Best 8 Roast Turkey With Berry Mint Sauce And Black Walnuts Recipes

BUTTERMILK-BRINED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Two to three days before you plan to cook, spatchcock the turkey: Put the turkey on a stable cutting board, breast-side down, and use heavy-duty kitchen shears to snip along both sides of the backbone to release it. You can start from the tail or neck end, whichever you prefer; just keep the blades of the scissors as close to the spine as possible. It helps to work incrementally, snipping a little on one side, then a little on the other, rather than completing one side entirely and then doing the second side without the advantage of the opposing pressure.
• After removing the backbone, remove wingtips, neck and giblets, setting them all aside for stock and gravy.
• Turn turkey over so breast faces up. Splay out its legs and press hard on breastbone until you hear the cartilage pop and the bird lies completely flat.
• Place a 2-gallon resealable bag in a large bowl, stock pot or sink. Pour buttermilk and salt in bag and stir to dissolve salt. Place turkey in bag and seal carefully, expelling out air. Double-bag the turkey as needed to prevent leakage, then squish the inner bag to distribute buttermilk all around the turkey. Place it on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate for 48 hours. Turn the bag every 12 hours so that every part of the turkey gets marinated.
• Three hours before you plan to start cooking, remove the turkey from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive, discarding buttermilk. Set the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet and bring it to room temperature.
• Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Transfer turkey, breast-side up, to another rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack or parchment paper. Tuck thighs inward.
• Place baking sheet on the prepared oven rack and roast the turkey, occasionally rotating the pan 180 degrees, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast registers 150 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees, about 80 to 100 minutes, depending on size. (You may want to tent the breast or other hot spots with aluminum foil, if darkening too quickly.)
• Transfer turkey to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 20 minutes before carving.

TURKEY BREAST ROULADE WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel seeds and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the onion is tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the chopped sage and the rosemary; set aside to cool.
• Set the turkey breast on a cutting board and open it up, skin side down. If necessary, pound the turkey to an even thickness of about 1 inch. Sprinkle the turkey with 4 teaspoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Once the onion mixture has cooled, spread it evenly on the meat. Grate the butter and sprinkle it on top. Arrange the prosciutto on top to totally cover the filling and meat.
• Starting at one long end of the turkey breast, roll the meat up jelly-roll style to make a compact cylindrical roulade, ending with the seam side down. Tie the roulade tightly with kitchen twine at 2 to 2 1/2-inch intervals to ensure that it will roast evenly. Slip the whole sage leaves under the twine down the center of the roulade.
• Place the roulade, seam side down, in a roasting pan and pat the skin dry with paper towels. Brush the skin with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pour the wine and 1 cup water into the roasting pan, surrounding the turkey with the liquids without pouring them directly over the roulade. Roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature is 150 degrees.
• Remove from the oven, cover the turkey with foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the string, slice the roulade crosswise in 1/2-inch-thick slices, and serve warm with the pan juices.

ROAST TURKEY WITH ORANGE AND SAGE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Pat turkey dry with paper towel and place it on a rack in a roasting pan. In a small bowl or on a clean cutting board, mash the butter together with the orange zest, sage, garlic, salt and pepper to create a paste. Lift the turkey's skin at the neck and gently use your hand to separate skin from breast meat. Rub about half of the compound butter under the skin, covering the breast meat. Rub the rest of the butter over the skin of the turkey and season with a little more salt and pepper.
• Fold the wings of the turkey under the bird, and tie its legs together with butcher's twine. Pour the wine and orange juice into the roasting pan, scatter the sage leaves over the liquid and carefully slide the pan into the oven.
• Roast for about 2 to 3 hours, basting bird every 30 minutes with drippings. Start checking the bird 1 hour and 45 minutes into cooking, and tent it with foil if skin is turning too dark. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 30 minutes before carving.

