The holidays are AWESOME... it means time with family and great food! Even though my parent's did not grow up in the US. They still held to the tradition of gathering as a family (and family friends...who we just call family anyways) and had a big feast. I remember one Thanksgiving when it was at my house; my cousin, Suda (who loves to bake and makes amazing desserts), asked my dad if we had any butter. We had to go to the grocery store, and he told me to go grab some butter and some cups. We get home and I hand the cups and the butter to Suda. She says..."what are the cups for? I just asked for a cup of butter." Anyways, we laugh about that night to this day.
Back to the food blog... It is the Sunday before Thanksgiving... why in the world is this girl making a turkey dinner? The answer is simple: I love to cook. And, with our nifty little convection oven, I can cook at 12 lb turkey in a little over 2 hours. Turkey dinners are also in the rotation and we've nailed it down to just 3-4 hours to throw together a thanksgiving dinner (as long as the turkey is thawed).
The must have sides that we have with our turkey these days are:
Homemade Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Cornbread Stuffing
Corn
Homemade Chunky Cranberry Sauce
Homemade Turkey Gravy
Someday, I will venture into other sides; but these work well so far. We might have to add our garlic spinach and corn that we've made before.
And, maybe someday I'll do a less traditional turkey like my mom's curry turkey or my brother's Peking turkey.
***The key to a tender and moist turkey is the rub, the butter, and cooking it breast side down until the last 30 minutes.***
The "Stuffing" and the Rub:
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tbsp of fresh ground pepper
1/2 tbsp of thyme
3/4 stick of butter (sliced into 1/8" pieces)
1 carrot, cut into 1" pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1" pieces
1 small onion ,quartered
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of olive oil
1) In small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, and thyme.
2) In another bowl, combine the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, a big pinch of your spices above and olive oil.
Prepping and Cooking the Turkey:
Preheat your convection oven to 325 F or regular oven to 350 F
1) Take the neck out of the abdominal cavity and the bag of giblets out of the neck pouch of your 10-12 lb turkey.
2) Rinse the turkey well (You can thaw it in cold water for about 3 hrs or thaw in the fridge for a few days)
3) Drain any excess water from your turkey and pat dry the outside and inside the abdominal cavity.
4) Place your turkey on your roasting pan with the breast side up.
5) Gently run your fingers/hand to separate the skin from the breast meat. This will be a great reservoir for your rub and pats of butter.
6) Take a big pinch of your salt, pepper, and thyme (let's just call it SPT) and rub it directly on the meat (under the skin) on both sides.
7) Place the pats of butter under the skin all along the breast meat.
8) Rub another big pinch of your SPT on the outside of the bird.
9) Insert the carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves inside the abdominal cavity.
10) Close the opening with a bamboo skewer
11) Flip the bird over and used the rest of the rub on the backside.
12) Place the turkey into your oven and set for 1 1/2 hrs.
13) After 1 1/2 hrs flip the turkey so it is now breast side up, cook the turkey for another 30-45 minutes. Basting optional.
14) Remove the turkey from the roasting pan onto your serving plate.
15) Pour your drippings into a bowl.
16) Place your roasting pan on medium heat and pour a few tablespoons of the drippings in the pan.
17) Add 2 tablespoons of flour and constantly stir until full incorporated.
18) Stir in a cup of chicken stock.
19) Pour gravy through a strainer into a bowl.
