| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 day 3 hr 10 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 7 servings |
Ingredients
- One 10-pound turkey, neck and gizzards reserved
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 4 sprigs fresh oregano
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 head garlic, halved through its equator
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1 fennel bulb, quartered
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup picked fennel fronds
- 1/4 cup chicken or turkey stock (preferably homemade), or water
Instructions
- The day before roasting, rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water, set on a clean kitchen towel and pat dry. Sprinkle the turkey inside and out with the salt. Wrap the turkey in plastic wrap and refrigerate, about 24 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours prior to roasting to bring to room temperature.
- Place an oven rack on the lowest rung and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place a few sprigs of the oregano and thyme, a few cloves of the garlic and a quarter of the lemon in the turkey’s neck cavity. Wrap the neck skin over and around the cavity to enclose the ingredients. Place half of the remaining oregano, half of the remaining thyme, half of the remaining garlic, 2 lemon quarters, half of the fennel, half of the onion and all the fennel fronds in the turkey’s body cavity. Place the turkey, breast-side-up, on a rack set into a large roasting pan. Fold the wings and tuck the tips underneath the turkey.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and then let cool.
- Fill a pot with the stock. Add the remaining oregano, thyme, garlic, 1 quarter lemon, fennel and onions to the pot. Bring the stock mixture to a boil, reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers and continue to cook at a low simmer, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Soak a double layer of cheesecloth big enough to cover the turkey in the cooled butter and drape over the breast and legs of the turkey. Pour the stock mixture over the bird, pushing the pieces of vegetable and herbs into the bottom of the roasting pan. Add the reserved neck and gizzards to the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Place the turkey in the oven and roast, about 45 minutes. (There will be the distinct possibility of smoke depending on how clean your oven is). Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F, and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a thigh registers 160 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes (removing the cheesecloth for the final 10 minutes to brown, if needed). Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest before carving, about 20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 7 servings |
| Calories | 765 |
| Total Fat | 27 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 116 g |
| Cholesterol | 1590 mg |
| Sodium | 1734 mg |
Reviews
My go-to recipe for Turkey – delish every time and moist. Very easy to prepare and I love that that I don’t have to keep basting it!
Excellent recipe!
Love this recipe. Be you beginner or cooking pro , the results are wonderful.
use this recipe every year. makes the most moist and awesome tasting bird
tried this recipe for the first time using the cheesecloth to self baste and it did keep the white meat moist and tasty. I also did dry brine as Michael describes. I liked what he said about keeping the texture firm with dry brinng v. wet brining.
I also used the following tips from Alton Brown’s recipe:
1. Start at 500 for first 1/2 hour (rather than 425) with legs pointing to back of oven. (alum foil under to catch any drippings.)
2. After 1/2 hour, I put cheesecloth over bird as Michael describes and alum foil shield (from Alton) over breast with cheesecloth. Lowered Temp to 375.
3. Took out when thermometer in thickest part of breast registered 161 and covered whole bird with alum foil. Let rest 20 minutes or more.
I also used the following tips from Alton Brown’s recipe:
1. Start at 500 for first 1/2 hour (rather than 425) with legs pointing to back of oven. (alum foil under to catch any drippings.)
2. After 1/2 hour, I put cheesecloth over bird as Michael describes and alum foil shield (from Alton) over breast with cheesecloth. Lowered Temp to 375.
3. Took out when thermometer in thickest part of breast registered 161 and covered whole bird with alum foil. Let rest 20 minutes or more.
Both methods might work fine separately but I didn’t want the mess of wet brining and I was worried about it being dry. Maybe next year I will flip the turkey to make things more complicated!