Turkey Recipe from Marius

Procedure: 1. Thoroughly wash your turkey inside and out. Pat dry. 2. Place in a Large Roasting pan – on a rack. 3. Season with Salt, Pepper, Poultry Spice (I use Bell's), Paprika and Garlic Powder. Remember to season inside as well as outside. 4. Clean and peel two heads of garlic and place garlic, celery, parsnips, onions and water under the rack, (add enough water to come to the top of the rack – and not to touch the turkey itself). Add the turkey neck, liver and gizzard to the water in the pan. 5. Place the turkey in the oven (at 400°) and roast for 30 minutes. 6. After 30 minutes baste the turkey – and lower oven to 250°. COVER THE PAN COMPLETELY BY MAKING A TENT OUT OF HEAVY DUTY ALUMINUM FOIL. You must make sure that all the edges of the pan are covered so that the moisture will remain in the pan. This is the only tricky part to cooking a turkey like this. You should check the water before sealing the pan. There only needs to be a few inches. 7. Now go to sleep – and you will dream of turkey. (I think it has to do with the smell of the turkey cooking.) 8. If you are of an age that you get up during the night to go to the bathroom – you can check the turkey – but it should be fine. By 7am – the turkey should be fully cooked. You can check by inserting an instant read thermometer in the breast it should read 155 165°. 9. You can unwrap the turkey, baste and raise the temperature to brown the breast. (Please do not consume undercooked poultry.) I leave the turkey in the pan to cool – and I go right back to sleep. I watch the parade and then and only then do I begin to cook my side dishes. This is what my father would call a “gedempte turkey” – so well cooked that it falls off the bone – yet because of how it was cooked it is moist and delicious. Strain the drippings and refrigerate them. Remove the fat layer and use the drippings as a base for your gravy. If you need a gravy recipe email me at andreawatman@zabars.com and I’ll send you my recipe. It’s rich and creamy. I serve the turkey at room temperature with warm gravy. I did not mention the turkey neck which was cooked in the pan – because at my house there is always a Thanksgiving Miracle – somehow the neck is eaten while I’m parade watching – and sometimes my turkey loses a wing along the way. Oh well... Gobble Gobble...