Let's talk Turkey!

Tired of the same old dry, sad and bland bird year after year? Too overwhelmed with a brand-new recipe you saw Martha make? Well here is your answer! Every Tuesday between now and Thanksgiving I'm going to give you tips to steer you clear of the same old turkey. We want to have a camera ready creation that makes your family and friends pass the side dishes for a second helping of your beautiful tasty bird.

 A boy and his first Thanksgiving turkey. It was love at first sight!

Let's talk bird basics first. You can get an organic bird, you can get a free range bird, you can even get a bird that's been wined, dinned and made breakfast the next morning! I really have no preference, the point is get a turkey and proceed to step one.

Step one: Make sure you take the giblets out. This is a running joke in my family that my father did almost 35 years ago one Thanksgiving- He left them in and has yet to hear the end of it. My husband deep-fried a bird with them a couple years ago still my dad did not catch a break on this reminder. Just take them out folks! It's not worth the ridicule.

Step two: When you unwrap the turkey there is a smell. It is a funky smell. It's not a smell that you really want to smell for a long period of time  So rinse your bird inside out with cold water. This is also a good time to make sure it's not frozen. Dry it well with paper towels

Step three: We want to pack this bird full of aromatic goodness. Now you can make your stuffing, dressing or whatever you want to call it in a separate pan. Nobody wants stuffing that came out of of birds ass- trust me. Trying to get the fluffy stuff fully cooked is like playing Russian Roulette. The bird will be over cooked and a wicked case of food poisoning can come from salmonella laced undercooked stuffing. You can add turkey drippings or whatever you need later, but keep it separate. You really do want to keep the cavity of the bird for all your good aromatics we're going to put in- root veggies, citrus and big old hand fulls of the fresh powerhouse herbs in the upcoming recipes.

Step Four: Lather it up and rub it down! Take butter (good unsalted butter) because we want to add in our own flavors. We don't want salt that has been sitting on the shelf either, we want fresh salt.  I like to use Maldon salt because of it's nice crunchy finishing effect, but kosher salt works well too. Mix softened butter, about a stick. I know it seems like a lot... But there's a lot of bird to cover. I mix in citrus zest , the salt, some fresh cracked pepper, and if you want a little heat you can add a dash or two of cayenne pepper to it, then mix that together until it's nice and smooth.

 Lift up the skin carefully with your fingers and massage half the butter underneath the skin of the bird. You want to make sure you get the legs, the breasts, the back, the thighs and all of it. Take the other half of the butter and message it all over the outside skin of the bird. Now add a nice liberal sprinkling of salt and fresh cracked pepper on the outside ready to go in a nice hot oven.

Step Five: Roasting to golden goodness! I like a big burst of heat to brown my turkey, 400 degrees for about 30 mins. Then drop oven down to 350 degrees for 2 more hours. Watch out for the skin. If its looking like it's burning, tent with foil. Cook that baby until a meat thermometer registers 165°. No one should request medium rare turkey or chicken! This is not negotiable. Check both the breast temp and thickest leg for 165°. Remove your glorious turkey and cover with foil for 20 mins to let the juices redistribute. If you cut it too early they will end up all over the board and your bird will be dry. Slice and serve. 

Remember these are just the outside lines of a tasty turkey. In the coming weeks I will be give you some flavoring ideas to color the rest in and make the turkey of your dreams! There may even be a special Thanksgiving gadget giveaway so stay tuned!