Roast turkey

Roast turkey

Recipe by Norma Chikiamco

Ingredients: serve 15 to 20

Turkey

1 whole Butterball turkey, (about 9 to 10 pounds) Salt and pepper, to taste

½ cup butter, divide into two portion

1 onion, peeled

Fresh sage, optional

Fresh thyme, optional

Procedures:

Pre heat oven to 425^oF

Remove the packed turkey neck, liver and giblets from the turkey and set aside for making the gravy. Wash turkey well inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels. Season inside and out with salt and pepper.

Melt 1 portion of the butter in a small skillet.

Positions turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan and brush all over with melted butter. (if you don know which is the breast side up, just remember, the wing tip has to points upward.)

Cut remaining butter into cubes and insert in cavity of turkey, together with whole onion and herbs, if using.

Season turkey again with salt and pepper. Insert meat thermometer on the thickest part of the turkey, which would be the thigh, closest to the body. Be sure meat thermometer does not touch the bone.

Put turkey in preheated oven. Turn oven temperature down to 350^oF. check after 45 minutes to see if turkey is browning too fast. If so, lower heat to 325^oF. you may also cover the turkey loosely with a tent of aluminum foil.

While turkey is roasting, you may baste it occasionally with the drippings. For this purpose, you should use a basting brush with a long handle. (it is also okay not to baste turkey, if you don’t want to.)

Note: for a 9 to 10lb. turkey. Check for doneness after 2 ½ hours. The meat thermometer should register 180^oF. if it hasn’t reached that temperature yet, return turkey to oven and continue checking after every few minutes. Turkey is fully cooked when the thickest part is pricked with a metal skewer and the juices run clear.

When the turkey is done remove it from the oven and transfer onto a serving platter. Reserve the drippings from the pan for the gravy.

Allow the turkey to rest for about 30 minutes before carving. Serve with gravy and cranberry sauce(available in supermarkets).

Giblet Gravy

Ingredients:

1 turkey neck(from package)

1 turkey giblet (from package)

1 turkey liver (from package)

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups water dripping from turkey

¼ cup flour

Procedures:

Put turkey neck, giblet, liver and salt in large saucepan. Pour in water. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Let turkey neck continue to simmer in the water for another 30 minutes but remove giblet and liver. Transfer into a mortar and pound with a pestle until of very fine consistency. Set aside.

Remove turkey neck from saucepan and turn off heat. Pry the meat form the bones. Chop meat finely. Set aside together with the pounded giblet and liver. Make sure you also set aside the simmering liquid, which would constitute the broth.

Strain the turkey drippings into a measuring bowl, to separate the liquid from the fat.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the fat into a deep saucepan. Add flour and cook over low heat, constantly stirring the fat and the flour until well blended. Pour enough of the broth into the reserved drippings to make 2 cups. Add the pounded turkey meat, giblet and liver.

Gradually pour mixture into the flour fat mixture in the saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth consistency. Season with additional salt if needed. Strain and serve with roast turkey.