CANTONESE-STYLE TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove turkey from refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a rack in a roasting pan and allow turkey to come to room temperature while you prepare the sauce.
• Swirl 3 tablespoons oil into a wok or large Dutch oven and set over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add scallions, leeks and celery and cook, stirring often, until vegetables soften and cook down, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add soybean sauce, orange peel, sugar, rice wine or sherry, white pepper, soy sauce and oyster sauce to the vegetable mixture, along with 2 cups water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and allow mixture to simmer and thicken, 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 20 minutes.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spoon 1 cup of the sauce over turkey and spoon 2 tablespoons into its cavity. Tuck the tips of the wings under the bird and truss its legs together with kitchen string. Pour remaining sauce and 2 cups water into roasting pan and transfer to oven. Roast turkey, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Reduce oven to 325 degrees. Baste turkey with pan juices, and tent it with foil. Continue roasting another 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with pan juices, until a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees. If pan starts to look dry, add hot water or turkey or chicken stock, if you have any, 1 cup at a time.
• Transfer turkey to a cutting board or platter and let rest at least 30 minutes before carving. Pour pan drippings into a small pot, adding enough warm water or stock to equal 1 cup, and keep warm on the stove.
• Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Grease a large sheet pan with 1 tablespoon oil, and arrange halved potatoes on the pan, cut side down. Season with salt and black pepper, and slide potatoes into the oven. Cook, undisturbed, until potatoes are tender and cut sides are nicely browned and crisped, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove pan from the oven, drizzle reserved drippings all over potatoes, toss and return to the oven to finish cooking, 5 minutes longer. Serve potatoes with turkey.

HOW TO COOK A TURKEY

Steps:

