I sent my trusted Sous Chef out for a chicken, and instead he brought back a 15 lb turkey, (we moved into a new neighborhood and are just figuring out where the shops and grocers are). Well, I’ve actually never roasted a turkey before, and I have a turkey tetrazzini recipe I want to try out, so I came up with this incredibly simple preparation method that maximizes the moisture and flavor of the roasting method, and allowed for several different products: stock, fond, soup, dark meat, white meat, and a decadent first meal of skin-on roasted leg and wing that we enjoyed with a sharp endive and pear salad. Life is good, gobble-gobble!!!
What you’ll need…
15 lb turkey, room temperature
1 splash of rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Pepper and Sea Salt
2 tsp of dry french herbs
1/4 large white onion, quartered
1 celery stalk, quartered
2 carrots, quartered
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F, and set the rack on the lower rung. Clean and dry the turkey, rub the inside of the cavity with half of the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and herbs, and then stuff with the vegetables. Place the bird breast side down on the roasting rack inside a large roasting pan, and rub the rest of the olive oil on the outside skin. Sprinkle more salt generously over everything, and crack some pepper as well, and that’s about it. You can tie off the legs and wings if you like, but as I was planning on using the meat for other dishes and not concerned with presentation, I skipped this step. Put the lid on the pan, open the vents if it has them, and put it into the oven for 1/2 hour, then turn the heat down to 350˚ and roast for another 2 1/2 hours or until the leg pulls easily from the body and the juices are clear. If you prefer to use a thermometer, the breast meat should register 165˚. I go by the method I mentioned above.
I made this turkey whilst running errands, one of the great joys of roasting meats. I put it in the oven, then worked on the computer for 1/2 hour, and once I had the heat turned down, I left to train at the gym and pick up some groceries. So easy, my favorite kind of recipe!
I enjoyed my first bit of turkey roasted quickly under the broiler to crisp up the skin, and had that with a side of crisp endive-pear salad. There were substantial juices left in the pan, so strained them through a sieve and then I reduced the juices for about 15 minutes on medium-high heat in the roasting pan on the stove top until I had captured the fond. The is a particularly rich gelatin that you can use as a soup or sauce base, and it’s rich in minerals and nutrients that support our own connective tissue. Once it sets in the fridge, it’s easy to scrape off excess fat from the top, and I divided the remaining fond into two portions: one for the freezer and one for the fridge. The bones I kept to make as a stock base for a big batch of turkey soup, and I finally made my Turkey Tetrazzini on Sunday night, (you’ll have to try that recipe out on a high fat-high protein meal). It’s guy approved, easy to make and the taste is unbelievable…
Have fun cooking and preparing your own turkey, and stay creative in the kitchen. There’s a ton of things you can do with each part of the bird, so that you’ll never get tired of the taste!
