Simple Roasted Turkey

Simple Roasted Turkey

Yep, you read that right, Roasted Turkey! There is free range turkeys raised right here in Thailand. These are not like Butterball turkeys from the states, or the cost, looks more like a wild turkey when in the pan. This is a simple and basic roast turkey recipe. I made this on 17 Oct 2016 and it is good! Very tasty, and I would say the taste is better than a US pen raised turkey.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 whole turkey, cleaned, I am going to try this with a 4 to 5 kilo turkey
  • 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 8 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
  • stuffing, see Step 2

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 220 C.
  • For the stuffing, you are free to use bread stuffing, or you can do what I will do and use carrots, radish, and onions.
  • With your cleaned turkey, place that on the rack in your baking pan, if you do not have a rack, cut a couple of carrots and radishes in half lengthwise and put those on the bottom of the pan, then put the turkey on that, this is to keep the turkey out of the stock and drippings. (The free range birds have big legs since they do have to walk and forage for food, not stuck in a pen.)
  • Fill the body cavity with bread dressing if you like, or carrots and radishes cut in half lengthwise and some onion wedges. Rub the entire outside of the turkey with soft butter then season with salt and pepper to your liking. Pour 2 cups of stock into the pan and place the turkey in the oven. Cover the turkey with a tent of aluminum foil.
  • Roast for 1 hour at 220 C, then reduce the temp to 170 C. Using the stock in the pan, baste the turkey every 30 minutes (sorry you do not get to relax for 4 hours), when the drippings in the pan run low, add more stock, 1-2 cups at a time. Remove the aluminum foil tent after about 2 hours of cooking.
  • Roast the turkey about 4-5 hours, start checking the internal temp at at about 3 hours, measuring from the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone, the target temp is 80 C or 180 F. When you have reached the target temp, remove the turkey from the oven, and either let it sit on the rack or move to a serving platter. Let the turkey rest for about 20 minutes, it will retain the temp, no issues there. (I apologize for this photo, I tested that right leg, it was very good.)
  • Now using the drippings, prepare the gravy. When the gravy is prepared, serve the turkey with mashed potatoes on the side. (I messed up the gravy and went with butter instead as a quick replacement.)

Notes

Based on initial pricing from the turkey farm here (yes, they are still free range, many come through my yard every day) the cost of the turkey in the photos was a 4 kilo turkey and cost 600 Baht, plus 100 Baht for cleaning the bird, which I have no problem with! So for 700 Baht, you have turkey to feed a truckload of people and even make additional recipes. Not a cheap meal, but overall, good value since you can get several recipes out of this! For 8 servings (figuring on the low end) this is about $2.58 per serving, not a cheap meal but excellent for friends and family once in a while.
Adapted from an internet recipe.

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