Aki's Kitchen - Recipes

Whole Roasted Turkey -
with or without Stuffing

Main Meals

1 2 3

This recipe makes the traditional whole roasted turkey that we have come to know and enjoy.

Serve with Roasted Potatoes, Onions & Mushrooms.

Ingredients:	Tools & Equipment:
1 medium leek 2 large onions 2 medium carrots 2 - 3 ribs of celery 2 sprigs of parsley 3 garlic cloves, skinned 2 large bay leaves 3 peppercorns or 2 tbsp whole pickling spices 2 whole cloves 12 - 15 pound turkey, defrosted 1/2 cup oil, canola or vegetable Stuffing of choice	string, 5 - 6 feet long large mixing bowl large nonstick pot large regular pot shallow rectangular baking pan pastry brush measuring cup foil paper meat thermometer oven mitts

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS BEFORE YOU CONTINUE WITH THIS RECIPE:

Turkey Preparation Notes
Preparation and Preventing Cross-Contamination
The Neck and Giblets
Safety Notes

For brevity sake, all vegetables are washed, peeled and then roughly chopped.

Notes:
This roasting method produces a tender turkey in about 2/3's the time than most typical roasting methods. A 12 - 15 pound turkey can take about 2 3/4 - 4 hours to roast. The turkey used here was 14 pounds and took about 15 minutes to broiler baste, 3 3/4 hours to bake to a safe temperature and then 12 minutes to baste for colouring. However, do not rely on roasting times alone to indicate doneness; instead, use an instant reading thermometer. Twenty to twenty-three minutes per pound is used as a guideline, but do allow for variances. The real secret to making turkey is the "Broiler Basting" and the foil paper.

Don't bother basting the bird throughout the roasting period. It does nothing but waste your time and causes oven temperature fluctuations, which increase the roasting time with poor results. I prefer broiler basting the turkey, baking it in sealed foil paper and then finally basting it at a high temperature. I could have placed the turkey in a pan and thrown it into a preheated oven. The turkey will look evenly golden brown, but the first 1/4-inch of meat would have turned into leather. Turkey, as with any meat or poultry, which is to be roasted, should be browned over high heat, typically in a large frying pan. However, a turkey is a little hard to evenly brown in a frying pan, therefore, the broiler basting is an alternative method.

The most important rule of thumb, if you're not sure if the turkey has been cooked properly, is to slightly overcook than under cook the turkey. This way you kill the naturally occurring bacteria in the turkey and reduce the risk of food poisoning. And remember, more often than not, people will remember a meal that made them sick than a meal that was slightly overcooked; don't worry if the turkey is going to become dry, because it usually does

Preparing the Vegetables & Flavourings:
In a large bowl, combine: leek, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns (pickling spices) and cloves: set it aside.

Remove the neck and giblets from cavities (picture 1). Wash the turkey inside out and then pat dry the skin well with paper towels. If you're not planning to stuff the turkey, then take about a cup of the vegetable mixture and place it into the large cavity and then truss the turkey; otherwise, prepare your stuffing and proceed with "Stuffing the Turkey".

Stuffing the Turkey:
Lay a damp towel on your working surface. Place the turkey in the large pot with the neck cavity up; place on towel. Lift the neck flap and then loosely fill the neck cavity with enough of the prepared stuffing; do not overpack (picture 2). Lower the flap and then carefully remove and transfer the turkey onto a cutting surface, resting the turkey on its back. Stuff the large cavity; do not overpack (picture 3). The rice in the stuffing will swell during baking and overpacking the cavities may rupture the turkey.

1. The neck and giblet removed from the cavities.

2. Stuffing the neck cavity.

back to top

next page

3. Stuffing the large cavity.