Cooking the Turkey – ‘Gangnam Style’ !

Now that your beautiful bird has been bathing in a knocked up version of saline solution, spices and herbs, it’s time to cook this bountiful wonder.

Remove the Turkey from the brine, pat dry and make sure to remove any excess liquid from the cavity.  Season lightly with black pepper and pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees for the first stage of the cooking. While preparing the next part of this recipe, I find that a good bourbon and some football make great companions in the kitchen.  Maybe a bottle of Van Winkle Special Reserve?  This sweet, full-bodied whiskey has been described by some as “Nectar”! The 12 years of aging and medium proof is just right in creating a very pleasant drink of whiskey.

And what would Thanksgiving be without a little football?  This year the NFL is offering up a feast of pigskin on Turkey Day. The classic rivalry between this years explosive Houston Texans and Megatrons’ Lions of Detroit, RGIII and the Washington Redskins against Tony Romos’ Dallas Cowboys, and the Mighty Pats without the Gronk and the NY Jets who may finally start Baby Jesus instead of Mark Sanchez.

All this provides the perfect backdrop to preparing a magnificent turkey. Follow my recipe below and your bird, just like The Florida Gators, will not disappoint.

Cooking Your Bird! 

• 1 small onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 carrot
• 1 apple
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 bunch sage
• 1 bunch rosemary
• 1 bunch thyme

Pre-Heat oven to 300 degrees

Combine the onion, celery, carrot, apple, herbs and spices in a bowl and lay around bird. Truss the legs of the turkey with twine and place on a roasting rack covered with aluminum foil and roast for 2 ½ hours.

Uncover the turkey and reserve the foil, increase the oven temperature to 375 brush the turkey with melted butter  and cook for 30 minutes. Baste the turkey every 15 minutes and remove when internal temperature reads 150 degrees.

Happy Thanksgiving from the DeRosa’s, Jamie, Amy, Isabela & Bentley