Overnight 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.

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.

NO-BASTE, NO-BOTHER ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Adjust the oven racks so the covered roasting pan fit easily inside. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Rub the butter on the outside and in the cavity of the turkey. Sprinkle the salt and pepper on the inside and the outside of the turkey. Put the celery, onion and carrot in the cavity. Place the turkey, breast-side up, in a large roasting pan. Pour the boiling water into the pan. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and put the pan in the oven.
• Start a timer when the oven temperature returns to 500 degrees F. Bake for exactly 1 hour and turn off the oven. Do not open the oven door! Leave the turkey in the oven until the oven completely cools; this may take 4 to 6 hours. Reserve the pan juices and refrigerate the turkey if it will not be served soon after roasting.

ULTIMATE TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a large stockpot. Stir salt and sugar into the water until dissolved; bring water again to a boil. Add cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, rosemary, and thyme to the water, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook mixture at a simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Refrigerate brine until completely cooled.

MARINATED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Place turkey in a large heavy-duty plastic bag; add half of marinade. Close the bag; refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade., Drain and discard marinade from turkey; arrange turkey in a single layer in large shallow roasting pan. Pour reserved marinade over turkey. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until tender, basting occasionally if desired. Remove turkey to serving platter and keep warm. , If desired, make gravy: Strain pan juices into a large measuring cup. Skim fat and reserve 1/4 cup in a medium saucepan; discard remaining fat. Blend flour into saucepan. Add water to pan juices to make 2 cups. Add to saucepan; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute longer. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with turkey.

PERFECT TURKEY

Steps:

• Rub the turkey inside and out with the kosher salt. Place the bird in a large stock pot, and cover with cold water. Place in the refrigerator, and allow the turkey to soak in the salt and water mixture 12 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thoroughly rinse the turkey, and discard the brine mixture.
• Brush the turkey with 1/2 the melted butter. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme, and the bay leaf. Scatter the remaining vegetables and thyme around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the white wine.
• Roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about 2/3 through the roasting time, and brush with the remaining butter. Allow the bird to stand about 30 minutes before carving.