Home-Cooked Whole Turkey

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole turkey
Country Crock Butter/Margarine (set aside approx 1/2 cup in bowl at room temperature)
4 tablespoons salted butter
2 sticks washed celery hearts
1 medium yellow onion, de-husked and whole
Kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
Smallwood General Spice

 

 

 

 

 

PREPARE:

 

Lay the turkey on its back. Loosen the skin over the breast section of the turkey manually with your hands..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With one hand, lift a section of the skin scoop up a portion of the Country Crock with your other hand and rub it into the separation you have made between the skin and the breast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spread more of the softened Country Crock on the outside of the bird and the inside as well.

 

 

Place the whole onion inside the turkey as well as the two sticks of celery.

 

 

Sprinkle a layer of kosher salt onto the top, followed by fresh ground black pepper.

 

 

Over the kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, start to coat with a light layer of Smallwood General Spice.

 

 

Be sure to lightly coat the wings with Smallwood General Spice as well.

 

Place four cubes of salted butter inside the turkey. Protect the drumstick ends and wing tips with aluminum foil. Butter the bottom of a deep baking pan. Place the bird into the pan.

 

 

Lay a bag of crushed ice over the breast. (This is how we keep the breast from over-drying too quickly in the oven.) Leave on for 30 minutes.

 

 

Place a temperature probe into the thigh as shown.

 

 

Following the temperature/time directions provided with your turkey, place the turkey in the oven uncovered for thirty minutes and then use a bulb baster to baste the bird with the juices from the bottom of the pan. (May need to tilt the pan at first.) Every15 minutes, keep basting the bird until the skin looks about the right golden color. Then cover the turkey with foil for the remainder of the cooking time, still basting every 15 minutes.

 

 

Pull the bird from the oven when the thigh temperature is about 168 degrees. Place on counter covered with foil and a towel to allow the bird to continue to cook. After thirty minutes, remove the bird from the pan and place on a rack on top of a cutting board for another 15 minutes (still covered with foil). When that 15 minutes is over, time to carve the turkey!