I don't know about you, but making a holiday turkey has ALWAYS intimidated me. Year after year my mother would show me how and when it became my turn at my house, I panicked. I searched a million recipes and found a million twists and theories on how to do it perfect.
BlogHer does not want YOU to search. We've enlisted Dani Spies to show you exactly how to make the perfect holiday turkey with very little effort. Dani gives us a recipe for a bird that will look beautiful on your holiday table and taste amazing!
Dani's Holiday Turkey:
12-16 lb. kosher turkey
1 small onion, cut in half
3 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
2 bay leaves
A few sprigs of parsley
A few sprigs of rosemary
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
½ a lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Twine to tie turkey up
Preheat oven to 400.
1. Remove neck and giblets…pull out any feathers that may be hanging out. Pat turkey dry with some paper towels.
2. Rub lemon inside the cavity of the bird and generously salt the inside. Put onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley in the cavity.
3. Perform a basic truss to tie turkey legs together and keep the wings close to the body.
4. Rub olive oil all over the outside of the bird. Generously season the entire turkey with salt. Then sprinkle with pepper, garlic powder and sage.
5. Place turkey breast down on a rack of a roasting pan. Pop in the oven for 30 minutes before reducing the oven temperature to 325. Allow turkey to cook for 15 minutes for every lb. (approx. another 2 ½-3 hours). And don’t forget to baste it every now and then (every hour or so).
6. A half hour before you expect the turkey to be done, take it out of the oven and flip breast side up to ensure that the skin becomes nice and brown.
Once the temperature of the dark meat reaches 175 and the light meat between 160-165, you’re turkey is ready to go!!
Host and Contributing Editor Erin Kotecki Vest also blogs at Queen of Spain Blog
Comments
Erin, Dani, this is the
By: Dana J. Tuszke Posted: 28 weeks 11 hours agoErin, Dani, this is the best! I always host Thanksgiving each year, and while I'm not bad at, I always have a holiday panic attack about the whole turkey thing. I loved the video and the step by step EASY instructions. I'm going to try this for this year's feast! Maybe I'll have to make a video to show y'all how it worked! :)
Yay, BlogHer Recipes!! This rocks!
Contributing Editor Dana J. Tuszke also blogs at The Dana Files.
Dana - a video, YES
By: Denise Posted: 28 weeks 11 hours agoWhen I watched that video, I thought the same thing.
~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings
It's the tying that always scared me
By: Kristin Darguzas Posted: 28 weeks 10 hours agoI'm so glad you demonstrated how to tie the legs. The legs, they scared me!
My confidence is inflated to the point I may actually try this. Awesome video.
Martha (yes, that Martha)
By: Super Jive Posted: 28 weeks 9 hours agoMartha (yes, that Martha) has a technique involving a cheesecloth and some wine and butter that I highly recommend! It should be easy to find, too, because she touts it every year. The bird turns mahogany and stays moist.
And now I know how to tie legs! I am in crafty cookery heaven.
Your Pop Culture Librarian also writes almost daily at I, Asshole.
Great video!
By: Kalyn Denny Posted: 28 weeks 4 hours agoThe turkey looks wonderful. Great video Erin and Dani.
Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen
Thanks!
By: Erin Kotecki Vest Posted: 28 weeks 24 min agoYes-it really was that easy. As Dani told me...if you can roast a chicken, you can cook a turkey!
Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain
Great job Erin, Dani
By: Karen Rani Posted: 27 weeks 6 days agoYou both looked so comfortable with that raw poultry. I've never cooked a turkey but once we move to the new house, I just might try. Thank you!!
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I wanted to show everyone this email
By: Erin Kotecki Vest Posted: 25 weeks 6 days agoI received it from my sister-in-law in Germany:
Hey,
I just cooked a beautiful 25 lb turkey using a recipe from blogher.com! Every year the PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) hosts a big Thanksgiving dinner for the German ladies from the churches in the towns right outside post. The dinner is tonight. I'm not going because I don't have a babysitter but I agreed to cook a turkey for them. I more or less used the method from your "project". I only got to taste the bite that came out when I checked the turkey for doneness with a fork but man, was it good! And it was so pretty, I didn't even carve it before I sent it to them.
Anyway, here's a picture! And I am supposed to get a plate brought to me after the event tonight. Thanks for the recipe!
Jenn
Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain
cool
By: Denise Posted: 25 weeks 6 days agowhere is the photo?!!
~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings
Turkey Photo!
By: Erin Kotecki Vest Posted: 25 weeks 6 days agoMy Sister-in-Law's finished Turkey-she used the BlogHer Holiday Guide Video and Recipe!
Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain
It is pretty
By: Denise Posted: 25 weeks 6 days agoTW is actually in the kitchen now, making a turkey (though at this point all I see is the huge mess she is making for me to clean up) I hope it looks this good when it comes out of the oven.
~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings
Nice!
By: she has moxie Posted: 25 weeks 3 days agoGreat video!
Now where is the video to show me how to carve the turkey without making a shredded mess of it?
I am not going to cook the
By: netblogger1 Posted: 25 weeks 3 days agoI am not going to cook the turkey. It is a lot of work.
Here is a cute animated ecard for this Thanksgiving. I just wish cooking can be this easy:-)
http://www.ojolie.com/index.php?step=preview&ec_id=27