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Laid-Back Turkey
Ready In: 390 Minutes
Prep Time: 90 Minutes
Cook Time: 300 Minutes
Serves 4
DIRECTIONS
- Boning the turkey.
- From inside the neck area, cut out the wishbone. Next, slice through skin and flesh down the middle of the backbone from neck to tail. Then, always scraping against the bone and not slitting the skin, bone one side of the turkey at a time up to but not over the ridge of the breastbone, cutting through the ball joints of the wings and thighs as you come to them. When you have boned the second side, lift up the carcass; being careful because the skin is thin, scrape close against the ridge of the breastbone to release the carcass.
- Turn the turkey skin side down. Locate the two thigh bones (their ball joints protrude from the flesh on either side of the lower section); cut and scrape flesh from bone, then cut through the knee joint to remove the thigh bones on each side. Cut off the wing nubbins at the elbows. Secure the wings to the carcass with one skewer, and the legs with another. Paint the turkey all over with melted butter.
- Make a turkey stock with the carcass and bones.
- *Ahead-of-time note: The turkey may be boned a day in advance; wrap and refrigerate it. You may also complete the turkey stock, and whatever stuffing you have chosen.
- Browning the turkey.
- Lay the turkey skin side down in the roasting pan and brown the flesh side under the broiler, as for the preceding butterflied turkey. Dust with salt, pepper, and thyme or sage.
- *Ahead-of-time note: You may brown the turkey an hour or so ahead.
- Roasting -1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours at 350°F.
- Butter the baking sheet or foil, set it in the roasting pan, and mound the stuffing upon it. Turn the turkey flesh side down over the stuffing; remove the skewers, and arrange the turkey so that it encloses the stuffing completely. If the legs hang over the pan, tuck a double thickness of foil under them, as shown here.
- Strew the chopped vegetables around the turkey,and roast in the middle level of the preheated oven, basting every 20 minutes first with butter and then with accumulated juices.
- When is it done?
- The turkey is done when a meat thermometer, plunged into the thickest part of the breast near the wing-shoulder area, registers 162°F to 165°F; the legs should feel fairly tender when pressed.
- Gravy, carving, and serving.
- Remove the turkey-with-stuffing on its baking sheet or foil, and slide it off onto a carving board or hot platter. Let it rest 10 minutes or so before carving, while you finish whatever gravy you have chosen. To carve, slice the turkey in half, right down through the center where the breastbone used to be; serve slices of white meat and stuffing. The dark meat will be, of course, the drumsticks, plus the easy-to-slice thigh meat on the lower sides of the turkey.
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