• Order your turkey three to four weeks before the holiday if you want something other than a supermarket bird. (Our buying guide is below.)Buy a decent roasting pan, one heavy enough that it won't buckle under the weight of the bird. You will also need a rack. One usually comes with the pan, but if you buy it separately, make sure it fits inside your pan. An instant-read thermometer is the most accurate way to determine when your turkey is done. Buy one if you don't have one.Leave enough time to defrost your turkey. Defrost it in the refrigerator, allowing one day for every four pounds of turkey, with the bird in a bowl or on a baking pan or platter.
• The array of turkey choices can be confusing. Below, we've broken it down to help you navigate your options. Some cooks swear by a fresh turkey, claiming that frozen varieties are not as flavorful. But when it comes to supermarket turkey, the difference between fresh and frozen is negligible.Free-range: This is a bird that is not raised in a cage and is free to graze on any grasses or grains it can find in its pen, which is generally considered a more humane and healthy poultry farming process. Organic: The U.S.D.A. requires that all turkeys sold as organic must be raised free-range, without the use of antibiotics, and fed an organic and vegetarian diet that has not been treated with pesticides. Natural: Natural turkeys are generally less expensive than organic, and are often of a comparable quality. But there is no government guarantee to back up the word "natural" on a label. You must read on to find out if the bird is antibiotic-free, free-range and/or raised on a vegetarian diet. Kosher: Turkeys with the "kosher" label have been farmed and slaughtered according to Jewish dietary customs, with rabbinical supervision. They also undergo a salting process after slaughter that gives the meat a juicy texture. (Don't brine a kosher bird.) Conventional: This is the standard supermarket turkey. The variety is the Broad Breasted White, which was bred to have a plumper, broader breast. A conventional turkey should be brined; it will noticeably improve the texture. And use an open hand when it comes to seasonings, since the turkey won't offer much flavor of its own. Heritage: Heritage turkeys are old-fashioned varieties of birds that were common in America until the 1920s. They have a richer, more distinct flavor, more like a game bird, and have a greater proportion of dark meat. Breeds include Narragansett, Jersey Buff, Standard Bronze, Bourbon Red and White Holland. Wild Turkey: It is illegal in the United States to sell a truly wild turkey that's been shot by a hunter, thus most "wild" turkeys on the market are pasture-raised - often free-range heritage birds. To procure a truly wild turkey you will need to either shoot one yourself or befriend a hunter. Self-basting: These turkeys have been injected with a solution generally consisting of butter or oil and salt, and sometimes herbs, spices and preservatives. Self-basted turkeys are sometimes not labeled as such, so make sure to check the ingredients list. If you see anything other than "turkey," chances are it is a self-basting bird. Do not brine it.
• Roasting a turkey can be confusing - there are so many options for how to prepare the bird. But it doesn't have to be that way. Below we walk you through your choices, step by step.You've bought your turkey, and it's a few days before Thanksgiving. Do not wash your turkey after you remove it from its plastic bag; just pat it dry with paper towels. Any potential bacteria will cook off during roasting. At this point, depending on its size, your turkey may be well on the way to being fully thawed. (Allow one day of thawing in the refrigerator for every four pounds of bird.) Be sure to remove the sack containing the neck and innards from the cavity. Reserve them for stock if you like. If the bird is frozen, defrost for one day, and then you should be able to pry them out. (Beware: Sometimes, the giblets are under the neck flap, not in the cavity. Check the turkey thoroughly.)To brine or not to brine? For me, the answer is no - at least, not a wet brine. Wet brining - the process of submerging a turkey in a salt-and-aromatic solution - is the messiest and least convenient way to ensure moist and evenly seasoned meat, which is the whole point. Instead I prefer seasoning the bird all over with a salt rub - technically, a dry brine - and letting it sit for a few days, or even hours, before roasting. It's much easier to keep a salted turkey in the fridge rather than having to figure out where to store a bird covered in liquid. But it's for you to decide. (And either way, you can brine or season a frozen bird as it defrosts.) Here's what you need to know.Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey (use coarse kosher or sea salt) with whatever aromatics you want to mix into it. Rub this mixture all over the bird and refrigerate for up to three days. In a pinch, you can season the bird just before cooking, though the skin will be saltier than the flesh. The simple roast turkey recipe below uses a dry brine.It's important to find a recipe for brine and stick to it, without making substitutions. For instance, different varieties of salt have different volumes. If your recipe calls for 2 cups kosher salt, don't substitute table salt or else you'll have an inedible bird. (Never brine kosher or self-basting turkeys, both of which have already been salted.) The safest way to brine is to submerge the turkey in the salt solution, cover it, and leave it in the refrigerator. If you don't have room, you can also try brining in a cooler (as long as the turkey can fit, completely covered by the solution, with the lid on). You'll have to be vigilant about maintaining the temperature of the solution. Check it with a kitchen thermometer at regular intervals to be sure it stays between 26 and 40 degrees. To keep it cool without diluting the salt, place ice cubes sealed in plastic bags into the brining bath, replacing the cubes once they melt. Or, if you live in a cold climate, place your cooler outside.Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, the savory bread mixture that you may or may not cook inside your turkey is an integral part of the Thanksgiving meal. Generally speaking, stuffings are cooked inside the bird, while dressings are baked in a casserole dish on the side, but the words are often used interchangeably. Both methods have their merits. (And for everything you need to know about both, visit our stuffing guide.)Baking the dressing separately allows the top to brown and crisp, and an unstuffed turkey cooks faster and more evenly than a stuffed one. This is the biggest reason why, at our house, we bake the stuffing outside the bird, which leaves space in the cavity for aromatics. Try placing onion and lemon quarters, bay leaves, peeled garlic, celery leaves, parsley and thyme in the turkey before roasting. Then, for that turkey flavor you sacrifice by not stuffing the bird, add stock and bits of crispy fried turkey skin to your dressing. (Take scraps of skin from the bird. If they are fatty, throw them into a dry pan, or else add a slick of oil, and fry over medium heat until well browned. Salt immediately after frying.) You can also add any diced cooked turkey gizzards and shredded neck meat that you used for stock, along with the turkey liver, sautéed in butter and diced. Just don't forget to make a vegetarian version if necessary.Cooking the stuffing inside the bird allows the poultry juices and rendering fat to flavor the stuffing. You can make the stuffing up to four days ahead and keep it refrigerated until the last minute, but only stuff right before the bird goes into the oven. Stuffing expands as it cooks, so fill the turkey loosely. One important caveat on timing: If your stuffing recipe calls for shellfish or turkey giblets, they need to be fully cooked and kept hot for maximum food safety before stuffing, says the U.S.D.A. Add them at the last minute, just before the stuffing goes into the bird. Stuffing slows down roasting, so if your recipe calls for an unstuffed bird, add at least 30 minutes onto the cooking time (more if it's a bigger bird). Take the temperature of the stuffing before pulling your turkey out of the oven. Both turkey and stuffing must reach 165 degrees. If the turkey is done but the stuffing isn't - a likely scenario - take the turkey out of the oven to rest, transfer the stuffing to a casserole dish and put it back in the oven until it reaches the proper temperature. Do not leave the turkey in the oven while the stuffing catches up, temperature-wise; the bird could easily overcook in those extra minutes. If you don't stuff your turkey, you really don't need to truss it. Allowing untrussed wings and legs to have hot air circulating around them helps them cook faster, so the white and dark meat will all be done at the same time. I stopped trussing my unstuffed birds years ago and my turkeys are the better for it.If you do stuff your bird, trussing, or at least tying up the drumsticks, helps keep the stuffing in its proper place, especially when you are moving the bird from the roasting pan to the cutting board. Here's the simplest way to do it. Place the turkey breast-side up on the rack in the roasting pan. Criss-cross the legs and use a piece of butcher's twine to tie them together at the ends, just above the joint. Wrap the twine twice around the legs to make sure they are secure. Take a long piece to twine and loop it around the body of the bird, so that the wings are pressed against the breast. Tightly tie the twine in a knot or bow at the top of the breast. The trussed turkey is now ready to roast.
• For all the attention we lavish on Thanksgiving turkeys, the truth is more work does not necessarily yield a better bird. That's why I swear by no wet brining, no stuffing, no trussing and no basting. Instead, I use a dry rub (well, technically a dry brine) - a salt and pepper massage that locks in moisture and seasons the flesh. No stuffing or trussing allows the bird to cook more quickly, with the white and dark meat finishing closer to the same time. And if you oil but don't baste your turkey, you'll get crisp skin without constantly opening the oven.
• You've bought, defrosted and seasoned your turkey, which means you're more than halfway to a golden, glorious centerpiece for the feast. Here are answers to the most frequently asked turkey-roasting questions, so you can put the bird in the oven with confidence.Size of turkeyApproximate cook time at 350 degrees9 to 11 pounds2½ hours12 to 14 pounds3 hours15 to 17 pounds3½ hours18 to 20 pounds4 hours21 to 23 pounds4½ hours24+ pounds5+ hoursTo add flavor to both the turkey (and the gravy, if you're using pan drippings), you'll want to add aromatics to the turkey cavity and to the bottom of the pan. Some combination of herbs, peeled garlic cloves, quartered onions and lemons, apples, mushrooms, celery, carrots and bay leaves can be used in both places. Then cover the bottom of the pan with a ¼ inch of liquid (wine, cider, beer, broth, water) so the drippings don't burn.Some people swear by basting, but I never baste anymore. Every time you open the oven door to baste, you let the heat out. Basting also gives you a less crisp skin. Instead of basting, rub fat (butter, olive oil or coconut oil, for example) all over the bird just before you tuck it into the oven. Then leave it alone until it's time to check for doneness.Start taking the turkey's temperature at least 15 minutes before you think it might be done. To check its temperature, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh and under the wing, making sure you don't touch any bones. Your bird is done when its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Don't be alarmed if the thigh meat near the bone still looks pink. Some turkeys are naturally pinker than others and a fully cooked bird will often have that color.Once your turkey is cooked, let it rest out of the oven, covered loosely with foil, for 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
• You're almost done. There's just one more, very important step to go: carving. This video will show you the easiest and most efficient route to take.Ray Venezia, master butcher and Fairway Market meat consultant, shows how to carve a turkey.

