Roast Turkey

For Thanksgiving this year, Piglet roasted two small turkeys instead of one, and was pleased with both the flavor and the shorter cooking time. Here’s her technique:

The day before cooking, “dry brine” the turkey by rubbing it with half a cup of coarse salt and a mix of dried herbs and spices.

Air-dry in the fridge overnight.

An hour before roasting, remove the turkey from the fridge.

Remove butter from the fridge and allow it to soften. Optionally, mash herbs into it.

Rub herbed butter under & into skin. (Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and lemon are a nice mixture.)

Place something aromatic in the body cavity, such as half a lemon and half an onion.

Place the turkey on a v-rack on a roasting pan.

Roast for half an hour at 425°F, then lower the temperature to 350°F. Cover the turkey with tin foil when browned (between half an hour and an hour in). Do not baste.

Total cooking time should be about 15 minutes per pound. When you approach the estimated cooking time, use a meat thermometer to check the thigh of the bird and remove from the oven when it reaches 170°.

Let the turkey sit in the foil, out of the oven, for 30-60 minutes before carving.

Use the roasting pan contents as-is to make the gravy.