Thanksgiving Recap

  We had a lovely Thanksgiving here this year.  As suspected I did host and roasted my first turkey!  It turned out very well, thanks to some invaluable advice from my grandmother and mother.  After doing some research on different recipes I decided to create my own based on what I already had in my pantry.  What I came up with was a simple, flavorful recipe that will make your home smell like heaven and impress even the most critical of in-laws.   This recipe would also translate well to roast chicken or other poultry.  Here's the recipe I created:

Herb-Rubbed Roast Turkey

Ingredients:

1whole turkey-I used a 12 lb bird

salt

thyme

rosemary

water/chicken broth

Supplies:

Roasting pan (with or without lid)

tin foil (optional)

turkey baster, ladle or long-handled serving spoon

meat thermometer

carving knife

Instructions:

Begin thawing your turkey several days before hand (mine took four days).  Remove turkey from packaging and remove giblets from the cavity.  You can save these for soup or discard them, we discarded them.  After rinsing the bird, place in roasting pan.  Rub salt on the outside and inside of the bird, you will need more than you think.  Now rub the rosemary and thyme on the outside of the entire bird.  Be liberal with the herbs, you will need at least two tablespoons or more of each to reach all the little nooks and crannies.  Position bird with the legs pointing up in the pan.  At this point you can cover it with the lid to your roasting pan or "tent" it in tinfoil if you don't have a lid.  This prevents the bird from browning too quickly and allows the juices to flow back into the pan instead of evaporating during the roasting process.  About half-way through cooking begin adding water or chicken broth (we used water) to the pan.  You won't need much, about a half cup each hour.  At this time you may also want to start basting the bird with the juices collecting in the pan.  Just gently ladle the juices over the bird, making sure that some get into the cavity and in the crevices of the wings and legs.  Remove the lid or tin foil about an hour or so before the bird is done cooking to allow it to brown nicely.  At the end of cooking time, check the internal temperature at the thigh; it should be 175 degrees.  When the safe temperature is reached, remove the bird from the oven and carve.  

Voila! A simple and savory roast turkey that everyone will love!