Best Grandmas Holiday Turkey Cooked In Roaster Recipes

ROAST TURKEY IN AN ELECTRIC ROASTER

Steps:

• Mix together 1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick) with the freshly snipped herbs. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but remove from the fridge 1 hour before using so that it is soft enough to spread. (Or you can microwave to soften the herb butter).
• Set the roaster oven (with the lid on) to the highest temperature setting it will go.
• Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey cavity. (Throw them away or set them aside for gravy.)
• Take paper towels and dry off your turkey.
• Take your hand and loosen the skin over the turkey breast. Rub half of the butter underneath the skin of the breast.
• Rub the other half of the butter over the outside of the bird.
• Sprinkle the outside of the bird with salt and pepper.
• Put 1/4 cup butter in the cavity of the turkey along with 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
• Place the turkey in the preheated roaster and cook at the highest temperature for 30 minutes.
• Without opening the lid, turn down the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and roast until the turkey tests done (at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part of the thigh).
• The exact timing will depend on whether the turkey is stuffed or unstuffed and how large the turkey is. Plan for about 8-10 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey.

ROAST TURKEY THAT MAKES MEMORIES

Steps:

• Take the turkey out of the fridge in the morning. Remove the giblet bag and neck from the inside of the turkey cavity. Save the giblets and neck in the fridge for making stock later. Rinse the turkey in the sink under cold, running water. Then take a teaspoon of herbed salt and wipe the inside of the turkey cavity and under the neck skin with salt. Spread the salt thinly.
• Firmly stuff the turkey with the prepared stuffing. Truss up the legs over the cavity to keep the stuffing inside the bird. Some people sew the legs together with twine. Others just tie them at the top of the drumsticks or tuck the drumsticks under the neck skin to hold the legs together
• Place the turkey, breast side up, on top of the roasting rack, inside the roasting pan. Pour water into the roasting pan so that it comes up to the top of the rack. Cover the roasting pan with a lid. Place in the oven.
• Start checking the turkey for doneness about an hour before it is supposed to be done. Use an instant-read thermometer to gauge the doneness of the turkey. Insert the thermometer into the deepest part of the muscles without touching a bone. Check the temperature in the breast and in the thigh. When the turkey is done the breast will be 170 degrees and the thigh will be 180 degrees.
• When the turkey is done, take it out of the oven and remove it from the roasting pan, onto the carving platter or carving board, and let it rest.
• Place the flour or starch called for in your gravy recipe into one cup of cold water. (Use tapioca starch or potato starch if you have a guest who has gluten allergies.) Beat the water and starch with a fork until there are no lumps.
• Pour the water-starch slurry into the bottom of the roaster with the meat drippings. Add the remaining amount of water called for in the gravy recipe, while beating the mixture with a whisk.
• Turn on the burner and cook the gravy over medium heat, while whisking to prevent lumps from forming. Stop whisking when the gravy thickens and begins to bubble.
• Transfer the gravy to a gravy boat or other container with a pour spout.

GRANDMA'S HOLIDAY TURKEY COOKED IN ROASTER

Steps:

• 1. Defrost turkey in refrigerator. This takes a couple of days. Remove the neck and giblets (heart, gizzard, liver). You can save these and use the heart and gizzard for making stock for the stuffing. The neck can be cooked along side the turkey or saved for turkey soup. Or all of the giblets can be used for making giblet gravy. Preheat the roaster oven to 400 degrees. Wash out the turkey with water. Pull out any remaining feather stubs in the turkey skin. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
• 2. Fill body cavity with stuffing. Grandma used home made but you can also use a packaged mix. Close up the turkey cavity with either string (not nylon string!) or metal skewers. Make sure that the turkey's legs are tied together, held close to the body, and tie a string around the turkey body to hold the wings in close. The neck cavity can also be stuffed and tied closed with thin skewers and string. Rub melted butter all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle salt generously all over the outside of the turkey Sprinkle pepper over the turkey. Place turkey up on the rack of the roaster.
• 3. For the 15 lb turkey, start the cooking at 400 degrees for the first 1/2 hour. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees for the next 3 hours. Start taking temperature readings with a meat thermometer, inserted deep into the thickest part of the turkey breast and thigh, an hour before the turkey should be done. You want a resulting temperature of 175 degrees for the dark meat (thighs and legs) and 165 degrees for the white meat (breast). Once you remove the turkey from the oven, let it rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.
• 4. MAKING TURKEY GRAVY Scrape all the drippings off of the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour drippings into a smaller skillet. Ladle off excess fat. In a separate small bowl take a quarter cup of corn starch and add just enough water to dissolve the corn starch. Beat cornstarch with a spoon to remove lumps. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the drippings, stirring constantly. You may not end up using all of the cornstarch mixture. Only add as much as you need to get the desired thickness. Allow time for the cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, or other seasonings to taste.

