Roasted Whole Turkey

In America, Thanksgiving is a special time when family and friends gather together to share food and reminisce. In Vietnam, families gather together in a similar fashion for the New Year. The New Year's celebrations last for one month. After arriving in America in the 1980s, my family was unfamiliar with American traditions, but we continued to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year, although for a much shorter time because we all had to work hard in our family restaurant to survive financially and in school to educate ourselves. Once we became familiar with American traditions, our family, especially with new nieces and nephews being born here, began celebrating American holidays, as well. My two favorite holidays are Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although I am Buddhist, I enjoy the music and the exchanging of gifts during the Christmas season. Because I love to cook, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Of course, for most Americans, the turkey is the centerpiece food item surrounded by an assortment of side dishes, such as stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy and/or scalloped potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet dinner rolls and pumpkin pie for dessert. There are almost as many ways to prepare a turkey as there are cooks. My recipe for turkey preparation is without stuffing or the stuffing can be baked separately, which takes less time to bake the turkey and is much easier. I always want to make the Thanksgiving meal as simple as possible so any cook can enjoy preparing the Thanksgiving meal without stress, which allows the cook to eat with and enjoy the company of others. For more informations about turkey folow this web sitehttp://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/thanksgiving/thanksgiving?intcid=epi_promobar
Ingredients: (for 10-15 pound turkey)
Brine Turkey solution:
1 gallon Apple cider
1/2 gallon of water
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, cut up
2 lemons, cut up
3-inch cinnamon stick
5 dried cloves
1 tbs whole black pepper
5 cloves garlic, mashed
5 stalks of celery, cut up

Fresh sage, parley, thyme

Directions:
Bring all the ingredients except fresh herbs to a boil. Let cool.. Submerge the 10-15 pound whole turkey into this brine for 24 hours. This procedure will guarantee the turkey will be moist and tender.

The Thanksgiving day:
Remove the turkey from its brine. Wash with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
Preparing the herb butter
2 sticks butter softened
1/2 cup filled with a combination of sage, rosemary, parsley, minced garlic, and shallots, finely chopped.
Mix all together. Add 2 tsp lemon juice and 2tbs white wine.

Preparing to bake the turkey
Place the following on the bottom of the baking pan:
1 Granny Smith apple, roughly chopped
1 Gala apple, roughly chopped
1 Fuji apple, roughly chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped

Baking the turkey
Using your fingers, carefully make a pocket underneath the turkey skin.

Spread herb butter under skin.

Place some slices of lemons ,oranges under  the skin

. Stuffed some celery and onions slice inside the turkey.

 Sprinkle turkey generously with salt and pepper. Brush with olive oil. Place whole turkey breast side down inside the baking pan.

 Bake turkey uncovered at high heat (around 400°) for 30 minutes. Turn heat down to 350°. Turn the turkey, breast side up. Cover with foil and bake for 2 hours. Remove the foil for the last 30 to 40 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check turkey for doneness – the thermometer should be around 165° at the thick part of the turkey. Remove turkey from oven. Cover turkey with foil and let roasted turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving.