***First of all, I want to wish you all the happiest Thanksgiving that you've ever had! I hope that your holiday is filled with the people that you love and the food that you love to eat!
What a long day! I got home today from work at about 5:30PM and immediately started preparing a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey and dressing is by FAR Brad's favorite meal in the whole world. He says he looks forward to it all year long...haha. This year, I promised to make him our own little Thanksgiving dinner celebration, just the two of us (and our 2 pups!) before all of the family festivities begin.
After almost 5 hours in the kitchen, I'm relieved that round one of Thanksgiving cooking was a success! Now, on to 2 more nights of cooking! Tomorrow, I hope to start putting up the Christmas decorations after a yummy dinner of leftovers from tonight's meal...I'm so excited to put the tree up! This is my favorite time of year, no contest. I love the holidays and everything that they mean....Faith, Family and Friends! It doesn't get much better than that.
The menu tonight included:
Maple Glazed Roast Turkey with Applewood Smoked Bacon
Sweet Potato Biscuits (Stay tuned for this recipe!)
Roasted Asparagus
I adore this recipe for roasted turkey, because it's the way that my Dad always roasts his Thanksgiving turkey. The flavor is absolutely incredible. The maple syrup makes the finished bird perfectly shiny and golden brown. The bacon ends up a little crispy and sweet from the maple syrup, which makes for a stellar combination.
Bon Appetit!***
Ingredients:
12 lb. whole turkey
6 slices applewood smoked bacon, thick sliced
1 cup 100% grade A maple syrup
1 large tart apple, quartered
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature and cut into 1/4 inch slices
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup 100% grade A maple syrup
1 large tart apple, quartered
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature and cut into 1/4 inch slices
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Wash turkey well under cold running water, including the outside and inner cavity of turkey. Pat dry. Be sure to remove the neck and giblets from the inside of the turkey. Tuck wings underneath body.
Starting at neck end, very carefully slide hand between skin and breast meat. Carefully slide butter slices between skin and breast meat to cover. Season skin and cavity of the turkey generously with salt and pepper. Place the quartered apple and onion in the seasoned cavity. Using a brush, paint the turkey breast, thighs and legs with some of the maple syrup. Then cover the entire breast with the slices of bacon, slightly over-lapping the bacon slices. Make sure the entire breast is covered, using more bacon if needed.
Position turkey, on a rack, in a roasting pan with 1/2 cup pf water, uncovered and place in the preheated 325 degree F oven. Roast for about 3 1/2 hours (time may vary depending on the size of your turkey), basting the turkey with pan drippings and maple syrup every 30 minutes. If the bacon begins to get too brown, cover loosely with aluminum foil.
In the last half hour, baste the turkey one more time with maple syrup. Continue to roast until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees in the thigh or 170 degrees in the breast.
Remove pan from oven and allow the turkey to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Starting at neck end, very carefully slide hand between skin and breast meat. Carefully slide butter slices between skin and breast meat to cover. Season skin and cavity of the turkey generously with salt and pepper. Place the quartered apple and onion in the seasoned cavity. Using a brush, paint the turkey breast, thighs and legs with some of the maple syrup. Then cover the entire breast with the slices of bacon, slightly over-lapping the bacon slices. Make sure the entire breast is covered, using more bacon if needed.
Position turkey, on a rack, in a roasting pan with 1/2 cup pf water, uncovered and place in the preheated 325 degree F oven. Roast for about 3 1/2 hours (time may vary depending on the size of your turkey), basting the turkey with pan drippings and maple syrup every 30 minutes. If the bacon begins to get too brown, cover loosely with aluminum foil.
In the last half hour, baste the turkey one more time with maple syrup. Continue to roast until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees in the thigh or 170 degrees in the breast.
Remove pan from oven and allow the turkey to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
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