Epic Holiday Turkey

The holiday turkey, this is the main event right? The Epic Holiday Turkey! I have made turkey so many different ways over the years. I’ve made turkey with brine, stuffed butter under the skin, roasted breast side down, on the barbecue, basted it constantly, with a layer of bacon on top of it. You name, it I’ve done it!

There are so many tricks to get the perfect holiday turkey. But guess what, I have never noticed a significant difference, using any of the special tricks. Let me just save you the time right now! If you have a good quality bird, cook it the right amount of time, and season it, you are doing it right. You will have an epic turkey!

What makes it epic?

Simple is almost always better, and I have found that to be true for the holiday turkey. If you are making a full holiday meal, you have enough stuff going on. You certainly don’t want to have to deal with a high-maintenance bird! The time and energy you will save, to make an equally wonderful bird, is pretty epic in my book!

I will tell you exactly what I do now to get the perfect turkey. It is simple, delicious, tender, and juicy! What more could you ask for?!

How to make the best turkey

Before the big day

• First off, get the right size bird for your gathering. You should aim for 1½ pounds per adult. (That is not 1½ pounds of cooked turkey meat.) That is the weight of the fresh or frozen bird.
• Make sure the turkey fits in your pan. You don’t want to find this out right before you cook it the day of the big meal. When you bring home your turkey, just make sure it fits in the pan you have to cook it.
• Plan for the rest of the meal. This is not necessarily to do with the turkey, but just know that your turkey will likely be taking up your entire oven space for many hours, leading up to the big meal. You get about 30-40 minutes after the turkey is done cooking to use the oven for other things. (That is when the cooked bird is resting)
• Defrost your turkey a few days before. You need about 24 hours per 5 lbs. This will save you time and frustration. Yes, you can cook a bird from frozen, and yes, you can defrost a turkey in water the day of the meal. But a few days before, in the refrigerator is far easier. If you cook it from frozen, there will, more than likely, be a package of giblets, and perhaps a neck, frozen inside of your bird that you are going to have to fish out during cooking time, when it has become unfrozen enough. It will also be very tough to stuff anything in a frozen bird. Defrosting it in water throughout the day, takes a few hours, and you have enough going on! Plus, you need something big enough to fit the bird and water, and continuously change out the water. Trust me, defrosting it before is the easiest option.

Now, on the the actual turkey prep!

• I always place celery and some lengthwise cut carrots and make a, kind of, stand at the bottom of the roasting pan. This stops the bird from sticking to the bottom and lifts it up a bit.
• Now you can place your defrosted bird on top, breast side up. Remove any giblets and neck. You can discard them if you do not want them, or remove them from the package and roast them with the bird. (Some people love eating them!)
• Now roughly chop an onion. Place some of the chunks in the pan and stuff 2 or 3 inside the cavity of the bird.
• Roughly chop 2 or 3 apples. Place some in the roasting pan and some in the bird.
• Roughly chop a lemon. Place some chunks around the bird and 2 or 3 inside the cavity.
• Drizzle the top of the bird with oil, don’t go overboard. Just a few drizzles back and forth. Grind on some salt and pepper, all over the top of the bird. Finally, sprinkle on some sage and paprika. About a teaspoon of sage and about 2 teaspoons of paprika.
• Pour about 3/4 of a cup of water into the bottom of the pan.

Cooking Time!

• Make sure you have figured out how much time your bird needs to cook, according to its weight. If cooked at 350 degrees F, it is about 13 minutes per pound. Then add on an extra hour. This will account for the resting time, the time you need to cut and plate the turkey, and some extra incase of any mishaps.
• Bake at 425 degrees F for the first half hour. Then reduce to 350 degrees F, and cover for the remainder of the time. This allows the bird to get nice and golden, and then you cook it covered, either with foil or the lid if it fits.

Basting the turkey

• Basting…I never baste my bird. That’s right, never! I used to because, I thought you needed to or your turkey would be dry. Not true! Basting also extends the amount of time you need to cook the turkey. You are opening the oven multiple times, which changes the temperature of the oven. You also have to take the roasting pan in and out, take time to suck up the juices and pour it over the entire bird, this also adds to the time! I never baste by bird, I maybe check on it once. Other than that keep the heat in the oven!

Checking the turkey for doneness

• Use a meat thermometer. Close to the time the bird is supposed to be done, about 15 minutes, check it with a thermometer. I always check in the meatiest part of the thigh as well as the breast. Make sure the thermometer is through the meat and not touching the bones. The thigh should be at least 180 degrees F and the breast meat should be at least 170 degrees F.

Turkey after the oven

• Once done, remove from the oven. Keep it covered. You are now going to wrap the roasting pan in a towel or small blanket. This will help keep all the heat inside. Now, leave it alone! It needs to sit and rest for 20-30 minutes, before you can start carving it. This will help keep all the juices in the meat when you are carving it. (Now, you have your oven back to do any final casserole reheats, in the last half hour before dinner!)
• Finally, you can carve the bird! You’ve done it!

Ingredients

1 Turkey

3-4 ribs of celery

2-3 carrots cut in half lengthwise

1 onion

1 lemon

2-3 apples cores removed and roughly chopped

oil

salt and pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 cup water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C)
2. Clean and trim the celery and carrots. Place them on the bottom of the roasting pan.
3. Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey.
4. Place the turkey on top of the celery and carrots, breast side up.
5. Roughly chop onion, apples, and lemon. Place a few chunks of each inside the turkey cavity. Place the rest around, inside the roasting pan.
6. Drizzle 2-3 Tablespoons of oil on top of the bird.
7. Sprinkle over top, salt and pepper, about 2 teaspoons of paprika, and 1 teaspoons of sage.
8. Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the pan.
9. Place the bird in the preheated 425 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
10. Remove and cover the roasting pan. Either by a lid or foil.
11. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
12. Continue cooking the turkey for the time, according to the weight of your bird. (About 13 minutes per lb.)
13. 15 minutes before the time your bird should be done, check with a thermometer. Thigh 180 degrees F and the breast 170 degrees F.
14. When done remove from oven, lid on. Cover with towels or small blanket. Rest for 20-30 minutes.
15. Remove to a platter and carve.
16. You can now make your gravy from the drippings!
17. Serve warm alongside the rest of your holiday feast.

Need some side dishes for your holiday meal? Try these Family Favorite Mashed Potato Casserole, From-Scratch Herb Stuffing Bread, plus stuffing recipe, Homemade Ruby Red Cranberry Sauce

Gravy

Now that the turkey is done, we are left with some flavourful liquid in the bottom of the pan. Let’s turn it into an epic holiday gravy! We don’t need to add much to it, since we already did all the work of flavouring it, by adding the onions, apples, and lemon. Not to mention, all the flavour from the turkey!

Ingredients for Turkey Gravy

Turkey drippings

1-2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2/3 cup cold water

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce

salt and pepper (to taste)

Method

1. After the turkey is removed from the roasting pan, strain the liquid into a pot.
2. On medium high heat, bring the turkey drippings to a boil. (I usually have a few cups of liquid in my pot.)
3. In a small bowl or cup, add the cornstarch. Pour in water and stir with a fork until you have a smooth liquid.
4. With a whisk, slowly pour 1/3 of the cornstarch mixture into the pot of boiling drippings. Whisk as it thickens. Continue to pour increments of cornstarch mixture to your pot of gravy until you have reached your desired thickness.
5. Reduce to medium low. Add the tamari and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cool slightly, and serve.