Butter Basted Turkey Food

BUTTER BASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 325°.
• Prepare the Turkey: Remove the gizzards and the neck bone from the turkey. Using a paper towel, pat dry the turkey skin so there is no excess moisture.
• Season and stuff the cavity: Liberally season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper, and stuff with the garlic bulbs, lemon and thyme.
• Make the butter: Mix together the ingredients for the flavoured butter, in a mixing bowl.
• Rub the turkey: Using a pastry brush or your hands, liberally slather the turkey in all the crevices with the flavoured butter. You will be left with butter, which you will baste the turkey with while it roasts.
• Cover with foil and roast: You will want to make a tent out of foil and put that on top of the turkey. If some of the butter comes off, that is fine, as you will baste the turkey as it roasts. You can either make your turkey in a large baking dish, like I did, or use a .
• Baste the turkey: Baste the turkey every half an hour, with your remaining butter mixture. For the last 45 minutes of roasting the turkey, you may remove the foil and cook uncovered.
• Rest the turkey before carving: Once the turkey is done, allow the turkey to rest in a foil tent, for approximately 15-20 minutes prior to carving.

BUTTER-BLANKETED TURKEY

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the lowest position (with room above to fit the turkey) and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Remove any turkey parts from the cavity and reserve for another use if desired. Dry the turkey well with paper towels inside and out. Sprinkle the cavity with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stuff with the thyme, rosemary, lemon wedges and half of the onion wedges.
• In a small bowl, mix together the 4 tablespoons room temperature butter with the paprika to make a smooth, spreadable mixture. Using your hands, carefully separate the skin from the flesh of the turkey from the breasts toward the legs, making sure not to tear the skin. Spread about half of the butter mixture evenly between the skin and flesh on one side. Do the same on the other side using the remaining butter mixture. Any residual butter on your hands or in the bowl can be rubbed on the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle the outside of the turkey with 2 teaspoons salt, making sure to get it all over the surface.
• Scatter the celery pieces, whole carrots and remaining onion wedges in the bottom of a roasting pan. Place the roasting rack in the pan, making sure it is level. Pour the broth into the pan. Transfer the turkey to the rack, tuck the wings back under the body and tie the legs together with butcher's twine.
• Cut a 20-inch piece of cheesecloth and fold twice, creating 4 layers. Submerge the cloth in the melted butter, making sure it is completely saturated with it. Gently squeeze the cloth, then re-form so there are 4 layers and place on top of the turkey, covering it completely. Use a turkey baster to baste the cheesecloth with some of the remaining melted butter.
• Roast for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Baste the turkey with the pan juices and more of the melted butter. Continue to roast, basting with butter and pan drippings every 30 minutes, for an additional 2 hours.
• Very gently remove the cheesecloth from the turkey, taking care not to tear the skin (see Cook's Note). Baste one more time, then return the turkey to the oven with the breasts facing towards the back and roast until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh measures 165 degrees F, about another 30 minutes. Let rest for 30 minutes before carving.

OVEN ROASTED TURKEY WITH SAGE BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and remove the top rack of the oven.
• Rinse the bird thoroughly inside and out with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the cavity and skin liberally with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with stuffing and, if required, truss the legs. Cover the turkey with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Push the sage butter under the skin of the turkey, being careful not to puncture the skin.
• Put the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan, and into the oven. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F. The thigh juices will run clear when pricked with a knife, about 3 hours total (15 minutes per pound). If the legs or breast brown too quickly during roasting, cover them with foil.
• Combine all ingredients.
• Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until soft and caramelized. Add sage and scrape into a large mixing bowl. Add the cornbread pieces, season well with salt and pepper, and give it a good toss until it's well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cream, and stock, and pour that over the cornbread. Stir the stuffing together and stuff the cavity of the turkey. You could also spoon it into a buttered baking dish and put it in the oven along with the turkey. Bake until hot and crusty on top, about 30 minutes.

BUTTER-BASTED TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Stuff the turkey: Place the turkey on a flat surface, season with salt and pepper on the inside and out and stuff the cavity with stuffing if using. Tie the legs closed with a strong piece of kitchen twine or string by wrapping them around and around the drumsticks and pulling them closed like you're tying a shoe.
• Prepare the turkey: Soak 1 large double-layered piece of cheesecloth in the butter. Brush any remaining butter on top of the bird and cover the breast meat with the cheesecloth to keep it moist for the first part of cooking, tucking it into the natural crevices of the bird to keep it in place. Arrange the garlic, carrots and onions in the bottom of a roasting pan and arrange the turkey on the roasting pan right above them. Place the pan in the center of the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
• Lower the oven to 350 degrees F and count about 12 minutes per pound of the turkey weight.
• After about 2 hours, take the turkey out, gently remove the cheesecloth from the top of the breasts, baste the turkey with any pan juices, rotate the pan halfway and return to the oven. Place the turkey neck and the chicken stock in a medium pot and simmer gently on the stove as the turkey finishes cooking. Reduce the stock by about half.
• How do you know when the turkey is done? The temperature of the thigh meat (where the meat is thickest and takes the longest time to cook) should register 160 to 165 degrees F when tested with a thermometer. The thigh juices should also be clear, not pink. When done, remove the bird from the oven, transfer to a flat surface and allow it to rest, breast side down, for 30 minutes. Why rest the turkey breast side down after cooking it breast side up? So the juices flow back through the meat as it sits.
• Make the gravy: Place the roasting pan over the burners of the stove, whisk in the sherry and mustard to the pan and warm it over low heat. Scrape the bottom to get the drippings and tasty bits off the bottom of the pan as the sherry reduces almost completely. Strain the neck out from the stock and add the stock to the roasting pan. Simmer over medium heat, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce further until the mixture starts to thicken. Puree half of the gravy (with the cooked vegetables) in a blender until smooth, and then stir back into the gravy. The vegetables are a natural thickener that is healthier and lighter than the classic cornstarch or flour! Stir in the vinegar. Taste for seasoning. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

