Christmas Turkey

How to Make Christmas Turkey

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Turkey is a Christmas classic, and today I'll teach you a really quick and delicious recipe that doesn't even need marinating. Let's learn how to make it!
CATEGORIA Christmas Recipes, Gluten-free, Main Dish, Poultry, Savory Recipes
COZINHA Brazilian
PALAVRA-CHAVE christmas, turkey
TEMPO DE PREPARO 40 minutes
TEMPO DE FORNO/FOGÃO 2 hours 30 minutes
TEMPO TOTAL 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings 10 561
Calories 561kcal
Author Natália Palmegiano – Cook’n Enjoy

Equipment

  • Oven

Ingredients

Side Dish

  • 35.2 oz Baby Potatoes (1 kg)
  • 2 tbsp of Olive Oil 0.87 fl oz (26 mL)
  • Salt to taste
  • Black Pepper to taste

Turkey

  • 5 tbsp of Butter 3.53 oz (100 g)
  • 3 cloves of Garlic minced
  • 1 unit Orange Zest
  • Salt to taste
  • Black Pepper to taste
  • 1 unit of Turkey (approximately 123.5 oz or 3,5kg)

Stuffing

  • 1 unit of Green Apple chopped
  • 3.53 oz of Bacon chopped (100 g)
  • 1 tbsp of Brown Sugar 0.53 oz (15g)

For Basting

  • 1/4 cup of Orange Juice (1/4 cup) 2.03 fl oz (60 mL)
  • Twigs of Rosemary

Instructions

Side Dish

  • In a large baking dish, place the washed baby potatoes and season with olive oil, salt, and black pepper
  • Mix well

Turkey

  • In a small bowl, mix the butter with garlic, orange zest, salt, and black pepper
  • Take the turkey and release the legs attached to the skin, do not cut this skin
  • Remove the bag with giblets; you can use it to make another side dish as farofa with corn flour, if you want it.
  • Dry both sides of the turkey with paper towels so that the skin becomes crispier
  • With your fingertips, start separating the skin from the meat; do this gently
  • Take the butter mixture and start seasoning the turkey under the skin and then on top; reserve about 1/3 of this mixture for later use
  • Place the turkey on top of the seasoned baby potatoes

Stuffing

  • Mix the green apple, bacon, and brown sugar and stuff the turkey
  • Hold the turkey legs together with that skin, and to make sure it doesn't open. truss it with twine
  • Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 392°F (200ºC) for 1 hour (if your turkey is larger, 11-13 lbs (5-6 kg), bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes)
  • Now, remove from the oven and take that remaining butter mixture, add the orange juice, mix a bit
  • Brush the entire turkey; this will make it golden brown (there will be leftover butter mixture)
  • If you like it, you can even stir the baby potatoes a bit to ensure even cooking
  • Also, cover the tips of the wings with aluminum foil so they don’t burn, and secure them closer to the body with toothpicks
  • Return to the oven at the same temperature and bake for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, brushing with more butter mixture and juice every 30 minutes (if your turkey is larger, 11-13 lbs (5-6 kg), bake for about 2 hours)
  • In the last 30 minutes after basting, remove the aluminum foil from the wings and place rosemary around for fragrance
  • TIP: If the turkey pop-up timer doesn't pop up in this time, you can stick a thermometer in a thick part of the turkey and check if it reaches 165°F (74ºC); as you can see, mine reached 172°F (78ºC) here
  • While I arranged the turkey on the plate with the baby potatoes around and more twigs of rosemary, the pop-up timer went up, and at this point, I noticed that it might have been the fat around the timer that made it difficult to pop up, so for this reason, it's important to check with a thermometer to avoid overcooking and drying out

Notes

Tips:
– Valid to: after it’s done, immediate consumption is recommended, but it lasts up to 3 days under refrigeration, or if you prefer, you can remove the meat from the bones and keep it frozen for up to 90 days in the freezer.