Thanksgiving Turkey!

I was really excited to try cooking the turkey two years ago after I watched one of my favorite cooking shows called “The Chew”. I was so nervous about trying to cook the turkey, so I always tried to avoid cooking it so one year after watching an episode on the Chew I decided to attempt cooking the Turkey for the first time.

There are a lot of reasons why this is the best turkey I have ever eaten. First of all you cut out the breast bone of the turkey and lay it out open. This will cause the turkey to cook faster and more evenly. We also stuff the stuffing under the skin of the turkey this will baste the turkey meat ask it is cooking. The turkey will end up moist an very flavorful! when chopping your veggies try to get them all the same size so they cook evenly.

Ingredients

AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN STUFFING

• 4 cups Sourdough Bread 1inch pieces
• 2  Vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound Sage Breakfast Sausage (turkey sausage works great too)
• 1/2 cup Diced Carrots
• 1/2 cup Diced Celery
• 1/2 cup Diced Onion
• 5 Sage Leaves
• 3 Thyme Sprigs
• Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2/3 cup Chicken Stock
• 1 Egg

step-by-step directions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Toast the Bread on a sheet pan in the oven for about 15 minutes until crisp and golden.
• Heat the Oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan then add the Sausage and let it brown. After it’s nice and golden on one side, stir to get color all over. Add the Carrots, Celery, and Onion, followed by the Sage and Thyme. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, to keep the cooking even. Season with Salt and Pepper. When the vegetables are aromatic and tender, add a splash of Water if necessary to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the Toasted Bread and the Chicken Stock and mix.
• Remove the Thyme Sprigs and pull the Leaves off. Add the Leaves back to the stuffing and then transfer the stuffing to a food processor. Process until fairly smooth, adding the Egg while pureeing (if you’re doubling the recipe for extra stuffing, puree only half the stuffing; the rest you can bake as directed below).
• Transfer the stuffing to a piping bag (or a large zip top bag with a comer snipped off).
• If you would like to have the stuffing as a stand-alone dish, skip the pureeing. Transfer the stuffing mixture to a greased baking dish and cook in a 350°F oven until the top is golden brown. 
  

  SUPER-FAST ROAST TURKEY

  • 10 pound Turkey
  • 1 recipe Test Kitchen Stuffing (in a piping bag or zip-top bag with a corner snipped off)
  • Vegetable Oil (as needed)
  •  Salt
  • Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Bunch Sage
  • 1 Bunch Thyme

  step-by-step directions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  • Remove the heart and giblets and reserve, and liver and discard. Flip the Turkey upside down so the Breast is on your cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut on both sides of the backbone so the bone can be removed. Pull the bone out of the Turkey and reserve. Gently but firmly open up the bird a little (you can flatten it if you’d like) and set it on your board with the skin side up.
  • Insert your fingers gently between the skin and Breast meat, separating the two while keeping the skin attached. You want to create a pocket for the stuffing without tearing the skin.
  • Pipe the stuffing underneath the skin of the bird, creating a layer between the meat and the skin. Rub Grapeseed oil over the skin and season liberally with Salt and Pepper. Do the same to the underside of the bird.
  • Place a large rack on a roasting pan or sheet pan and put the whole sprigs of herbs on top of the rack. Put the Turkey skin side up on top of the herbs. Sandwiching the herbs between the rack and the Turkey will prevent them from burning. Put the Turkey in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point, the skin should be golden brown and the temperature should be 135°F. To take the temperature, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, staying away from hitting the bone. Tent the Turkey with tin foil and continue to roast until the temperature reaches 160°F in the leg, about another 30 minutes. (The internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests.)
  • Remove the Turkey and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing.