COOKING A TURKEY IN A BROWN PAPER BAG RECIPES

Steps:

• Take everything out of the turkey. There will be a giblet bag and some other stuff.
• Next add vegetables to the inside of the turkey. You dont even have to peel anything. This is easy because the veggies are just for flavor -- you are going to throw them away later.
• Take the onion and cut it into quarters.
• Chop a nice long carrot.
• Do the same with a couple stalks of celery.
• Add several cloves of garlic that you mash between a broad kitchen knife and the kitchen counter.
• Throw it all inside the turkey.
• Then rub the turkey all over with olive oil -- not butter because butter usually has salt in it and salt is the enemy of a moist turkey. Make sure the whole bird is covered in olive oil.
• Put the turkey in a roasting pan and cover it with a large brown paper bag.
• Staple shut. If you have a huge turkey use two paper bags at each end. It wont stick to the bird because of the olive oil.
• Sprinkle the bag all over with water.
• Place into pre-heated 375 F oven. ON THE MIDDLE RACK.
• The bag wont burn because paper burns at 451 and we're at 375 degrees.
• The advantage of the brown paper bag over the reynolds cooking bag is that the paper breathes so the turkey ROASTS. In the reynolds bag the turkey STEAMS, giving it a different taste.
• Roast for 13-15 minutes per pound.
• When you think it's ready, shove a meat thermometer through the bag and into the turkey and give it a minute to register. Make sure it doesnt touch the bone.
• The thermometer should register between 163-170 degrees.
• Remove from oven, cut away the bag and remove the basting pan.
• Do not throw out the drippings!
• To make the gravy, strain the pan juices into a really big pot. Any juices that accumulate on the turkey platter get poured into the pot.
• Add six oz. of boiling chicken broth and 1/8 cup of corn starch to the gravy to thicken it up. Cook on low heat and stir and cook and stir.
• If it seems it isnt going to be thick enough, add a little more corn starch.
• What about the talk that brown paper bags are unsafe for cooking?.
• If you mean unsafe because of fire, it is important that the bag doesnt make contact with the heating element of the oven. If you mean because of the recycled paper bag releasing toxins into the turkey, all we can say is that this recipe has been around for over 30 years. We,ve been postonmg this recipe for over 10 years and never had a single complaint that anyone got sick. We've had hundreds of emails that this is the best turkey they've ever tasted and the perfect recipe for first time chefs!

Steps:

• Remove any giblets from the cavity and reserve for stock or gravy. Pat turkey and turkey neck dry with paper towel; rub turkey all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey, the pepper and the lemon zest, including the neck. Transfer to a 2-gallon (or larger) resealable plastic bag. Tuck herbs and 6 garlic cloves inside bag. Seal and refrigerate on a small rimmed baking sheet (or wrapped in another bag) for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, turning the bird over every day (or after 12 hours if brining for only 1 day).
• Remove turkey from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, uncovered, back on the baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours to dry out the skin (this helps crisp it).
• When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for one hour.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add the cider and enough wine to fill the pan to a 1/4-inch depth. Add half the onions, the remaining 6 garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Stuff the remaining onion quarters and the lemon quarters into the turkey cavity. Brush the turkey skin generously with oil or melted butter.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside the roasting pan. Transfer pan to the oven and roast 30 minutes. Cover breast with aluminum foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches a temperature of 165 degrees, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.