Rosemary and Citrus Turkey for a Crowd
- Total Time
- 3 hours, plus overnight dry-brining
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1(10- to 12-pound) whole turkey
- 8pounds bone-in turkey parts (see notes)
- 4½tablespoons kosher salt
- 2tablespoons black pepper
- ½teaspoon allspice
- 6garlic cloves, grated on a microplane or minced
- Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- Finely grated zest of 2 oranges (save the oranges for juicing)
- 2bunches rosemary
- 1bunch thyme
- 3white onions, peeled, halved and sliced
- 4large carrots, peeled and sliced into ½-inch coins
- 3celery stalks, sliced ½-inch thick
- 2apples, cored and sliced
- Dry white wine, as needed
- ¾cup melted butter or olive oil
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Preparation
- Step 1
Remove giblets from inside the turkey; reserve for stock or gravy. Pat meat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, allspice, garlic and citrus zests. Pat mixture all over turkey and turkey parts (including inside the whole turkey cavity). Stuff one bunch of rosemary in cavity of whole turkey. Strew remaining rosemary and the thyme all over turkey and turkey parts. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
- Step 2
Remove whole turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before you plan to cook it so it can come to room temperature. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange oven racks so the pan with the whole turkey will fit on top rack, and the two pans with parts will fit underneath.
- Step 3
Place whole turkey (with herb branches clinging to it) on a rack in a roasting pan. Take parts out of the fridge and place the breasts in a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan. Place the legs and wings in a separate 9-by-13 roasting pan.
- Step 4
Distribute onions, carrots, celery and apples into all three pans, scattering them on the bottom of the large roasting pan under the whole turkey, and tucking them in among turkey pieces. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons wine over each pan of turkey parts and pour ½ cup wine in the bottom of the whole turkey pan.
- Step 5
Transfer whole turkey to the oven and roast for 1 hour (let the parts come to room temperature while the turkey starts roasting).
- Step 6
Add parts to the oven underneath the rack with the whole turkey on it, and roast for an additional 30 minutes.
- Step 7
Squeeze the juice from the 2 zested oranges. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and sprinkle about a third of the orange juice into the bottom of each of the three pans.
- Step 8
Drizzle the butter or oil all over the whole turkey and the pieces. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat registers 165 degrees, about 20 to 30 minutes more for the whole turkey, and 15 to 45 minutes longer for the parts. (Note: The turkey breasts may cook faster than the dark meat, so keep your eye on them.) If the breast of the whole turkey starts to look too brown before the bird is cooked through, cover it loosely with foil.
- Step 9
When the whole turkey is cooked through, remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 20 minutes while the parts finish cooking.
- Step 10
When all the turkey parts are cooked through, adjust oven temperature to broil. Broil turkey parts until skin turns golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Let parts rest for 5 minutes before carving and serving. If you want to use the drippings for gravy or stock, strain or use a slotted spoon to remove vegetables first.
- You can use your favorite cuts here — all dark or all white meat depending upon what you prefer. Or use a mix. Just make sure your breasts are on the bone. You can substitute 2 boneless breasts for the bone-in breasts, but they will cook more quickly. Start checking after 30 minutes total cooking time, though it could take up to 50 minutes.
- If you can't buy parts, buy another whole turkey and cut it into 8 pieces. To do so, slice the turkey legs away from the body at the joint where the thigh connects to the body. Separate each thigh from the drumstick by slicing through the joints. Separate wings from the breast by cutting through the joints. Place limbless turkey, breast-side up, in front of you. Using a sharp knife or poultry shears, cut along sides of ribs to remove the entire breast. Turn breast upside down. Cut through the center of the breast bone to separate the 2 breasts completely. Save backbone and any other scraps for stock or gravy.
Private Notes
Comments
Does adding freshly grated garlic to the rub, which is applied to the turkey the night before, result in a undesirable odor & flavor as a result of the garlic oxidizing in that time? Should it be combined with a little oil or butter to prevent that? Thanks.
Why?
This seems like a great example of added complication for almost nothing gained. Lots of extra steps and the strong chance you will screw up the whole thing because the timing will be off...and for what: because a 22 lb bird is "hard to maneuver". I've no doubt this could and does work, but the Risk-o-Meter is rising to the red zone with this one, especially because (yikes) all ovens ARE different, and ummm, I've got a few other things going on in the kitchen.
This is simply the best tasting and relatively easy turkey I have ever made. I had a 19lb supermarket giveaway. Cooked it at 500, and found myself checking it continuously after 1 hr. Covered it with aluminum foil at that mark. Took about 2 hours. Instant read thermometer sent from 137 to 178 in 15 minutes-breast even higher. Took it out, let it rest for 20 minutes and then took apart. Flavor intensely good, moist and delicious.
Made this today, as written, for a work Thanksgiving lunch. Turned out perfect, received many compliments about the flavor and how juicy it was.
Didn’t add orange juice. Turkey thighs as the pieces were a huge hit
Not a turkey or traditional Thanksgiving food fan, but this recipe is good enough to convert me. Made only with large turkey, not additional parts, and with more veggies. Best roast veggies, ever.
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