Buttermilk Turkey
Being a great fan of simple methods which work and guarantee SUPERB results, this amazing buttermilk turkey will WOW your diners and be quite the star for your festive celebration. I assure you this recipe is absolutely 100% fail proof and will deliver an amazingly moist, tender delicious roast turkey with very little attention.
No need to stuff the bird with anything other than the marinade lemon slices and dried bayleaves and keep the carcass open as this will allow the oven heat to penetrate evenly during cooking.
I did not baste at all during cooking, but I would recommend to keep and eye on the turkey and baste if you feel necessary and do cover with a tin foil top if you feel the bird is browning too quickly. When the bird sits I recommend double layers of tin foil again and a towel to keep in the heat.
Finally, if you select a larger turkey then anticipate a longer roast, and prepare more buttermilk to make sure it covers the bird well for the marinade.
The basic ingredients to follow if you wish to add extra homemade buttermilk is as follows:
400ml whole milk
1 lemon – juice
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Happy Roasting and more importantly Happy Celebration.
Ingredients
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4kg frozen turkey- defrosted and giblets removed
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Homemade Buttermilk Marinade
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1.2 litres fresh full fat milk
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3 lemons- juice only
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1 whole lemon- sliced for marinade
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Handful of dried bayleaves
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Cooking Seasoning
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Heavy grind of sea salt and black pepper
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Pops Gravy
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Giblets from innards of turkey
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Cold water to cover
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1 tbsp red current jelly or strawberry jam- to sweeten (optional)
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Juices from the turkey cooking pan
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Accompaniments
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Large handful of small sweet potatoes- scrubbed clean, left whole
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Handful of small baby beetroots- scrubbed clean, left whole
Instructions
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Make homemade buttermilk:
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01 Place milk into a large bowl or jug. Add juice of the lemons, stir and allow to stand 5 minutes. You now have buttermilk.
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Marinate turkey:
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02 First make sure the turkey giblets are removed. Reserve to make gravy. Place turkey into a large bowl or plastic container. Pour over all the buttermilk, top with lemon slices, bayleaves, handful of cloves and cover, leaving to marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator. I recommend turning the bird during the marination, so that all flesh has been immersed in the buttermilk.
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Prepare for cooking:
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03 Pre-heat oven to 180ºC and lower oven to 160ºC to cook. Lightly oil the base of a large roasting tin. Lay large pieces of onion in the base of the tin. Remove turkey from buttermilk marinade and place on top of the onion stands. Remove lemon and bayleaves also from the marinade and stuff inside the chest cavity of the turkey. Secure legs if necessary into the chest skin of the turkey. Sprinkle well salt and black pepper. Surround with lightly oiled sweet potatoes and small baby beetroots.
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Cook:
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04 Reduce oven temperature to 160ºC Place turkey uncovered in the oven and roast until golden brown. Check with a thermometer that turkey is at the right temperature or make sure that the POPPER commercially inserted has popped! Leave to rest for 30 minutes before carving. Remove from tin and lay on a large serving plate. Reserve excess juices for the family gravy.
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Pops Gravy:
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05 Place the innards from the turkey (giblets, neck, heart etc) into a small saucepan, top with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for along as the turkey takes to cook. Importantly keep an eye on the level of liquid, you do not want the pan to burn dry. When the turkey cook is completed and it is resting, strain the liquid from giblets into another pan, add any juices from the resting turkey. Season and add red current jelly or strawberry jam for a touch of sweetness. Serve hot with the turkey.
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Finally:
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06 Serve with roast sweet potatoes, roast beetroot and festive Brussels sprouts and Pops’s family gravy.
Notes
Make sure your turkey is well defrost before marination and importantly turn regularly in the marinade to insure a good shape for the roasting. Allow to rest 30 minutes before serving. Delicious hot and equally as good cold. Finally, never worry about how to serve the Pops Gravy as we always traditionally serve it in the family teapot - pours a treat!
