Roasted turkey – 2 insanely delicious recipes

Growing up in Israel, my family never celebrated Thanksgiving. I never had to worry too much about roasting a turkey, creating the best pumpkin pie, or making the perfect stuffing to go with the turkey. It wasn’t that we didn’t have turkey in Israel, in fact, I grew up in a very rural environment where there was live stock and many wild birds around. So besides having turkey roaming around our yard, we also had a horse, many goats, sheep, chickens and even a few peacocks. My dad and my brother would tend to the herds of sheep and goats we had. Sometimes we used their milk to make cheese and butter.

My mom used turkey in the slow cooked stew she made every Friday. The stew was cooked on a hot plate overnight and was ready the next day. She cooked it with potatoes, barley, wheat, beans, onions and whole garlic cloves that would almost melt in your mouth.

When I left my home in Israel and moved to New York, I was reintroduced to this massive bird, but this time it was a whole bird. Every time I’d ever had turkey before, the meat was taken off and added to other dishes. Naturally I decided that it was time I really tried to understand this bird. It was time for me to experiment with cooking a whole turkey. I borrowed a big roasting pan from a friend and went straight to work, hoping I wouldn’t end up making a turkey out of myself.

I’m sharing two of my favorite spectacularly delicious recipes with you. I think there is nothing worse than dry turkey. I let the turkey cook for about an hour and then I baste the turkey every 30 minutes, more or less. I take a big spoon and take juices and some of the fruit and vegetables pieces from the bottom of the pan and pour in on top of the turkey. Doing so, will ensure the turkey stays moist and will also allow the flavors and the juices to get to the top part of the turkey and be distributed evenly. I’ve tasted some really dry and tasteless turkey before so I make sure to season it well and to baste it more often than I think is necessary. Nothing is worse than having to smother your turkey with gravy just to be able to eat it. Gravy is nice, but it shouldn’t be a substitute for moist delicious turkey.

Cooking time may vary, depending on the size of the turkey, the oven’s temperature and amount of love you put into making it. The recipes may look complicated, but trust me, it worth the time.

Roasted turkey with herbs, vegetables and fruit

1 stick butter, softened
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons sage, chopped
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped
30 garlic cloves, divided
2 fresh lemons, thinly sliced
16 – 18 lbs turkey, rinsed and patted dry
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, cut into medium cubes
6 celery stalks, sliced
2 fennel bulbs, slices
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
8 bay leaves
1 medium bunch fresh thyme, tied in a kitchen twine
2 oranges, unpeeled, cut into large wedges
3 apples, cored and cut into large wedges
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup fresh apple cider

Mix together butter, rosemary, sage and thyme until well combined. Cut 10 garlic cloves into thin slices.

Carefully separate the skin of the turkey from the meat, in the breast and legs area. spread half of the butter-herbs mixture under the skin. Arrange sliced garlic and lemon slices under the skin.

Spread remaining butter-herb mixture insides the turkey’s cavity and sprinkle the outside and the cavity with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Spread the onions, celery, fennel, carrots, parsnips, bay leaves, fresh thyme and 10 of the remaining 20 garlic cloves in a large roasting pan. Place turkey, breast side up, on vegetables and tie legs together with a kitchen twine.

Stuff turkey’s cavity with remaining 10 garlic cloves and some of the oranges and apples (as many as you could fit). Place any remaining wedges of oranges and apples on top of the vegetables in the pan and then top with the cranberries and season with a little more salt and pepper. Pour apple cider over vegetables and then cover

Roast in preheated oven for 1 hour and then, using a large spoon, baste with any pan juices, cover and continue to roast turkey until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165º F, about 2 – 3 hours. During this time, baste turkey with the pan juices, every 20 minutes, making sure all areas are evenly basted. In the last roasting hour, remove the cover and baste more frequently.

Roasted turkey with balsamic vinegar, honey and citrus

1 stick butter, melted
3 lemons, zest is grated and the thinly sliced
16-18 lbs turkey, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium onions, cut into medium cubes
5 celery stalks, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
10 garlic cloves
10 bay leaves
1 medium bunch fresh thyme, tied in a kitchen twine
3 apples, cored and cut into large wedges
3 oranges, cut into large wedges
1 cup dried dates
1/2 cup good quality orange marmalade

Mix together melted butter and grated zest from the 3 lemons.

Carefully separate the skin of the turkey from the meat, in the breast and legs area. Generously spread butter-lemon zest mixture under the skin and then arrange lemon slices under the skin, reserving any left over slices for later.

Mix together balsamic vinegar, honey and lemon juice. Set aside.

Sprinkle the outside and the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Generously brush balsamic-honey mixture all over the turkey, including the cavity. Reserve remaining balsamic mixture.

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Spread the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large roasting pan. Place turkey, breast side up, on vegetables and tie legs together with a kitchen twine.

Stuff turkey’s cavity with apples, oranges and half of the dried dates. Arrange remaining dried dates and any left over apples, oranges and the lemon slices over vegetables. Drizzle remaining balsamic mixture over vegetables.

Spread the orange marmalade on top and sides of the turkey and then cover.

Roast in preheated oven for 1 hour and then, using a large spoon, baste with any pan juices, cover and continue to roast turkey until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165º F, about 2 – 3 hours. During this time, baste turkey with the pan juices, every 20 minutes, making sure all areas are evenly basted. In the last roasting hour, remove the cover and baste more frequently.

I love the mix of flavors in these recipes (sweet, sour, salty, savory) and the combinations of these million flavors bursting in your mouth when you take the first bite. Every bite will send your taste buds into a frenzy.

So now you have no excuse for smothering your turkey in gravy. Leave that for the mashed potatoes and stuffing…

Peace and love and gobble gobble

Dadi