Oven Turkey

(Cijela purica iz rerne)

Procedure

In the baking tray place whole carrots, onions, leek, parsnips, celery leaf and celery root. They are going to be a “bed” for turkey to lay on.

Unpack turkey and empty out all crevices (neck too). Rub it with salted butter. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Inside it, put rosemary, sage, thyme, and mandarin oranges with cloves pressed in and a little bit of salted butter. Place on the vegetables, breast down.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F for 17 minutes per pound of fresh turkey (30 minutes per pound if it’s frozen). Cover turkey with foil during the first period of roasting. At ⅔, turn the turkey breast up on the wire rack (since the vegetable is a bit soft at this point). Add juice from vegetables and continue cooking. Cook until the internal temperature is 155 °F at the thickest part of the breast and in the innermost part of the thigh and wing.

Rest for 1-2 hours wrapped in foil and with towels keeping the heat. Final temperature should be at least 165 °F.

Ingredients

12 lb	Turkey
4	Carrots
1	Leek
2	Onions
2	Parsnips
1	Celery root
1 pk	Salted butter
½ pk	Fresh rosemary
½ pk	Fresh sage
½ pk	Fresh thyme
4	Mandarin oranges
20 cloves	Garlic

Spice Rub

Suggested quantities are for 12 lb turkey.

75 g	Salt	6 g/lb (1 tsp/lb)
25 g	Smoked paprika	2 g/lb (½ tsp/lb)
20 g	Black pepper	1.5 g/lb (½ tsp/lb)
1 g	Cayenne	0.1 g/lb