The Perfect Turkey

As an Organic Freedom, I’m okay with process and therefore I’ve experimented for a long time to achieve a moist and juicy turkey. I’ve brined it, I’ve stuffed butter underneath the skin and I’ve cooked it upside down and, blah, blah, blah. Organic Freedoms can especially go a little crazy with events that have meaning to us. Fun’s will also keep at it until they are satisfied.

Last year I tried Real Simple’s Roasted Turkey with sage (although I left out the sage, as I’m not a fan of sage & rosemary) because it looked easy. The results were incredible. I made it again for Christmas day, and, um, it was ridiculously moist even though I overcooked it! The trick is to stuff the turkey with quartered onions. 

Oh, and a detail I forgot last year that my sister rudely pointed out as I was making the turkey? When I’m in NYC my husband gets the turkey from Florence Meat Market in the West Village, an old school place that’s been there forever and has quality turkey. They criss cross four strips of bacon on top.

Serves 8 Hands-On Time: 10m Total Time: 3hr 30m

Ingredients

  • 1 12-pound turkey, giblets removed
  • 1 bunch sage
  • 6 onions, unpeeled and quartered
  • 4 carrots, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400° F. Stuff the turkey cavity with the sage and 4 onion quarters. Scatter the carrots and the remaining onions in a large roasting pan.
  2. Place the turkey on top of the onions and carrots. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings underneath the body. Brush the turkey with the butter and season with 1 teaspoon salt.
  3. Roast the turkey for 45 minutes. Add the broth to the roasting pan. Continue to roast the turkey, covering it loosely with foil if it browns too quickly, until a thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 165° F, 2 to 2 1/4 hours.
  4. Carefully tilt the turkey to empty the juices from the cavity into the pan. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving. Discard the onions and carrots. Reserve the pan drippings for Hard Cider Gravy.

Now, if you have a turkey that’s easy to make and is moist as all hell, let us know and I’ll try it (if it’s as easy as this one!)

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