Online Turkey Recipes

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 pound Norbest Ground Turkey
1 egg
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon dried onions
1 tablespoon green peppers, chopped
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons catsup
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all Ingredients:; place in lightly greased 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 2 5/8-inch …

Ingredients:

12- to 14-lb. turkey, thawed if purchased frozen
1 bag, your favorite “Italian” croutons
2-4 bouillon cubes
2-3 stalks, celery, chopper or cubed
1 cup carrots, chopped
½ cup onions, finely chopped
1 tsp, dried parsley
1 cup, cashews
Pepper and Garlic Salt

STEPS:

1. Preheat your oven to 325. Remove the cooking racks, then place one rack into oven at the lowest position.

2. Unwrap your THAWED Turkey in a clean sink, and remove the giblets – that bag of stuff that you never thought you would use for anything because it looks gross. It’s not gross. You may have to unhook the metal clip which holds the legs together in order to get all the giblets out; you may have to run some warm water into the bird to get the giblets out. Don’t be afraid.

3. Start a medium-sized pot of water boiling – not more than 3 cups. Put your packet of giblets in the water (sans wrapping paper), along with your bouillon cubes and the carrots, celery and parlsey. 2 cubes will make a somewhat-mild flavored stuffing; 6 will make a very salty and spicy stuffing. You know what you like best, so add the cubes to the low end of your tolerance for spicy. For your reference, I usually use 4 cubes. Boil this mix for about 30 minutes – long enough to cook the giblets thoroughly.

4. While the soup is cooking, wash the Turkey thoroughly, inside and out. I wouldn’t use soap as you might miss a spot in the rinse and ruin your hours of hard work here, but washing the bird is an important health safety tip. If we were deep frying the bird (that’s the Christmas recipe), washing is pretty much unimportant because if some germ can survive the deep fryer, it will kill you before you eat any of the dinner. Anyway, clean the bird thoroughly and put it in a large roasting pan. For this recipe, the deeper the roasting pan, the better. I suggest a large disposable roasting pan from WAL*MART even though it might possibly ring up at the wrong price.

If you get bored waiting for the soup to finish up, this would be a good time to rub salt and pepper into the skin of your bird. Visually, salt and pepper the skin so that it looks like very light TV static. Do the top (the breast side) and the bottom (where the shoulders are); do not worry if you put less on the breast side. Because of the way this bird is going to cook, pay special attention to salting and peppering the wings and drumsticks.

5. You now have a clean, prepped bird and a very delicious-smelling pot of soup. You have to make stuffing now. Remove the soup from the heat and remove the giblets. If you are a complete carnivore (like me), take the fully-cooked giblets to your food chopper and chop them up and put them back into the soup (you can’t chop up the neck, but if you have 20 minutes, de-bone the neck and put your neck meat into the soup).

Those of you grossed out by chopping up the giblets can throw them away. The rest of us will weep for you.

Now empty the bag of croutons into the soup. If you used about 2 cups of water, you will get a somewhat-damp bread-and-soup mixture; if you used about 3 cups of water, you will get a very wet bread-and-soup mixture. I like the latter better, but some people like their stuffing more dry than others. The extraordinary secret here is that a soupier stuffing makes for a more-moist bird in the final product. After the soup and the bread are well- mixed, add the cashews and mix again.

6. When you have this mixing complete, use a tablespoon and start loading the stuffing into the bird. Pack the stuffing down into the bird to get the cavity of the body completely full of stuffing. Don’t leave any air pockets. Once the Turkey is completely stuffed, position it in the roasting tray breast-side down (I learned that from watching Emeril) in the center of the pan, and load the pan with the rest of your stuffing mix.

7. Cover the Turkey, and place it inside your oven. After 2 hours in the heat, remove the cover and roast for another hour. In this final hour, the skin of the exposed parts should turn golden brown. At the end of the third hour, test the bird with a meat thermometer; the center temperature should be 175-180 degrees F. It will be the most unbelievable bird you every ate.

