If it is your turn to prepare the turkey this year, then follow this great recipe. Keep in mind that preparing a great turkey requires you to start four days ahead of time.
Buy a Fresh Turkey
You need to get your turkey from a reliable source. Our turkeys are raised in the Rogue Valley, so your purchase benefits local producers. While most frozen birds are made from old toms, our birds are fresh and never frozen. It is a difference that diners at your dinner table will be able to taste. While you are buying the turkey, do not forget the fresh thyme, sage, rosemary and extra-virgin olive oil needed to flavor the bird.
Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe
Four days ahead of Thanksgiving, finely chop two tablespoons thyme, sage and rosemary into a small bowl. Add one tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil stirring until well combined.
Prepare Your Fresh Turkey
Carefully loosen the skin around the turkey’s shoulder and the cavity. Using your hand, generously spread your herb mixture against the bird’s meat underneath the skin.
Now place the bird in a large roasting bag carefully making sure that the wings are tucked underneath. Place the first bag in another bag just to make sure that it does not leak. Put the turkey in the refrigerator. Turn the bird over each day for the next three days.
Cooking the Turkey
On Wednesday, remove the bird from the refrigerator and let it return to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the fresh bird in a roasting pan covering it tightly with aluminum foil. When the oven has reached 400 degrees, place the turkey in the oven for one hour.
Cook the Turkey All Night
Now, reduce the oven’s temperature to 250 degrees and let the turkey cook for the next eight hours. Remove the turkey from the oven and take off the aluminum foil. Turn up the oven’s temperature to 350 degrees and put the turkey back in the oven until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Be careful when inserting the thermometer that it does not touch any bones.
Finishing Touches
Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest in the pan. Cover it with an aluminum foil tent giving it plenty of space to breathe. Let the turkey sit for at least 30 minutes. Finally, carve and enjoy.
Find your turkey at The Butcher Shop in Eagle Point, Oregon, today.
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