Christmas Turkey - Salted Herbs and Shallot Gravy

Pretty tasty. As other who cooked this turkey have noted, the end result is very similar to a brined turkey, but without the brine effort and unusable carcass. The turkey is salted inside and out with an herb salt, left to sit in the fridge overnight, then rinsed clean and cooked with lemons and onions inside.

Herbed Salt

• 1/4 cup coarse kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
• 3 torn bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Mix all ingredients together. Wash the turkey well, but do not dry. Cover in salt, and place covered in the fridge for 12 hours or so (Christmas Eve). When ready to cook, remove and rise all the remaining salt off, and pat dry. Stuff the turkey with loosely cubed:

• 1 onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 whole lemon with peel
• dried rosemary
• dried rubbed sage
• dried thyme
• 1 stick unsalted butter

Roast for 17 minutes per pound. We made a gravy out of sauteed shallots, white wine, and the amazing amount of drippings the bird put off. A very brown, juicy turkey, not too salty at all. Very good drumstick meat, will try this on drumsticks alone next time, or maybe a roasted chicken.

Thanksgiving Turkey - Apple and Smoked Bacon

The 2008 Thanksgiving turkey, an adaptation of the Bon Appetit cover recipe. Prepared with the standard butter rubbed method. Butter mixture included fresh sage, salt and pepper, lemon juice, and 1-2 pieces raw diced applewood smoked bacon. The stuffing was a fennel apple bacon mixture, sauteed onions, celery, fresh fennel bulb, and about 6 pieces cooked and drained applewood smoked bacon, as well as fresh Italian parsley. The bacon gave the stuffing a pleasant smoked flavor, which carried over to the turkey. The end result (after cooking for about six and a half hours, was a very brown, tasty turkey that could be cut with a butter knife.