined. Form into a loaf and transfer to a casserole dish or baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, spread the BBQ Glaze over the top. Drape the bacon over the loaf in a crisscross pattern, tucking the ends underneath. Brush more glaze over the bacon layer. Bake until firm and cooked through, 55 to 60 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• Stir together the ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar, dry mustard and 1/3 cup water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Steps:

• Combine the mayonnaise, milk, parsley, dill, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, garlic salt and pepper in a blender and process until smooth, about 2 minutes. Measure out 3/4 cup of the ranch dressing and set the remainder aside for serving at the table.
• Fill a turkey injector with the 3/4 cup ranch dressing and inject 2 tablespoons of the dressing into each thigh of the turkey, 1 tablespoon into each drumstick and 3 tablespoons into each breast. Let the turkey stand at room temperature for 30 minute to let the dressing soak into the meat. Discard any of the unused ranch dressing in the injector (it has been in contact with the raw turkey).
• Mix together the olive oil and melted butter in a small bowl. Brush the turkey with the oil mixture and then sprinkle with salt.
• Preheat an oil-less fryer for cooking (alternatively, follow oven-roasting directions below). Place the turkey breast-side up in the fryer with the legs in the deepest part. Cook the turkey until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reaches 160 degrees F, about 2 hours. (The breast cooks slower than the legs in the oil-less fryer; carryover cooking will cook it the rest of the way through.) Remove the basket insert with the turkey and let the bird rest at least 30 minutes over a roasting pan. Remove the turkey from the basket, carefully dislodging any parts of the turkey that are touching the basket so the skin does not tear. Carve the turkey and serve with the reserved ranch dressing or gravy.
• Alternatively, roast the turkey in the oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Inject the turkey with the dressing as directed above and set it in a roasting pan. Roast, basting every 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh reaches 160 degrees F, about 3 hours (the carryover cooking will cook it the rest of the way through). Transfer to a carving board and let rest 30 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Remove any feathers and quills with pliers (kosher turkeys tend to require this more than others).
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly in turkey cavities and all over skin. Fold neck skin under body and, if desired, secure with metal skewer, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.
• Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F). Cut off and discard string from turkey.
• For a stuffed turkey:
• Twelve cups of stuffing will fill both cavities and leave you extra to bake separately. Just before roasting, spoon room-temperature stuffing loosely (stuffing expands as it cooks) into the neck (smaller) cavity. Fold the neck skin underneath the body and secure with a small metal skewer. Then loosely fill the body (larger) cavity, and tie drumsticks together. If you don't want any stuffing to spill out, cover the opening with a slice of fresh bread, tucking it inside the cavity before tying the drumsticks. Follow roasting directions above. (Timing for a stuffed bird may be slightly longer, but start checking the temperature at 1 3/4 hours.) Immediately transfer stuffing from body cavity to a shallow baking dish (separate from one for stuffing baked outside the turkey). Take temperature of stuffing in neck cavity and if less than 165°F, add it to the baking dish. Bake (covered for a moist stuffing or uncovered for a crisp top) until it reaches a minimum of 165°F. This can take 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven, which you may have lowered to reheat side dishes.
• For a roast turkey breast:
• The same method used above can be applied to a whole turkey breast (instead of the entire bird). For a 6- to 8-pound breast (with skin and bone), reduce amount of salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons and pepper to 3/4 teaspoon. Use a V-rack instead of a flat rack. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted in thickest part of each breast half (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let stand 30 minutes (temperature in breast will rise to between 175°F and 180°F). (For a grilled turkey option, see Grilled Whole Turkey.)