Overnight High Heat Turkey Recipes

OVERNIGHT HIGH-HEAT TURKEY

Steps:

• About an hour before you go to bed, preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Wash turkey thoroughly and empty the neck and carcass cavities.
• Do NOT stuff the bird (that's not negotiable).
• Rub outside of turkey with olive oil.
• Place bird in roaster and pour water over.
• Cover with a tight-fitting lid and bake at 500 for one hour.
• DO NOT TAKE LID OFF AT ANY TIME!
• After one hour, turn down oven to its lowest setting (without actually turning it off).
• Leave bird in oven, lid on and go to bed.
• Wake up to a bird that is tender, juicy, brown and ready.

EASY HIGH-HEAT ROAST TURKEY WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Before cooking, be sure that your oven is VERY clean to prevent smoking. Preheat the oven to 450°F and set an oven rack in the lowest position.
• Remove and discard truss that holds turkey legs together. Trim off and discard any excess fat in the neck or body cavity. Remove giblets and neck; discard or save for stock.
• Rinse the turkey inside and out with warm water. Pat dry with paper towels. Place a V-shaped rack in a 13 x 16 x 3-inch heavy stainless-steel roasting pan. (Do not use a dark roasting pan or a disposable aluminum pan.) Rub the turkey skin all over with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Set the bird breast-side-up on the rack. Pull the wings away from the body, then firmly twist them to push the wing tips under the bird. Using aluminum foil, form caps over the tips of the end of each drumstick. (Do not tie the legs together, add stuffing, or close the body cavity.) Insert a digital leave-in meat thermometer near the center of the breast through the thickest part until the tip touches the bone.
• Turn on your exhaust fan and crack a kitchen window. Place the turkey in the oven and roast, without basting, until the thermometer reaches 160°F, 1 to 1½ hours. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the pan halfway through cooking to assure even browning. (If at any point your kitchen gets unbearably smoky or the fat is spitting, pour a cup of tepid water in the roasting pan. Just keep in mind that the liquid will create steam in the oven, so the skin won't be quite as crispy.)
• Remove the pan from the oven. Using clean oven mitts (that you don't mind getting dirty), carefully tilt the turkey so that the juices from the cavity run into the roasting pan. Transfer the turkey to a platter or cutting board (do not clean the roasting pan), tent the turkey with foil, and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes. This will allow the internal temperature to reach at least 165°F (the USDA safe-cooking temperature for turkey) and the juices to settle.
• While the turkey rests, make the gravy: Place the roasting pan on a burner on your stove. (Be very careful handling the pan; it's easy to forget that it's hot.) Skim away any excess fat or solids that have accumulated in the pan. Add the broth and cook over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan with a whisk or wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits, until simmering. Turn off the heat and set aside.
• In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until very soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Do not brown. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the turkey dripping-chicken broth mixture and Cognac and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the cream (if using) and chopped herbs. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Transfer to a gravy bowl.
• Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy on the side.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: If you don't mind losing the crispy skin, the turkey can be roasted and carved ahead of time. Pour a thin layer of the gravy into an ovenproof serving platter. Arrange the carved turkey nicely on top of the gravy; cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to two days. Refrigerate the remaining gravy in a separate container. To reheat: remove the plastic wrap and cover the platter with aluminum foil. Place in a 325°F-oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the turkey is hot. Reheat the gravy in the microwave or on the stovetop.

HIGH-HEAT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Move oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 450°F. Fold wings across back of turkey so tips are touching. Rub both cavities lightly with salt and pepper. Tuck legs under band of skin at tail, or tie together with heavy string, then tie to tail.
• On rack in shallow roasting pan, place turkey breast side up. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of inside thigh and does not touch bone. (Do not add water or cover turkey.) If possible, place turkey in oven with legs to the back of the oven so they are in the hottest part of oven.
• Roast uncovered 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours 15 minutes, watching carefully. After roasting about 1 hour 30 minutes, wearing oven mitts that cover hands and wrists, place tent of foil loosely over turkey when it begins to turn golden.
• Turkey is done when thermometer reads 165°F and drumsticks move easily when lifted or twisted. If meat thermometer is not used, begin testing for doneness after about 2 hours 15 minutes. When turkey is done, place on warm platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Let stand about 15 minutes for easiest carving.

