Tried & True: A Festive, Flavourful Holiday Turkey

Here, a simple and traditional recipe for a flavourful turkey.

 

Ingredients

1 8-10lb turkey
1 lemon
1 large onion
6 cloves garlic
1 small bunch of sage
1 small bunch of thyme
3 bay leaves
3 scallions
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground red pepper (optional)
2 cups chicken stock

For the Dry Rub

3 tbsp Kosher salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 whole lemon zested

Directions

1. Mix the ingredients for the dry rub together and rub onto the turkey making sure to cover the entire surface as well as the inside of the bird.

2. Stuff the inside of the bird with the quartered onion, quartered lemon and also with the herbs, the scallions and garlic.

3. Place the turkey on a rimmed cookie sheet that you have lined with foil paper and leave unwrapped in your refrigerator over night.

4. The next day before cooking take the turkey out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature while you melt the butter and mix it in with the olive oil and ground red pepper. Preheat the over to 450F for 15 minutes. Cover the turkey with the oil/butter mixture and place the turkey on a V rack inside of a roasting tin. Put the chicken stock, bay leaves and the remaining garlic in the bottom of the pan.

5. Place the pan in the centre of the oven and roast at 450F for the first 1/2 hour. Cover the breast with foil and turn it down to 350F for the remaining 2 hours. If using a thermometer the internal temperature should be 165F at the thickest part of the thigh. Take the bird out of the oven and let it rest for 1/2 an hour before carving. You can take the onions and lemons out of the inside of the bird and use it to decorate your platter. Add some fresh parsley as well.

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