Time for Turkey! Or is it?

 

Is it Christmas?  Or is it Thanksgiving?  I’m so confused.  It seems the country has forgotten the “time to be thankful.”

In protest, I’m wrapping my Thanksgiving turkey in swaddling clothes….and lying him in a roaster.  Yup, that’s right.   When our society can learn how to back off from Thanksgiving I’ll stop being sacreligious. 

Until then,  I extend to you my heartiest thanks for a good life.  My wrapped turkey.  All that is missing is a bow.  Enjoy! 

Wrapped Turkey

Turkey, thawed, rinsed in cold water and patted dry
1 stick salted butter
2 Tbsp dried parsley
fresh rosemary (two sprigs)
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp onion salt
pepper (to desire, I use about 2 tbsp freshly cracked)
cheesecloth (enough to wrap entire turkey around twice)
baster
large roasting pan

Prepare oven according to turkey weight and directions. Remove giblets, neck, etc from body cavity and make sure it is patted dry. Lightly salt and butter the interior.

Melt entire stick of butter in a flat shallow bowl and add rosemary, parsley, sage, thyme, onion salt and pepper to butter. Dip cheesecloth into herbed butter mixture until it is well covered.

Place turkey, breast down, in roasting pan. Take cheesecloth and wrap over the turkey.  Do not squeeze or drain, drape it in all of its butterfied-herbed glory.  I use enough cheesecloth to tuck underneath and cover all legs. Lay another buttered cheesecloth over the first and place in oven. If there is any remaining butter mixture, rub over the top of the wrapped cheesecloth.

Baste every hour until you hit the three hour mark. The cheesecloth will turn brown. At the three hour mark, take off the cheesecloth and flip the bird over so that the breasts are on the top. (This is critical because the first 3 hours enables the juices to sink into the breast and prevents the breast meat from drying out.) Leave the cheesecloth off and continue to baste every half hour. When the turkey gets to your desired brownness, put an aluminum tent over the top.

When timer has popped up (or internal thermometer hits 180 degrees), remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, pour drippings into a pan and make into a gravy.  Carve and eat.