I got:
one turkey
two oranges
three limes
the peel from said citrus.
a handful of fresh sage
a handful of fresh thyme
as much dried rosemary as needed.
The Turkey is going in the oven either christmas eve or christmas morning. My inclination is to puree all of the ingredients (peels and all) , smother the turkey, and throw in the oven. Any suggestions to correct my course of action?
Pureeing everything sounds like a singularly bad idea - not only because it will look icky, but also because you don’t want the white stuff under the citrus peels all loose and roaming about on your turkey. Got any butter? If so, I’d make a basting sauce of melted butter, sage and thyme, perhaps with the orange zest (the peels without the icky white stuff) sliced very thinly and floating about. If you choose to use the rosemary, be cautious - too much and your turkey will taste like it was basted in pine needles. I guess you could use the limes as a garnish.
The limes, however, have me thinking - if you have onions and maybe bell peppers, you could do a sort of fajita-inspired turkey. Roast the turkey plain and then slice it up and serve it with a sort of fajita chutney. I am totally making this up as I go, so take it for what it’s worth. Good luck!
Please, please don’t puree the citrus fruits. LifeOnWry was right about wanting to avoid the pith (the bitter white part of the peel).
I would take a stick of butter and blend it with chopped sage, thyme, a little of the rosemary, and the grated zest of one of the oranges. Loosen the skin of the turkey over the breast and slide some of the butter under the skin, and rub the balance of it on the outside. Season the skin with salt and pepper. Take the other orange, quarter it with the skin, and put into the cavity of the turkey. Roast as usual.
Those both sound good!
I’d roast as JavaMaven1 says, though probably with a bread stuffing (let bread dry a bit, chop it up into cubes, mix with the herbs, onion, garlic, and some melted butter). Then do a batch of LifeOnWry’s fajita chutney to go with the leftovers.
I learned something this Thanksgiving from Alton Brown, the only way to cook a turkey is to soak it in brine first. Oh my god, it was great. Two weeks later I made one without brining it first and it was far too dry.
I’m very fond of Alton’s brining method. I spiced mine up a little more than his, and it was delicious.
Only problem is that you definitely need to plan ahead for it. Your turkey needs to be fully thawed, you need a bucket & cool place (or cooler) to store your turkey overnight, etc. Once you have that in place, then you’re golden.
I’ve found that if I’m not able to brine a turkey, then watching it like a hawk with a meat thermometer so it doesn’t overcook is the best way to keep it from going dry.
If you don’t have brining time, Martha Stewart’s method works great – soak a cheesecloth in butter and white wine, and lay it over the bird. Then keep it soaked, basting and pouring more buter/wine mixture on it.
Mmm… juicy.
I’ll 2nd or 3rd the oranges inside the turkey.
Typically, we use 2 oranges and 2 apples, cut into halves and stuffed inside the turkey. We’ve had amazingly juicy turkeys each and every time this way.
MeanJoe
2nd (3rd?) for brining, but if you can’t for whatever reason a tip I picked up off a bbQ web site was before putting the bird on place a zip lock bag of ice on the breast. This will make the breast colder and cook slower than the thighs.
Yeah, that’s a good way of doing it. Just remember, if you want the gorgeous brown and crispy skin (one of the best things about a roasted turkey, IMHO), is to take the cloth off for the last 40 minutes or so of roasting.
Brine. 'nuff said.