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Roast Heritage Turkey

Heritage Turkey Recipe

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Recipes

Roast Heritage Turkey

Chef Leonard Spampinato of Aromas Fine Catering suggests preparing turkeys without stuffing. These are his roasting guidelines: 6 to 16 pounds, 15 to 20 minutes per pound. Over 16 pounds, 12 to 15 minutes per pound. Do not cover the birds with foil, he cautions, or they will steam, not roast.

For the turkey:

• 1 12- to 15-pound turkey
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 large sprigs fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
• 3 large sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Stems from 1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley

For the pan sauce:

• 4 to 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 5 cups chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Rinse the turkey and pat dry. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Allow butter to cool to room temperature.

While the butter is cooling, season the turkey. Rub the minced garlic over the entire turkey, including the underside. Brush butter over the entire bird. Then season with thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Place the bay leaf and parsley stems inside the cavity. Put the turkey in a roasting pan and place in the preheated oven to roast for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees. Roast the bird for 3 hours and 30 minutes to 5 hours (see roasting guidelines above), or until a thermometer registers 165 degrees. Be sure to place the thermometer into a thigh and avoid touching the bone.

Transfer the turkey to a platter and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving. While the turkey is resting, prepare the sauce.

Preparing the pan sauce: Dissolve the cornstarch in one cup of cold chicken stock. Pour the fat and juices from the roasting pan into a container. Let the juices settle to the bottom and skim the fat from the top. Place the roasting pan on top of the stove over medium heat. Add the juices back to the pan along with the remaining 4 cups of chicken stock (about 1/4 cup for every pound of turkey).

Bring the liquid to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to release the browned drippings on the bottom. Thicken the sauce by whisking in the cornstarch-stock mixture. When the sauce returns to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and strain through a sieve.

Heritage Turkey Recipe

• ¼ C. Olive Oil
• 2 T. Minced Garlic
• 2 T. Minced Brown Onion
• 2 T. Minced Fresh Rosemary
• 1 T. Minced Fresh Thyme
• 3 T. Minced Fresh Parsley
• 1 T. Ea. Lemon Zest Lemon Juice
• 3 T. Butter
• ½ T. Cracked Black Pepper

Marinate the turkey the day before cooking.

In a bowl, mix together olive oil, garlic, onion, rosemary, thyme, parsley, lemon zest & lemon juice.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place turkey on roasting rack in a large roasting pan. Rub the entire outside of turkey with marinade. (You can also rub the marinade under the turkey skin) Cover the turkey with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.

Melt butter and pour over the turkey. Season turkey with the pepper. Place the turkey in oven and cook until 150-165 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh using a thermometer.

Remove turkey from the oven, tent with foil and let rest 30 minutes before slicing.

We do not recommend stuffing the Heritage Turkey as that will increase the cooking time and the danger of drying out the turkey. Cook the stuffing on the side in a separate pan. The Heritage Turkey will be done before the Stuffing will be fully cooked

Green Earth Farm
Scott & Kathy Mor
8308 Barnard Mill Rd.
Richmond, IL 60071
(815) 403-7735
info@greenearthfarm.org