ROASTED BUTTER HERB TURKEY

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine softened butter, poultry seasoning, garlic herb sauce mix, and crushed garlic. Use a fork to mix together until well combined. Cover and put in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes, until firm but not hard.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Arrange celery, carrots, and half of the diced onions in the bottom of a roasting pan. Add chicken broth and set aside.
• Rinse the thawed turkey and pat dry. Use your finger to carefully loosen the skin around the entire bird. Take the butter mixture and cut into large pieces. Place the butter pieces under the skin of the entire turkey. Rub the remaining butter pieces on the outside of the skin and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the inside of turkey cavity with remaining onions, fresh herb poultry blend, and lemon slices. (Truss if necessary.) Insert the pop-up thermometer at an angle about 3-inches down from the neck cavity and 2-inches from the breast bone, in the thickest part of the breast.
• Place turkey on the bed of vegetables in roasting pan. Place in the oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F. Roast for 1 hour, then baste with pan juices every 20 minutes until thermometer pops up or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 180 degrees F, about 3 hours.

GILDED SAFFRON AND BUTTER BASTED ROAST TURKEY WITH HERB GARLAND

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/350°F or Gas Mark 4.
• Wipe the turkey, and remove any giblets from inside the bird if necessary.
• Smear the butter all over the bird and place the onion, herbs and lemon inside the body cavity. Season the bird with salt and pepper to taste.
• Place the buttered bird into a foil lined turkey tray. Cut a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment and press this over the breast part of the bird - to prevent the breast becoming too dry during cooking.
• Cover the turkey with 2 large pieces of tinfoil/aluminum foil - making sure the foil DOES NOT touch the bird - you are creating a tent - with lots of air to circulate inside!
• Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes per pound, plus 20 minutes - so a 10lb turkey will take about 3 hours and 40 minutes.
• Try to take the turkey out at least twice during cooking time, to baste it with the buttery juices. Replace the foil cover before putting it back to continue cooking in the oven.
• Whilst the bird is cooking, prepare your gilded glaze - choose which one you prefer, egg glaze or butter glaze.
• Whisk the egg yolks with the saffron and melted butter. It needs to be the consistancy of a coating glaze, or a thick pouring cream or custard. If you are using just the butter glaze - whisk the saffron and melted butter together - this glaze will be thinner than the egg glaze.
• Twenty minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the turkey from the oven, and drain off all the juices for your gravy.
• Turn the oven up to 190°C/380°F or Gas Mark 5.
• Apply your gilded glaze to the turkey with a large pastry brush - brush it ALL over the turkey as evenly as you can and NOT too thickly with the egg glaze.
• Return the turkey to the oven uncovered for the last 20 minutes - remove from the oven and allow to "rest" for 30 minutes before carving.
• Remove the herbs, lemon and onion from the cavity before carving and serving.
• Make the herb garland - twist sprigs of thyme, bay and rosemary together with some cooking string or twine, to form a circlet.
• Serve the turkey adorned with a twisted garland of herbs, and with traditional accompaniments such as: Roast potatoes, mixed vegetables, red cabbage, gravy, stuffing, bacon rolls and Chipolata sausage rolls.
• You can also "gild" the turkey by sprinkling edible gold dusting powder over the breast and legs of the turkey - this is available from specialist cake decorating shops.

BUTTER AND WINE BASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325º.
• Place turkey, skin side up, in a shallow roasting pan and insert ovenproof thermometer in the thickest part of the turkey making sure it does not touch the bone.
• Roast 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• While turkey is roasting, mix butter, wine, thyme, salt, paprika, and garlic. After turkey has roasted 1 hour, brush with half of the butter mixture. Roast for 30 more minutes and then brush with remaining butter mixture. Roast for 1 hour longer or until thermometer reads 170º and turkey is no longer pink when you cut into center.
• When turkey is done, place on platter and cover with foil to keep warm Let rest about 15 so that juices can redistribute.
• To make gravy: While turkey is resting, pour pan drippings into measuring cup and skim fat from drippings. Add enough water to drippings to measure 2 cups. Heat drippings to boiling in 1 quart saucepan. Mix cornstarch and cold water; stir into drippings. Boil and stir 1 minute.
• Serve gravy with turkey.