Whole Oven Roasted Turkey Recipe [The Best Turkey EVER]

photo taken November 27, 2011


Originally posted November 29, 2010.

Unfortunately, I have no photos of the perfectly roasted turkey. We were all a bit too eager to dig into it, to stop and think about photography. I snagged one snapshot of the platter of poultry, but that's as good as it gets. 

But seriously, I have never heard so many people oooh and ahhhh over turkey ever before. I have eaten a lot of turkey in my day and I have to be honest---it was THE BEST turkey I have ever eaten. The flavor was perfect. It was so tender. And I didn't know a turkey could be that moist. Melt in your mouth, people. 

Don't be afraid of the turkey. Conquer it. You'll be glad you did. 

Whole Oven Roasted Turkey Recipe 
serves 6-10 people 


Ingredients

13-15lb frozen turkey (defrosted in the refrigerator one week in advance)

1/4 cup softened butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp Italian seasonings 

2 whole onions 

Directions

These directions are specifically for a frozen turkey, as that's what I worked with and had enormous success with at Thanksgiving. I investigated brining (salt water) recipes, but they were all for fresh turkeys. Most frozen turkeys have been injected with a sodium solution for preserving it, meaning no need to soak in salt water. :) 

Defrost your packaged frozen turkey in the refrigerator one week prior to your dinner. The night before your event, remove the turkey from plastic packaging and pull out the bags of innards. (You may discard these.) Prepare your roasting pan (or 9x13 inch pan) by placing a roasting rack in it. Rinse your turkey under running water. Dry off thoroughly with paper towels and place in the roasting pan, breast side up. 

In a small bowl combine the dry seasonings. 

Using your hands, spread the softened butter over every surface of the turkey--and if you want it to be extra good, rub the butter underneath the layer of skin covering the breast meat. Then, using your hands again, pat the spice mixture onto the buttered turkey. Be sure to get the underside and the crevices around the legs and wings. 

Peel the onions and chop into half. Place onions inside the turkey. 

Cover with tinfoil and refrigerate. 

One hour prior to baking time, remove the turkey from the fridge to bring to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake time is 10 minutes per pound. (I had a 13 pound turkey, so it baked from 10:45am to 1pm.) THEN increase oven temperature to 375. Melt a few tablespoons of butter and brush over the surface of the turkey. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh near the joint. Bake another 30 minutes or until temperature has risen to 170. (Note: if, at any point during baking time, skin is getting closer to over-browning, drape loosely with foil.) 

Once the turkey has reached 170 degrees remove from the oven and tent with foil, allowing it to rest for 30 minutes before carving (this will redistribute juices and make it melt-in-your-mouth delicious.) 

Herb Turkey Burger

I've heard many people say lean ground meat--especially turkey--can turn into really dry burgers. Yes, it's true that the added fat content can result in a really juicy, extra delicious burger. BUT, I don't like to clean up splattered grease, nor do I take pleasure in sopping up the fat from my cooked burger before partaking. (sorry for the grossness of that sentence.) 

But I'm here to tell you, low fat ground turkey burgers can be super juicy and delicious! It's all in the method! Be careful not to overcook the patty. Keep the heat low and slow, cooking 4 minutes on each side. Works for me! I hope it works for you too. :) 

Herb Turkey Burger

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 pound 93% lean ground turkey

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

salt

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 Tbsp bread crumbs

Directions

In a medium bowl use your hands to combine ground turkey, spices, and bread crumbs. Divide evenly into 2 sections. Form into patties with the middle slightly thinner than the edges to aid in even cooking. 

Heat a large skillet to medium. Cook burgers 4 minutes on each side. Serve atop bun with fresh lettuce, tomato and onion. 

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Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs

Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs 

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

Serves 3-4 

Ingredients

6-8 oz spaghetti (half dollar-sized bundle) 

1-1/2 cup pasta sauce (your favorite store-bought variety it fine)

1 lb lean ground turkey 

2-3 cloves garlic, grated or minced

1/4 small onion, grated

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs 

salt

pepper

Directions

In a medium bowl, use your hands to mix ground turkey with grated garlic and onion, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Do not over-process. Score into four even sections, then divide each section into three. Roll into balls. 

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Drizzle pan with canola oil. Once the pan is heated, add meatballs and cover. Turn over meatballs after 2-3 minutes. Cover and cook 2-3 more minutes. Check the inside of one meatball to see if juices run clear. If so, remove to a plate to cool. If not, rotate and cook another 2-3 minutes. 

Meanwhile, fill a 3 quart sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Add spaghetti noodles and add 2 or 3 pinches of salt to the water. Cook to al dente. 

In the same skillet used for the meatballs and leaving the stuck-on pieces, heat again to medium-low heat. Add spaghetti sauce and use a wooden spoon to scrape off the bits of cooked-on meat into the sauce. Add in meatballs and cook until everything is heated through. 

Serve sauce and meatballs (3 per person) over pasta. 

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Stuffed Zucchini with Turkey Sausage

I came across a fantastic new food blog called Simply Recipes and one of the featured recipes recently was this stuffed zucchini. Seeing as how I had 4 large zucchini in the fridge that I found for $0.10 each at Ciolino's I knew I needed some unique ways to use them...you know methods other than "mix with loads of sugar and flour and eggs and make into an amazing loaf of goodness." This was simple to put together and I had all the ingredients on hand (minus the fresh herbs, but I substituted dry ones.). It was really tasty. The zucchini flavor is not at all overpowering...in fact the flavors are quite mild. I'm not sure I would add the egg next time simply because it made the insides taste more like a breakfast casserole than I would have liked. Also, don't forget you can alter the spices to your liking and, if you love cheese as much as we do, you can add some shredded Muenster (or other variety) to the turkey mixture. I hope you, too, will enjoy this healthy meal.

1 zucchini about 12 inches long, or 6 medium ones

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 pound ground turkey

2 diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving shells about 1/4 inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides.

Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides, and sauté another 2 minutes.

In a separate skillet heat a Tbsp of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the ground turkey. Lightly brown the turkey, stirring only occasionally. After the turkey browns on one side, stir it so that it has a chance to brown on other sides. Cook until the ground turkey is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the onion and mushroom mixture from the other pan. Add the wine. Stir in tomato, basil and rosemary and cook 1 minute longer. Drain any excess fat. Remove mixture from heat and set it aside.

When mixture has cooled, add cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Fill zucchini shells with mixture. Fill a baking pan with 1/4 inch of water. Place filled zucchini halves in pan and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove zucchini from pan and serve while hot.

Serves 4.