Inspired Cooking: Roasted Turkey

Roasted Turkey

Ingredients

1 Turkey

1 orange

1 lemon

Stuffing:

3 tbs butter

1 lemon

1 egg

0,5 dl water

1,5 tsp salt

0,5 tsp black pepper

750 g ground beef

1 dl bread crumbs
1 dl prunes

For the Turkey

4 tsp salt

50 g butter

1 dl pressed orange juice

2 tbs pressed lemon juice

Directions:

Defrost the Turkey and remove the giblets if they are in the Turkey. Save this for the sauce. Dry off the in and outside of the Turkey with a paper towel.

Divide the orange in smaller parts and even the lemon and put them inside the back part of the Turkey. Tie the legs with a steak string to keep the Turkey together. Put the oven on 175 Degrees Celsius.

Make the stuffing:

Cut the onion in small pieces and fry up in a frying pan in a little bit of oil, just enough for it to become shiny. Put aside.

Mix together the breadcrumbs, eggs, prunes cut in small pieces, water, salt and the ground beef. Last add the fried up onions.

Fill and roast the Turkey:

Put the stuffing inside the Turkey from the throat opening. Sew it up with a steak string to keep the stuffing inside while in the oven. Tie the legs together as well.

Put an oven thermometer inside the Turkey. Place it so you easily can see the temperature rising when opening the oven.

Take some butter and salt and pepper and mix with your hands and cover the Turkey all around with it.

Place the Turkey on a cooking grill and cover the Turkey with grill foil. Place in the middle of the oven. Place a pan underneath. Pour some water in the pan, add the lemon and orange juice into the water.

As the Turkey is on the cooking grill the juice will be dripping into the pan underneath. After one hour open the oven and remove the foil and take a large cooking spoon and take from the juice and pour over the Turkey. Put the foil back over the Turkey and close the oven. Let it roast for another 40 minutes and do the same again with pouring from the juice over the Turkey.

After two hours in the oven, remove the foil. Roast for another 40 minutes and pour juice over the Turkey again.

Put the giblets in a small pan and cover with some of the juice and put in the oven to cook.

Try with a sharp knife if the Turkey is done. If the juice coming out is pink, roast for another 30 minutes. The temperature inside the Turkey should come up to 70 degrees Celsius when it is done.

Remember the breast part will be cooked and done before the legs. So try the legs with the knife as well. If it is not done, leave it inside the oven for another 30 minutes.

The time really also depends on the weight of the Turkey. I usually think about 45 minutes per 1 kg Turkey in the oven.

When it is roasted turn the oven off and leave the Turkey to rest 30 minutes before you decorate and serve it.

It is most important that you are pouring the juice over the Turkey regularly as you roast it. This will prevent the meat from becoming dry.

The gravy:

When the Turkey is roasted you will have a lot of juice in the pan underneath and also in the pan with the giblets. Pour the juice through a sift into a cooking pan and heat on the oven and make the gravy from this. To thicken you can mix a little Potatoe starch or Tapioca starch with a little cold water (just 0,5 dl and some table spoons of the flour). Mix until dissolved and add into the juice from the Turkey. Cook to boiling point while stirring. When the gravy is as thick as you want it turn down the heat and taste. If you want more salt or pepper add. Usually it is enough taste from the juice in the pan. However this is a little after each and every one´s taste. Add a little cream into the gravy and stir.

Serve:

Serve with Brussels sprouts, carrots and mashed potatoes.

Cut the giblets and serve on the side as well.

Preparing the Brussels sprouts and carrots:

I prepared the Brussels sprouts and carrots through steaming them. Peel the carrots and cut in sticks the size you prefer. Steam to the tenderness you prefer them. This way they will be more crisp and not watery as if boiled in water, and you keep all the nutrients as well.

If you don´t have anything to steam them in, just boil them.

To make the mashed potatoes:

Peel the potatoes and cut into smaller pieces. This will lessen the time you need for them to boil. Boil the potatoes until soft. Mix them in a mixer until smooth. Add some boiled milk and butter and salt and pepper. Add milk to the thickness you like your mashed potatoes.