GOOD EATS ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Two to three days before roasting: Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
• Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
• The night before or early on the day you'd like to eat: Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
• Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
• Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
• Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

ROAST TURKEY WITH BERRY-MINT SAUCE AND BLACK WALNUTS

Steps:

• Remove giblets from the turkey cavity and discard or reserve for another use. Pat the turkey dry using paper towels. Rub the turkey all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey. Tuck the sage sprigs inside the turkey cavity.
• Set the turkey on a baking sheet, breast-side up. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 4 hours and up to 6 hours to dry out the skin (this will help it crisp when it roasts).
• When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the rice cooking liquid or stock into a large roasting pan and add the leeks. Place a roasting rack on top, then transfer the turkey to the roasting rack, breast-side up, and tuck the wings underneath. Brush the exposed turkey generously with the oil. Transfer to the oven and roast, 30 minutes. Baste the turkey with the pan juices, adding rice cooking liquid or stock as needed to make sure there is a 1/2-inch layer of liquid at the bottom of the pan.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting, basting every 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reaches 165 degrees, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If the skin begins to darken too much, tent the turkey loosely with aluminum foil. Brush 1/4 cup maple syrup over the turkey. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.
• Transfer 3/4 cup of the turkey pan juices to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the raspberries or blackberries, cranberries and the mint to the saucepan, stir with a wooden spoon to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped open, the raspberries have fallen apart and the liquid is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup, then add maple syrup and mint according to taste.
• Carve the turkey. Smear some berry sauce on each plate. Top with the leeks then the turkey. Garnish with walnuts and pea shoots or microgreens, and pass more berry sauce alongside.

TRADITIONAL ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Two to three days before roasting: Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
• Combine the broth, salt, sugar, peppercorns, allspice and ginger in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate the brine.
• The night before you'd like to eat: Truss the legs of the turkey with kitchen twine if desired. Combine the brine, water and ice in a 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey, with innards removed, breast-side down in the brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover and refrigerate or place everything in a cooler. Turn the bird once halfway through brining.
• Day of roasting: Heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
• Place the bird on a roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the bird with canola oil. Roast the bird on the lowest rack of the oven for 30 minutes.
• While the bird is cooking, fold and shape a double thickness of aluminum foil into a closely fitting breastplate.
• After 30 minutes, decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and cook until the temperature reaches 155 degrees F. Use the breastplate at any point during cooking should the bird become too brown.
• Rest the bird, covered lightly with aluminum foil, for 15 to 30 minutes. Carve and serve.