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Recipe by:
Zak Pelaccio, 5 Ninth
Courtesy of Sustainable Table ® Description:
Cook Time: 6.5 hours Ingredients:
1 18 lb. Heritage Breed Turkey
1 lb. Unsalted rBGH-free Butter
1 Cup Sea Salt
4 Tablespoons of Whole Black Pepper
1 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
8 Sprigs of Thyme
Enough Olive Oil to coat the Turkey
Stuffing of your choice (I prefer a bread stuffing made with lots of celery, mushrooms and sausage) Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Coarsely grind the pepper. Leave the butter out long enough to make it pliable.
Mix butter with the maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of salt and one tablespoon of the ground pepper. Roll into a log using plastic wrap. Refrigerate to chill.
Let your turkey come to room temperature (about 1 hour) and then massage it with a liberal amount of olive oil (don’t forget the cavity!) Slice your Maple butter into ½ inch thick rounds. Lift up the skin of the turkey at the top of the breast, that is, lift the overhang that once was clinging to the neck. With the tip of a paring knife, carefully separate the skin from the breast meat.
Once the skin of both breasts has been separated, stuff each pocket with the maple butter, distributing the rounds evenly between the two breasts. Push the rounds in all the way so some are actually as far down as the join between the thigh and the body. Take the thyme sprigs and put them in with the butter.
Season the turkey with the remaining salt and pepper (don’t forget the cavity!) Cover the turkey with a loose foil tent to protect the breast from browning too much.
Place the turkey in the oven for approximately 5 hours (it may take longer.) If you have a meat thermometer, stick it in the thigh joint. It should read 160-170 degrees. If you do not have a thermometer, wiggle the leg. If the joint feels loose, the turkey is done. At this point, remove the tenting and if you desire more color on the breast, turn the oven up to 350 degrees and cook for an additional ½ hour.
Other Options:
A nice finishing touch for this recipe is to glaze the turkey with maple syrup and butter at the end of the cooking.
If you would like to do so, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk in a cup to a cup and a half of maple syrup. A few minutes before pulling the turkey out, brush the skin with the mixture. Brush several times until you have used up the entire mixture. Tips:
When you remove the turkey from the oven, be sure to let it rest for approximately ½ hour before serving. This will allow the juices to settle.
Be sure to use the pan juices to make a gravy!! Notes:
Recipes courtesy of Heritage Foods USA, a company committed to making wholesome, delicious and sustainably produced heritage foods available to all Americans. More heritage recipes can be found on their web site at Heritage Foods USA. Recipe Number 95 added on 2006-10-30
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