Easiest Turkey Recipe EVER.
Many of us have been there. Our first year hosting Thanksgiving. I don’t know why, but for me and many others, the turkey is the most intimidating. I happily volunteered for Thanksgiving a few years back. I had the table pictured in my head. It would be lovely. My best dishes, candlelight, beautiful linens. Everyone laughing and having a marvelous time. Then I realized I would have to make the turkey and that sobered me up quickly. I mentioned my terror to a co-worker and she said to me, “Oh, I have a recipe that is so easy, you just can’t mess it up.” I was on the edge of my seat. So, here it is:
What you need:
1 Apple
1 Orange
1 Lemon
(This amount is for a smaller turkey. If you have to make a big one, just add as needed)
Butter
Bag for baking the turkey in (if desired). We learned the hard way to make sure you look at how many pounds the bag is made for. That’s another story for another time.
Instructions:
As far as actually baking the turkey, there should be instructions on how long and at what temperature you need actually with the packaging of the turkey. If it doesn’t, try this website. I follow the instructions for the stuffed turkey, even though you don’t eat the stuffing. Also, make sure you remove the bag that has all the “guts” of the turkey. You really don’t want to roast your turkey with that inside of it.
To prepare the turkey, we always butter the outside. This is a very slippery project so I highly recommend doing it over a nice clean sink. Next, you want to wash and quarter your fruit. If you have to add extra, just do a slice of each at a time until you have a nice full cavity. It doesn’t need to be packed in like sardines, just pretty full. Place the turkey in your bag if you are using it (also do this over the sink, we almost lost a turkey this way). If not, go ahead and place the turkey in your roaster pan in the oven. Now, I don’t use my oven. I highly recommend a roaster oven.
It does a beautiful job of roasting the bird and it leaves room in your oven for all of the other delicious food you need to put in there. When your turkey is done, it should be moist and tender. You will smell citrus, but it won’t taste citrusy at all. It has worked every time for me without fail. Thank you Carolyn for saving the day with this great recipe!
The Crazy Hat Box 