Holiday Oven Roasted Turkey

We always look forward to the Holidays and making a very special meal just makes us happy. It is so much work but so worth it when each member of the family just loves what you made. The Turkey is the main focus of our meal and it definitely needs a special preparation. The more you give the turkey the loving care the better the end result will be. Let’s not forget about the amazing side dishes either. Let’s jump in, shall we :)

Ingredients:

TURKEY

• turkey - I suggest a young, organic turkey. I usually get one on the smaller side around 12 lbs

• oregano

• Thyme

• Sage

• 2 carrots

• 2 celery

• 1 parsnip

• 1 apple

• 1 orange

• 2 shallots

• 2 garlic cloves

• black pepper

• salt

• better than bouillon

• butter

• olive oil

SIDES

Cranberry Chutney

• 2 bags of fresh cranberries

• 1 jalapeno

• garlic

• celintro

• orange juice

• brown sugar

• better than bouillon

Spicy Mango

• 2 half ripe mangos

• jalapeno

• Marsala cooking wine

• better than bouillon

• 2 shallots

• cilantro

Stuffing

• 1 box of original bread stuffing

• 1 carrot

• 1 celery

• 1 apple

• 1 box of vegetable broth

• 2 shallots

• bouillon or salt

Gravy

• turkey neck

• onion

• garlic

• turkey drippings

• salt

• pepper

• cornstarch

Served with:

Listed under sides

Habanero mashed potatoes

Green Beans with Chili Sauce

Instructions:

Turkey

• We prepare the turkey the day before. If you purchased a frozen turkey make sure you allow enough time to defrost the turkey. Wash the turkey really well and tap dry it with some paper towels.

• Melt 1 cube of butter in a frying pan, add 1 teaspoon of oregano, thyme, sage, salt, black pepper, garlic and mix together really well and saute this for few minutes.

• Carefully separate the skin from the breast of the turkey and rub 1 - 2 tablespoon of this mix under the skin on the breasts.

• Rub the rest of the mix all over on the turkey

• Cover it up with tinfoil and keep it in the fridge

• Next day when you are ready to bake the turkey heat the oven to 400 F degrees

• Cut up 2 carrots, 1 parsnip, 2 celery, 1 apple, 1 orange, 3 shallots, 2 garlic cloves to small pieces and stuff this mix in the turkey

• Add 2 glasses of water below the turkey rack

• You can add more oregano, thyme, sage, crushed black pepper all over on the turkey’s skin.

• Cover it up with tinfoil and put it in the preheated oven

• Bake it on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes and then lower the heat to 350 degrees

• Bake the turkey until golden brown. Breast should be 155 degrees F and the thigh should be 165 degrees F

• A 12 pound turkey will take you about 3-4 hours to bake. (if you stuffed it will take slightly longer) Make sure to remove the tinfoil for the last 40 minutes or so and keep basting the turkey. If the water under the turkey rack evaporated keep adding water, you can also add 1 glass of white wine. Once the turkey skin is nice golden brown and the breast and thigh is at the right temperature you can remove the turkey and it needs to rest for about 20-30 minutes under tinfoil

Chutney

• put all of the cranberries in a pot

• fill the pot up with orange juice that it slightly covers the cranberries

• start cooking this on medium heat until it reduces

• dice the Jalapeños into small pieces and add it to the pot

• add 1 tablespoon of bouillon

• add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and keep cooking this down until creates a jelly like sauce

• cut up the cilantro and add and mix it in at the end and now you can just let it sit

Spicy Mango

• cut up the mangos into small pieces

• dice two shallots and sautee it on a little oil in a pot

• add in the mango and add a little marsala wine, cook this on medium heat for a few minutes

• add in 1 teaspoonful of bouillon

• add 1 Jalapeño cut up in small pieces

• once the mangos are soft and tasty add in the cut up cilantro and you can turn it off

Stuffing:

• get one box original bread stuffing

• sautee 2 shallots with garlic and 1/2 of a cube of butter

• cut up 1 celery into small pieces and add it to the pot

• 1 cut up 1 carrot into small pieces and add it to the pot

• 1 cut up 1 apple into small pieces and add it to the pot

• add the box of breading mix it well together

• add enough vegetable broth that it just makes it moist but don’t soak it

• cook this mixture until fruit and vegetables are soft.

• It will start soaking up the broth so you can keep adding some. You want it moist but not soaked.

• You can add salt or bouillon for your taste.

Gravy

• sautee onions and garlic

• add drippings to the pot and the neck

• you can add some bouillon or salt

• cook this until the neck is really soft and you can scrape the meat off back into pot and you can remove all the bones

• put this in the blender and blend it for a few seconds

• pour the mix back in the pot and see if it needs salt & pepper

• mix a teaspoonful of cornstarch with little water and add it to the mix. This way your gravy will be the perfect texture.