How to Roast Your Turkey

My first Thanksgiving in France, I invited about 14 people and went to the local butcher and ordered a full 3 weeks in advance a 22 lb. turkey. I was baffled that Wednesday before Thanksgiving when I went to pick it up and the butcher told me with a smile that he could not get a 20 lb. bird, so he had gotten me two ten pounders instead! Shocked and dismayed at how to get two turkeys into my oven at the same time and how and why to do twice the work for half the impression, I might have gone into a state of depression, but I had too much work to do! I quickly found someone to lend me a rotisserie (of course, in France you can find anything you need for cooking) and cooked one in that and the other in the oven. And much to my great surprise, these turkeys were moist and succulent as no large bird had ever been. That was my first lesson in cooking large poultry. The dirty secret is that dark meat takes longer to cook than white meat, and the bigger the bird the bigger the difference in timing required. I have since learned other ways to turn out moist white meat without overdoing the dark meat.  I have combined a couple of them to ensure the best roasted turkey. (Some people like to brine the turkey first – I do not. I find it transforms the texture and the taste in a way I do not favor.) Try this!

Selecting your bird

Fresh, free-range, naturally raised without hormones or antibiotics is a must, Heritage is a plus. Local is obvious. Weights are according to the number of portions below.

12-15 lb. turkey for 10-12 people

15-18 lb. turkey  for 14-16 people  

18-22 lb. turkey for 20 - 22 people 

Roasting Times for Unstuffed Turkey
Turkey Weight	Hours
6 - 8 lbs.	2½ - 3 hrs.
8 - 12 lbs.	3½ - 4 hrs.
12 - 16 lbs.	4 - 5 hrs.
16 - 20 lbs.	5 - 5½ hrs.
20 - 24 lbs.	5½ - 6 hrs.
Roasting Times for Stuffed Turkey
Turkey Weight	Hours
6 - 8 lbs.	3 - 3½  hrs.
8 - 12 lbs.	3½ - 4½ hrs.
12 - 16 lbs.	4½ - 5½ hrs.
16 - 20 lbs.	5½ - 6 hrs.
20 - 24 lbs.	6 - 6½ hrs.

Before roasting

You need to decide whether or not to stuff the bird. I prefer not to, because as you can see from the above chart it increases the required roasting chart further exacerbating the problem of potentially overcooking and drying out the white meat. If you want stuffing, it can be made in a separate dish in the oven and be just, if not more, delicious.

Bring the turkey to room temperature. Rinse the outside and cavities of the bird under cold, running water. Cut away and discard any fat remaining on the bird. Place the turkey on several layers of paper towels to drain. Using additional paper towels, pat the outside and cavities dry. Lather the inside of the cavity with the juice of half a lemon. Take a small handful of salt and rub all over the inside of the turkey. Sprinkle cavity liberally with salt and pepper. For flavor, put a half a yellow onion, peeled and quartered, a bunch of parsley, a couple of carrots, and some tops and bottoms of celery inside the turkey. Cap the body cavity with some aluminum foil so that the stuffing doesn't easily fall out. Close up the turkey cavity by stitching or lacing butcher string around metal skewers. Make sure that the turkey's legs are tied together, held close to the body, and tie a string around the turkey body to hold the wings in close. Rub melted butter all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle salt generously all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle pepper over the turkey.

Roasting

Place a cheese cloth soaked in melted butter. Every 15 minutes baste with turkey or chicken stock in which you have boiled the turkey neck, gizzard, an onion, stalk of celery and carrot. When the cheese cloth gets brown, remove and change for another cheese cloth soaked in butter – until one hour before roasting time is finished. Remove the cloth and allow to brown. Allow turkey to rest 20 – 30 minutes outside the oven with some aluminum foil loosely draped over it before carving. This will allow the juices to settle in the meat and keep warm without much further cooking.

Making the gravy

While turkey is resting, scrape all the drippings off of the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour drippings into a smaller skillet. Ladle off excess fat with a gravy spoon. In a separate small bowl take a quarter cup of corn starch and add just enough hot liquid from the drippings (or hot water) to dissolve the corn starch. Beat cornstarch with a spoon to remove lumps. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the drippings, stirring constantly. You may not end up using all of the cornstarch mixture. Only add as much as you need to get the desired thickness. Allow time for the cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Add salt, pepper, and fresh thyme,. 

Carving the turkey

(The cook should hand these instructions to someone else to carve while he or she is finishing up all of the sides and the gravy)  After the turkey has been allowed to "rest" for 20–30 minutes place it on the cutting board. Remove the leg on one side and place it on a pre-warmed platter. Steady the turkey with your big carving fork and use your knife to slice between the leg and the body of the turkey. Use the tip of the knife to probe the area just above thigh to find the joint that connects the leg to the turkey. That's the magic slice point. Once you find the joint, cut it firmly but smoothly. It will cut through with relative ease but if not, make sure you are not trying to cut through bone. Separate the thigh from the drumstick by cutting through the joint that connects them. The thigh is simple to carve—just slice the meat parallel to the bone. Leave the drumsticks intact because many people like them that way. Before you attempt to carve the breast you need to cut off the wings. Much same way you did the legs. Find the joint near the turkey's body and cut through the magic slice point. You can cut the breast one slice at a time away from the bird but it is easier to do as the restaurants do which is cutting the entire breast away from the bird and then slicing it into pieces, stacking the slices as neatly as possible on the warm serving platter. Repeat on the other side of the bird. Serve immediately!