Roasted Turkey

Unbelievably this is my 4th year of making the Thanksgiving Dinner. The main dish this year is ofcourse, the star of the Dinner, Roasted Turkey. It all started when my daughter started going to the preschool and she loooooved Turkey , so I decided to make Thanksgiving Turkey at home and from that year on, it has become a tradition at my house to make the Thanksgiving dinner.

I always try to find the smallest turkey possible. Which is usually about 11-12 lbs. By no means it is small, but compared to the 20-24 lb birds it is small.

Anyway, the whole preparation / getting ready for cooking the turkey starts about 3-4 days before the day of cooking. So...since Thanksgiving is on a Thursday, Monday and Tuesday are for thawing the turkey in the fridge and Wednesday or Tuesday night is better for brining it and Wednesday for marinating the Turkey. It will be the most flavorsome turkey you would ever eat. ITS A PRODUCT OF PATIENCE AND LOVE.

Roasted Turkey (Turkey roasted with Indian/American flavors)

Roasted Turkey

Ingredients for brine-ing:

1. 1 container large enough to fit the turkey (i use a 15 gallon bucket just for this purpose)
2. 1/4 cup salt
3. 2-3 stalks of rosemary
4. few stalks of thyme
5. few stalks of sage
6. 1 heaped teaspoon red pepper flakes
7. 3 garlic pods crushed

Ingredients for marinating:

1. 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, butter, grated garlic
2. 1 teaspoon each of salt, coriander powder, garlic powder
3. fresh juice from 1/2 lemon
4. 1 teaspoon each of rosemary, thyme, sage chopped fine

Ingredients for roasting:

1. 5 stalks of celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2. 1 onion, roughly chopped
3. 2.5 cups chicken broth
4. One 12-lb turkey
5. 1/2 cup olive oil (or melted butter)
6. 1 orange (juiced)
7. 1 lemon (1/2 juiced, and cut the other half in half.
8. 1 whole head of garlic (1/2 minced)
9. 1 bunch of sage (1/2 minced, 1/2 whole)
10. 1 bunch of rosemary (1/2 minced, 1/2 whole)
11. 1 bunch thyme (1/2 minced, 1/2 whole)
12. 1 tablespoon salt
13. 1/2 tablespoon crushed black pepper

On Tuesday night, mix the ingredients for brine in about 4-5 cups of water and put the turkey in it and leave the bucket in the fridge. On wednesday morning turn the turkey upside down.

On Wednesday evening, mix the ingredients for marinade and rub them on the turkey well. Leave it in the fridge overnight. 2 hours before you start roasting. If you have any more marinade left rub it on the turkey again. 

1/2 hour before you start cooking, place a bag of ice on the turkey breasts (this will help the turkey breasts not dry out when the dark meat is getting cooked)

Pre heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients for roasting an add it to the roasting pan. Place the turkey on the roasting rack. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast for 3.5-4 hours. Baste the turkey with the liquid in the pan every 45 minutes. This will give the turkey a gorgeous dark brown color.

Enjoy your turkey dinner with side 

1. Rosemary corn bread 
2. Stuffing
3. Sourcream Mashed potato
4. English Pea Salad
5. Brown Gravy
6. Roasted Vegetables

And ofcourse you can't forget the dessert

Sweet Potato Pie

Pumpkin Pie