Thanksgiving Turkey

Ingredients:

1 fresh turkey about 20 lbs (Costco)

3 -4 lemons & 1 Tbsp salt for cleaning


For Marinate:

seasoning salt
hoisin sauce

For Stuffing and Bedding

2 orange
3 onion
1 bunch of celery
1 lemon for baking
4 carrot

for Rubbing before cooking

2 Tbsp melted butter
annatto oil



Follow instruction from turkey package, squeeze lemons then salt all over the turkey then wash it all off.

Truss the turkey - Breast side up, with a long string fold in 1/2 hook onto the neck go down the leg, tie it 2X , around the leg pull it in, then the other leg, tie it together, go up and around the little part of the wing, flip over then tie it, bring it down the end (butt) then turn around tie it again (surgeon knot) or better yet look at this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auQB7D_xB0I hihi

Put turkey in a baking pan, rub turkey with seasoning salt all over the turkey inside and outside, even inside the meat under the skin on the breast (it is ok that the turkey is a bit wet - so it will hold the salt), put the whole turkey with baking pan into then a 13 gallon trash bag, close it tightly and put it in the refrigerator for about 2 days .

Take the turkey out of refrigerator 2 hours before baking .

In the mean time, cut up all the other ingredients into 4th or 6th stuff at least 1 orange, 1 onion, 1/2 lemon, 2 or 3 pieces of celery, 1 carrot inside the turkey and let the rest lay it on the disposable deep baking pan for turkey then the turkey breast side up, add 1 can of chicken broth on the bedding along with 2 Tbsp chicken seasoning and 2 tsp of salt be sure to put the disposable pan onto the baking pan so that it strong enough to move in and out of the oven .

Turn oven to bake at 325F degree

Rub the turkey on top and underneath the skin with 2 tbsp melted butter then annatto oil*** on top of the skin only to color the whole turkey .

Bake about 4-4 1/2 hours

While baking remember to baste the turkey, use the turkey baste to squeeze the juice from the bedding into the inside of the turkey, you can also try to taste the juice to make sure it is well seasoned, this will make the turkey tasty and juicy.


At any moment you see any part of the turkey dark enough, cover that part with foil so that it won't get burn . Keep on cover the turkey until it is to the color you want.

At the last moment, you can also turn the oven to broil at 500F, so that the heat will start from the top, this will make the turkey brown but it also will burn it so be sure to watch it minutes to minutes. (I would open the oven and look at it will the broil is on)

--Use the cooking thermometer to test and see if the turkey is about 150 to 160 - this will insure that the turkey is cooked . Press it deep inside the turkey leg to read the temperature .


***to make the annatto oil - in a medium heat pan add 3 Tbsp olive oil, when oil hot enough turn the fire off then put 1n 1 tbsp annatto seed, mix well until the color turn orange (only use the oil discard all the seeds)