PERFECT TURKEY IN AN ELECTRIC ROASTER OVEN

Steps:

• Take the insert pan out of the roaster and pre-heat the roaster to its highest setting. On mine it's 450, but use 500 if your oven goes that high.
• Do not wash the turkey! The USDA says that washing it could cause a spread of salmonella poisoning. Sprinkle salt in the cavities. Stuff if desired. Don't pre-stuff your turkey; mix and stuff ingredients immediately before roasting. Tossing in a few pieces of cut fruit or herbs is not considered 'stuffing.' Stuffing usually means filling up the cavity with about ¾ cup stuffing per pound of turkey.
• Rub the entire bird with olive oil or butter. Doctor up your bird with whatever special seasonings you wish. I always use poultry seasoning. Finish with a good sprinkle of seasoning salt and black pepper.
• I highly recommend using a wired thermometer so you can watch the temperature without lifting the lid. Your turkey will be done much earlier than the estimated cook time, so keep a sharp eye on that thermometer. If using a pop-up turkey plug type thermometer, those little pop-ups stick sometimes so you should really use two of them.
• Put the rack into the insert pan and make sure the handles are up, not tucked below. Put the bird in the insert pan on top of the rack. Don't add water to the pan. Put the insert pan back into the roasting pan. If your roaster doesn't have an insert pan, it's ok - just be very careful putting the bird into that hot oven, you don't want to burn your hands on the sides of the oven! Cover.
• Roast at highest setting for 30 minutes. The butter/oil, seasonings and the searing time will make the skin beautifully browned and perfect!
• After 30 minutes, turn the oven temperature down to 325.
• The turkey will self-baste if you do not lift the lid, so you don't have to baste it every 20 minutes like you do in your conventional oven. DO NOT LIFT LID during cooking time! Lifting the lid will increase cooking time because roaster ovens lose their heat unlike regular ovens. I've read that roaster ovens effectively 'steam' the turkey making the meat come out -- well, steamed. This is not true as you will find out. Similar to the roasted chickens you can get at your supermarket, the bird will come out moist and perfectly roasted. Why do you think they call it a Roaster Oven?.
• Figure your total cooking time from the time you first put the bird in the roaster. The Butterball website has a great calculator:.
• http://www.butterball.com/calculators-and-conversions.
• FINAL TEMPERATURE FOR SAFETY AND DONENESS IS: 180 DEGREES IN THIGH AND 165 DEGREES IN BREAST AND STUFFING. Juices should be clear, not pink.
• Check your turkey EARLY. Really start watching the temp an hour before it's supposed to be done. Your turkey will almost certainly be done before the suggested cooking time. Watch your wired meat thermometer. If using a pop-up turkey plug type thermometer, check by lifting the lid quickly so the oven doesn't lose its heat. If necessary, check after another 30 minutes, but I doubt you'll have to do that. I say check after 30 minutes because it's really OK to let the bird roast a little extra - you won't dry it out using my method if you let it go for 1/2 hour.
• When done, remove the turkey from the roaster, tent with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. This allows the juices to really seep into the meat, so they say.
• If you try this method, please let us know your results!
• Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

NO-BASTE, NO-BOTHER ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Adjust the oven racks so the covered roasting pan fit easily inside. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Rub the butter on the outside and in the cavity of the turkey. Sprinkle the salt and pepper on the inside and the outside of the turkey. Put the celery, onion and carrot in the cavity. Place the turkey, breast-side up, in a large roasting pan. Pour the boiling water into the pan. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and put the pan in the oven.
• Start a timer when the oven temperature returns to 500 degrees F. Bake for exactly 1 hour and turn off the oven. Do not open the oven door! Leave the turkey in the oven until the oven completely cools; this may take 4 to 6 hours. Reserve the pan juices and refrigerate the turkey if it will not be served soon after roasting.

A SIMPLY PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.
• Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
• Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 4 hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

CLASSIC CHEESECLOTH TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Remove giblets from turkey; cover and refrigerate for gravy. Pat turkey dry; place breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. In small bowl, combine softened butter, thyme and sage. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub butter mixture under the skin. Sprinkle salt and pepper over turkey and inside cavity; fill cavity with celery, onion and carrot., In a large saucepan, melt cubed butter; stir in wine. Saturate a four-layered 17-in. square of cheesecloth in butter mixture; drape over turkey. Bake turkey, uncovered, 3 hours; baste with wine mixture every 30 minutes, keeping cheesecloth moist at all times. , Remove and discard cheesecloth. Bake turkey until a thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 170°-175°, basting occasionally with pan drippings, 45 minutes to 1-1/4 hours longer. (Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly)., Remove turkey to a serving platter; cover and let stand 20 minutes before carving. Discard vegetables from cavity. Pour drippings and loosened brown bits into a measuring cup. Skim fat, reserving 1/3 cup. Add enough broth to remaining drippings to measure 4 cups., For gravy, chop reserved giblets. In a large saucepan, saute giblets in reserved fat until browned. Stir in flour until blended; gradually stir in broth mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 2 minutes. Serve with turkey.Freeze option: Place sliced turkey in freezer containers; top with any cooking juices. Cool and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered saucepan, stirring occasionally; add a little broth or water if necessary.