INGREDIENTS

For brining:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
A double-layer food-grade plastic garbage bag such as Glad brand
Ice & an ice chest (for bigger birds that don’t fit in the fridge)
2 1/2 gallons cold water
2 cups kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 bay leaves, torn into pieces
1 bunch fresh thyme, or 4 tablespoons dried
1 whole head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
5 whole allspice berries, crushed
4 juniper berries, smashed

For roasting & basting:

1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground pepper
V-rack (to support the turkey)
Large turkey pan

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the water in a large non-reactive pot that can easily hold the liquid and the turkey.

Add all the ingredients and stir for a minute or two until the sugar and salt dissolve.

Put the turkey into the brine and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, depending on how salty you would like the taste. If the turkey floats to the top, cover it with plastic wrap and weight it down with a plate and cans to keep it completely submerged in the brine. Note: You may halve or double the recipe. (If the turkey is in an ice chest, smoosh out all the air pockets, close the bags and pack in the chest with ice; the important thing is to prepare enough brine to cover the turkey completely.)

Before roasting, remove the bird from the brine and drain well. Pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter over the skin 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground pepper over the skin and in the cavity.

Tuck the wing tips under, truss the legs (cover them waluminumnium foil) and place the turkey on a v-shaped rack in a roasting pan.

Tent the breast with foil and place the turkey in the oven.

After about 1 hour, remove the foil and baste the turkey with 1/2 cup chicken stock. Re-baste it with pan drippings and more stock, if desired, every 20 minutes.

Start checking the internal temperature after about 1 1/2 hours of roasting time. If the legs begin to overbrown, cover them loosely with foil. Roast about 2-2 3/4 hours until the internal temperature measured in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees. When pricked with a fork, the juices should run clear.

Before carving let the turkey rest 20-30 minutes after taking it out of the oven; the internal temperature will continue to rise several degrees.

BEST WAY BIG BIRD

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 20- to 22-pound turkey as directed above, but double the amount of softened butter, salt and pepper.
Roast and baste (using about 1 cup of stock) according to the above directions.
Cover the legs with foil if they begin to overbrown.
Roast until the internal thigh temperature registers 165 degrees, about 3 1/2 hours.

BRINED TURKEY GRAVY

INGREDIENTS

Pan drippings from brined turkey
3 1/2-4 cups of turkey stock or chicken broth
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup flour
Herbs, wine, or pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Pan juices from a brined bird may be saltier than from an unbrined one, so you may not want to use all of them.

Strain the pan drippings from the turkey roasting pan into a freezer-proof container.

Cool the drippings, then freeze them so the fat will rise to the top and harden.

Meanwhile, combine equal amounts of unsalted butter and flour (about 1 cup of each).

Cook this roux over medium heat, stirring, until it begins to look grainy, about 3-4 minutes.

Heat about 3 1/2-4 cups of turkey stock or chicken broth or equal amounts of water and stock in a sauce pot.

Whisk in a bit of the roux and bring to a simmer to thicken.

Add more roux, whisking, until the gravy thickens as desired. (You may not need all the roux; any leftover can be refrigerated or frozen for later.)

Remove the pan drippings from the freezer and discard the hardened fat off the top.

Add the drippings to the gravy, a tablespoon at a time, to balance the seasonings.

Add herbs, wine or pepper to taste, as desired.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1 cup quick oats (not instant)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 whole egg, lightly beaten

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a non-stick skillet, cook onion and garlic in oil over moderate heat.
3. Stir continuously until onion is softened (about 2 minutes).
4. Place onion and garlic in mixing bowl with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and ketchup.
5. Mix well.
6. Stir in oats, yogurt and egg.
7. Let stand 5 minutes.
8. Add turkey and mix well with your hands.
9. Place turkey mixture in a lightly oiled standard bread pan.
10. Bake 50 to 55 minutes (until meat thermometer inserted into meatloaf registers 170 degrees).
11. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

