I am a very visual person — things need to LOOK good, but still please all my senses. I also like to experiment. But when I find something that works well, I repeat it over and over. When roasting a full turkey, this is my go-to method. It may be strange, but the results are amazing!
I have no idea how this method came about, but as unusual as it seems, the results are consistently incredible, and better than roasting a turkey in a brown paper bag. 🍗
The essential tool here is cheesecloth, or a dishtowel. I bought a package of one dozen cheap towels, washed them well, and have them set aside just for roasting turkey. It’s actually best to throw the towel away after use, so don’t use something your grandmother embroidered for her trousseau.
To make certain there is no sizing, detergent, or other funky chemicals in the cloth, rinse it several times with boiling water. Using tongs, hold the cloth so nothing can redeposit on it. Obsess much???
Pat the turkey dry and season well with salt and pepper – inside and out. I like to stuff the turkey with herbs, fruit, and veggies, which add flavour and moisture. Place the bird into a deep roasting pan.
Using your hands, separate the skin from the breast meat. Yup! Just slide your hand in there, and loosen the skin. Place chunks of butter — one stick — between the skin and meat, spacing relatively evenly.
Melt the other stick of butter in a deep bowl, and stir in 3 cups red wine. Using a cheaper wine won’t cause the meat to be less tasty. But notice that using a deep-coloured wine, like burgundy, may cause the meat to become tinted pink. That’s why a meat thermometer is so important – don’t trust your eyes to judge whether the turkey is done, or you will roast it too long.
Dip the clean, wet towel into the wine/butter and drape over the turkey, tucking it in around the sides. Roast at 375 degrees for 15 minutes per pound, basting with additional wine and butter blend every half hour. The towel will look disgusting, but don’t worry! What’s underneath will be amazing! (This was taken after basting the first time – the towel will look burned almost immediately.)
As the meat temperature nears 165 degrees, remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to sit 10-15 minutes. The temp will continue to rise, and the juices will be gathered back into the meat.
Carefully remove the towel and discard. Pull out any fruit and discard, but put the veggies and herbs into a stockpot so you can cook down the turkey carcass for soup. The remaining liquid makes fabulous gravy with all that wine, butter, and veggie juice.
This is the only turkey skin I actually like to eat. So yummy! Crisp, browned, and flavourful. Enjoy!
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Wine-Basted Roasted Turkey
Description
An easy way to make the most succulent turkey ever!
Ingredients
- 1 Turkey, thawed
- 1 Cheesecloth, or cotton dishtowel
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 apple
- Fresh thyme and sage
- 2 sticks butter
- 3 cups red wine
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Remove giblets from the turkey – always check both cavities for surprises
- Pat the turkey dry with paper towels inside and out, season liberally with salt and pepper and stuff with veggies, herbs, and apple, then place in a deep roasting pan
- Slide your hand between the skin and breast meat, then put chunks from 1 stick of butter evenly spaced over the meat
- Rinse the cheesecloth in boiling water, and wring out
- Melt the other stick of butter in a deep bowl, add the red wine, then dip the cloth into the wine/butter blend and drape over the turkey, tucking in at sides
- Roast for 15 minutes per pound, basting with wine every half hour
- Check with a meat thermometer – you may need to roast longer, but check after 15 minutes per pound so you don’t over-cook the meat. When temperature nears 165 degrees, remove turkey from oven and allow to sit 10-15 minutes
- Remove cloth and discard, then pull out the veggies and herbs for soup stock, and discard the apples. Remaining juices make incredible gravy!