THE SIMPLEST ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove any feathers and quills with pliers (kosher turkeys tend to require this more than others).
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly in turkey cavities and all over skin. Fold neck skin under body and, if desired, secure with metal skewer, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.
• Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F). Cut off and discard string from turkey.
• For a stuffed turkey:
• Twelve cups of stuffing will fill both cavities and leave you extra to bake separately. Just before roasting, spoon room-temperature stuffing loosely (stuffing expands as it cooks) into the neck (smaller) cavity. Fold the neck skin underneath the body and secure with a small metal skewer. Then loosely fill the body (larger) cavity, and tie drumsticks together. If you don't want any stuffing to spill out, cover the opening with a slice of fresh bread, tucking it inside the cavity before tying the drumsticks. Follow roasting directions above. (Timing for a stuffed bird may be slightly longer, but start checking the temperature at 1 3/4 hours.) Immediately transfer stuffing from body cavity to a shallow baking dish (separate from one for stuffing baked outside the turkey). Take temperature of stuffing in neck cavity and if less than 165°F, add it to the baking dish. Bake (covered for a moist stuffing or uncovered for a crisp top) until it reaches a minimum of 165°F. This can take 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven, which you may have lowered to reheat side dishes.
• For a roast turkey breast:
• The same method used above can be applied to a whole turkey breast (instead of the entire bird). For a 6- to 8-pound breast (with skin and bone), reduce amount of salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons and pepper to 3/4 teaspoon. Use a V-rack instead of a flat rack. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted in thickest part of each breast half (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let stand 30 minutes (temperature in breast will rise to between 175°F and 180°F). (For a grilled turkey option, see Grilled Whole Turkey.)

OVERNIGHT TURKEY

Steps:

• SAFETY NOTE: This method is designed for turkeys cooked ONLY in heavy-duty roasters with roaster lids, such as the old blue enameled ones. This method is NOT designed for use with semi-translucent oven roasting bags, uncovered roasters, or turkeys covered with aluminum foil, as they may not retain a high enough heat for long enough to complete the cooking process.
• Remove all internal organs from both ends of the turkey.
• I usually cook these in a pot to make broth (strained, of course) for my dressing, discarding the organs after cooking. If you make giblet gravy, chop and include these cooked organs in your gravy.
• Rinse and drain turkey. Spread seasonings of your choice all over the turkey, inside and out.
• Put the onion, celery and garlic cloves inside the turkey, along with several bay leaves.
• Place turkey, breast side up, in a HEAVY-DUTY roaster and cover with roaster lid.
• Look on the outside of the bag in which you bought the turkey.
• Find the baking chart and the size of your turkey.
• Here is how to calculate the length of time to cook your turkey: Use the chart on the turkey bag, (using 13 lb. turkey as example).
• If it says cook 4 hours at 325 degrees, DIVIDE THE RECOMMENDED COOKING TIME IN HALF (4/2=2 hours) and ADD 30 MINUTES.
• Thus, the cooking time for this example would be 2-1/2 hours at THEIR recommended temperature of 325 degrees.
• Cooking time for a larger turkey would be calculated in the same manner.
• When cooking time is up, DO NOT open oven door.
• No Peeking! This will lower the oven temperature.
• Turn oven OFF and leave covered roaster in the oven until morning OR 6+ hours, removing roaster while it is still nice and warm.
• When you open the roaster, the turkey will be falling off the bones, and ever sooo moist.
• NOTE:If you have any question about the turkey reaching the safe internal temperature of 170 degrees, insert one of those new thermometers that let you put a temperature probe through the side of the oven door and into the turkey.
• Set timer to alert you when it reaches 170 degrees.
• My alert goes off every time, so I know this method is cooking the turkey safely.
• NOTE: If you like an even moister turkey, soak it in a brine/buttermilk solution for several hours before roasting.
• Or you can use an injector to inject liquid seasoned marinade into the turkey meat before cooking.
• SAFETY NOTE: Once the turkey reaches room temperature, it should be served or refrigerated.

AWESOME HIGH HEAT HOLIDAY TURKEY

Steps:

• Dry a 16 to 18 lb. turkey inside and out with paper towels.
• Oil the turkey inside and out with any kind of vegetable oil (olive, canola, etc.) using your hands.
• Cut away any excess skin around the opening of the cavity and wedge a fork inside the cavity to open it further. Leave the fork in to keep cavity open.
• Rub spices, herbs, or just pepper all over the bird with your oily fingers.
• Place the turkey, breast side down on a rack in a large metal roasting pan.
• Cover the top of the turkey, including legs and wings with greased foil.
• Pour ¾-inch of chicken or turkey broth in the bottom of the pan. As the turkey cooks, check the liquid every 45 minutes and add more in case it evaporates.
• Cook the turkey at 500° to 525° for 2 hours.
• Remove foil, stuff the turkey with cooked stuffing and return it to the rack breast side up.
• Cook the turkey 30 to 45 minutes longer until an instant-read thermometer stuck deep in the thigh reads 175°.
• Let the turkey rest at least 20 minutes, this allows the meat to reabsorb its juices.