The Big Ass Turkey
Your father has some kind of turkey issues. He insists every year on having a turkey that is bigger than we need regardless of what I have to say about it. This year....this year....we bought a 26 pounder. 26 Pounds. I could barely lift the thing. AND it happened to fall on a year where it was just me, Gordon, Chat and Aves (who doesn't even like meat)! Not like we were having 12 people over for Thanksgiving or anything. But...we do only cook a whole turkey once a year and there are some leftover turkey recipes that we love so I decided to play along and cook this beast of a turkey. So what happened? Did I have to get up at 2am to start cooking it? No! I learned so much about cooking a great turkey with this big bird so I am very thankful for our 26 pounder! This was by far the best turkey we have had for Thanksgiving and I think this method will work for any size turkey.
Ingredients:
Frozen turkey thawed completely
1/2 stick of butter
1 onion quartered
salt, pepper
Thyme
4 garlic cloves
1 cup water
Preparation:
Thaw turkey completely then rinse and dry with paper towels. Remove the next and giblets.
Preheat oven to 500.
Salt and pepper inside and outside of turkey. Slather the softened butter all over the outside of the bird. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine if not aleardy in place (watch a youtube video on this, super easy) and tuck the wings under the bird.
Place lemon, onion, garlic, and thyme in the cavity of the bird.
Place bird on a roasting pan and add water to the bottom of the pan.
Cook at 500 for 30 minutes to crisp up the skin.
Remove turkey and lower the heat to 350. Cover the breast with foil, shiny side up and put back in the oven for about 4 hours for a large bird (20-26 pounds) or 2 1/2 hours for a 12-15 pound bird. Use a thermometer to see if the inside temperature is done at 170 degrees in the thigh and breast.
Remove turkey and let cool for at least 30 minutes. Present the bird and then carve. There are a ton of youtube videos that will show you how to properly carve a turkey.
Don't forget the gravy!!