1 (10 pound) turkey
Salt, white pepper
Dressing #1:
1 pound chestnut puree
1 tablespoon veal demi-glace
Salt, black pepper
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Mix the chestnut puree with the veal demi-glace. When smooth season with salt and pepper and add the softened butter.
Dressing #2:
Clarified butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 ounces lean bacon
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Salt, black pepper
2 pounds ground pork
1 egg
Place 3 tablespoons clarified butter into a frying pan and add diced onion. Saute lightly. Cut bacon into fine strips and add to the onions. Fry together for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and place into a bowl with the chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper and add the ground pork. Combine ingredients with an egg and mix well.
Giblet Stock:
Turkey neck (1/2 pound meat), finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely sliced
Clarified butter
3 1/2 cups water
2 bay leaves
Sprig thyme
1/4 cup port
Place the onion into some of the clarified butter in a saucepan and allow to fry. Add the chopped turkey neck and brown. Add the water, bay leaves and thyme. Simmer the stock uncovered for 1 hour. After this time add 1/4 cup port and simmer for 5 minutes. To make the gravy, remove fat from baking pan and deglaze with the turkey stock. Serve gravy separately in a sauceboat.
For the turkey: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Paint grill rack with clarified butter. Place the chestnut dressing in the neck opening, pressing it in firmly. Place the pork dressing in the rear end. Truss the turkey. Lightly flour breast. Place the turkey on its side on a grill rack in a baking dish and bake for l hour. Turn the turkey onto the other side and roast for 1 hour. Turn the bird breast side uppermost and paint with clarified butter and season with salt and white pepper. Roast for a further 2 1/2 hours basting every 30 minutes with clarified butter.
Recommended drink: Good dry red wine, Claret style

1 whole turkey breast on the bone (6 to 7 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Dry Rub:
2 teaspoons onion salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Gravy:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
Mashed potatoes, for serving, if desired
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat large roasting pan with nonstick vegetable-oil cooking spray. Rub turkey on all sides with olive oil and lime juice.
Dry Rub: Mix onion salt, chili powder, dried oregano, cumin, garlic powder, allspice and cayenne in small bowl. Rub 1 1/2 tablespoons mixture over turkey.
Roast turkey in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on instant-read thermometer. Remove turkey to a warm place; let stand 10 minutes.
Gravy: Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from roasting pan. Sprinkle flour and 1/2 teaspoon of remaining dry rub over bottom of roasting pan; cook over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan, for about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth until smooth; cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Strain gravy through sieve into gravy boat; keep warm.
Cut off each 1/2 of the turkey breast from the bone. Wrap one 1/2 and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 4 months, for later use. Slice other 1/2 of turkey breast and serve with the gravy, and mashed potatoes, if desired.

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil
Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.
A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.
Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey, with giblets removed
1 quart chicken broth
2 ounces dried mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for rubbing on turkey
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning turkey
3 cups Challah bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (from approximately 4 to 5 slices)
4 ounces unsweetened dried cherries, approximately 1 cup
2 ounces chopped pecans, approximately 1/2 cup
2 whole eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning chicken
Special equipment: 1 re-usable organic cotton produce bag*
*Cook’s Note: The bag is optional. Once the stuffing is made, you can place the stuffing into the bag and then place the bag into the cavity of the turkey.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the turkey into a deep, high-sided bowl on its end with the stuffing end up. Set aside.
Heat the chicken broth in the microwave in a large microwave-proof container. Place mushrooms in a glass bowl and pour heated broth over them. Cover and allow to sit for 35 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl toss the onion, celery, and green pepper with the oil and salt. Place the vegetables on a sheet pan and roast for 35 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, spread the cubed bread over the vegetables, return to the oven, and continue cooking.
Drain mushrooms, reserving 1 cup of liquid. Chop the mushrooms and place in a large
microwave-proof bowl with the vegetables and bread, reserved chicken stock, cherries, pecans, eggs, sage, parsley and black pepper. Stir well in order to break up pieces of bread. Use your hands to combine, if necessary. Heat the stuffing in a microwave on high power for 6 minutes.
While the stuffing is heating, rub the bird with oil. Working quickly, place the stuffing into the cavity of the turkey to avoid losing heat. Place the turkey into a roasting pan, on a rack, and season with salt and pepper. Place the roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven. Roast for 45 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for another 60 to 75 minutes or until the bird reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F. Serve immediately.