Recipe first, insights later! This process is not a set it and forget it type, a lot of tending comes with making the “World’s Best Turkey” haha! This is about a 7 hour process just start to finish not counting the thaw time.
What you need:
Marinade injector
Large Turkey pan, if you use a disposable aluminum one you will need to put it inside of something stable otherwise it can tear or leak or may not be able to support the weight.
Baster
Ingredients
2-4 cups water
Himalayan Sea Salt
Large whole Turkey
Black Pepper
Organic Extra Virgin Olive oil or Avocado oil
Raw sugar
Garlic Powder
Mixed Herb Seasoning - Green Goddess from Trader Joe’s is great or a basic herb seasoning that contains Thyme, Parsley, Basil, Sage, Marjoram
Thawing tips:
It can take about 3 full days to thaw in the refrigerator and even then the inside may still have some ice chunks in it so give yourself plenty of time. I do not recommend thawing in the sink.
Directions
1. Rinse your Turkey with filtered water make sure you rinse the insides and in all of the creases. Remove the bag from the inside, I discard these but some people enjoy them so based on your preferences you can set them aside or throw them away.
2. Place the Turkey breast up in the pan, depending on how big your turkey pan is what will dictate how much water you will need. Start with 2 cups, you want about ¼ of the turkey in water if it is getting above that don’t want to put anymore in there. As the turkey cooks the liquid in the bottom will increase.
3. With your hands massage your oil all over the surface of the turkey and in all of the creases of the legs. Then sprinkle your salt all over the turkey in all areas, then pepper, then garlic, then your herb seasoning once you have done all of the layers massage again lightly with your hands to incorporate all of the spices.
4. Right before you put the turkey in the oven lightly sprinkle raw sugar over the surface of the skin.
5. Depending on the weight of your turkey you will probably need to cook it about 4-5 hours at 325°. This is a general guide, please refer to the instructions on your packaging.
6. After one hour take the turkey out and pull liquid from the pan with your injector and inject in each breast and each leg, it may be a little tough at first and make you the injector is completely in the surface of the meat so you don’t splatter the liquid and burn yourself. Use your baster and cover the surface of the turkey with the liquid from the pan and also put some of the liquid inside of the turkey through the opening. You will continue to do this once every hour, inject then baste.
7. 3 hours in you will apply another round of spices not with your hands just sprinkling wherever you can get it. Sprinkle a little more raw sugar on top.
8. 1 hour before the time is up sprinkle another round of spices and some raw sugar.
If your turkey has a popper you can watch for it to make sure it’s done, use a meat thermometer you are looking at 165° internal temperature, or simply cut into the turkey to check. Let the turkey rest about 30 minutes before cutting into it. You can still baste and inject once the turkey is out of the oven.
If deboning the turkey to refrigerate or freeze wait until it has cooled completely but the liquid at the bottom has not solidified. Turkey meat will good in the fridge 3-4 days an can last up to 4 months in the freezer.
You can use the broth at the bottom of the pan for other recipes like noodles, or broth for soups etc. If you plan on doing that get it into a glass jar as soon as you can, once it has solidified it will be much harder to harvest.
As with any recipe of mine, I encourage you to make it your own, experiment, adjust to your desired taste. Use this as a guide and develop a creation that YOU like best. Let me know how it turned out!