You imagine yourself standing beside a large platter laden with a perfectly golden brown roast turkey while mouths water as you lovingly carve moist, tender slices. In another scenario you are overcome by the fragrance of rosemary and garlic as you reach into the oven to pull out a perfectly roasted leg of lamb with just the right mixture of rare and well done portions. Then your cell phone rings, dragging you out of your reverie and you find yourself staring blankly into the grocery meat case wondering just how do you take that giant hunk of meat home and turn it into something edible for 12 people? Don't be intimdated by the size of these cuts of meat. They are so simple to make you might just find yourself serving them on non-holiday occasions!

 

    The equipment

 

    Before the big day you need to make sure you have the right equipment to roast your turkey or lamb. Roasting pans come in various sizes. Make sure your meat will fit comfortably inside your roasting pan. Don't use one of those flimsy foil pans. Something as heavy as a turkey needs the safety of a sturdy roasting pan with secure handles. Using anything less is inviting disaster from spilled grease catching fire in the oven to a hot bird ripping through the bottom of the pan onto your feet as you pull it out of the oven. Don't take that chance! A second piece of necessary equipment is a meat thermometer. Instant read meat thermometers can be found inexpensively at grocery stores, department stores and kitchen stores. Nothing is more frustrating than to carve into a piece of meat you thought was done only to find out it is still raw on the inside. A thermometer takes the guess work out of being done.

Basic Roast Turkey

 

    Let's start with the iconic Thanksgiving main dish - roast turkey. First you need to know how many people you will be feeding. Plan on about 1 lb. per person plus an extra five pounds for leftovers. So to feed 10 people plan on buying a 15 lb. turkey. I highly encourage you to purchase free-range or organic birds if at all possible. It is always worth it to avoid the antibiotics and crowded living conditions forced on conventional poultry as well as the chemical cocktail injected into the "pre-basted" grocery store birds. It is becoming increasingly easy to find humanely raised turkeys. The more we consumers ask for these items the more available they will become. This is good for us, good for the farmers and good for the turkeys who are raised with respect.

 

    The recipe

 

    There are two classic mistakes that many novice turkey cooks make. The first is to underestimate the time needed to thaw a frozen turkey, the second is to forget to remove the packet of giblets from inside the turkey before roasting it. There are several ways to thaw a turkey but only a few of them are recommended. The best advice is to move your turkey from the freezer to the refrigerator no later than Tuesday morning before you want to cook it on Thursday for Thanksgiving. If your bird is larger than 12 pounds you should start on Monday. Yes it takes up a lot of space. No, there isn't anything you can do about it because leaving it out at room temperature for any length of time is a bad idea. Just write yourself a sticky note so you don't forget. You don't want to try and roast a frozen turkey!

1 fully thawed turkey, preferably free range or organic

2 or 3 Tblsp softened butter

sea salt and black pepper

2 tsp dried sage (optional)

 

    If you are using the optional sage you can stir it together with the softened butter. Prepare the turkey by removing the packet of giblets and the neck from the inner cavity. Yes, you can eat these items too, but that's a different recipe. Be sure to check the neck cavity as well. Place the turkey in the roasting pan breast side up and turn the wing tips backward toward the neck cavity and tuck them underneath. This keeps them from flopping around and getting burned before the rest of the turkey is done. Using your clean hands, rub the butter generously over the entire outside of the bird. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper on the outside and also on the inside. Use about 1 tsp on the inside.

 

    At this point if you are using stuffing you can loosely fill the neck cavity and fold the skin over. Then very loosely fill the main cavity with stuffing. Do not pack it tightly or you will alter the amount of time it takes to cook the turkey. You also run the risk of having undercooked stuffing contaminated with undercooked turkey. A better alternative is to make dressing instead. In the South dressing is stuffing cooked in a casserole dish instead of inside the bird.

 

    Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the turkey in the oven and roast for approximately 20-25 minutes per pound. Double check your math, you don't want to over or under cook! For example a 12 lb. bird will take between 4 ½ to 5 hours to roast. Larger birds will take proportionately longer. Every hour you can baste the turkey with the drippings and juice from the pan. This will help to give you a crisper, more golden skin. Please allow enough time for the bird to fully cook at this low temperature, especially if you have a free range turkey. Using higher temperatures for shorter periods of time will give you a tough bird.

 

    Begin checking for doneness about 30 minutes before your time is up. Use your meat thermometer and insert it into the meaty part of the thigh. Don't let it touch bone. The thermometer should register 165 degrees. Remove the turkey from the oven and cover it loosely with the lid to the roasting pan or a large sheet of aluminum foil. Let the turkey rest for about 15 minutes before carving. This lets the meat reabsorb some of its juices and makes the meat easier to carve. It also give you time to make gravy and call everyone to the table.

Roast Leg of Lamb

 

    Roast lamb is an ancient food but not as common in America as in most of the rest of the world. Leg of lamb is a dramatic main course but it is also one of the easiest to prepare. This recipe uses chopped rosemary and garlic in a traditional technique to stud the meat, however you could use other herb combinations such as grated lemon zest and oregano or sage and thyme with equally delicious results. You can do the preparations up to a day ahead and then roast the lamb a few hours before you plan to eat. The special oven technique will give you tender results especially with grass fed lamb.

 

    The Recipe

1 bone-in leg of lamb about 5-6 lbs.

4 cloves of garlic

2-3 Tblsp fresh rosemary leaves pulled from the stem

sea salt and black pepper

 

    Peel and chop the garlic coarsely. Mix about 1 tsp of sea salt with the chopped garlic and press it with the flat of the knife or the back of a spoon until the garlic and salt are mashed together. Add the rosemary leaves and chop them finely in with the garlic and salt.

 

    Use the tip of a sharp knife to make a dozen or more 1" deep slits all over the lamb. Push a ½ tsp of the rosemary garlic mixture into the slits until it is all used up. At this point you can wrap the lamb tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to a day. The longer you let it sit the more intensely the herbs will flavor the meat.

 

    Remove the lamb from the refrigerator an hour before cooking time so the meat can come to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and place the lamb in a roasting pan with the fat side up and place it in the preheated oven. Roast at 425 for 30 minutes.

 

    Here is the part that gives you the tender meat. Turn down the oven to to 300 degrees. At this point you can baste the lamb with any drippings that have collected in the bottom of the pan. Return the lamb to the oven and let it continue to cook at this lower temperature for another 50 minutes. Use your meat thermometer to check for doneness. Medium rare is an internal temperature of 145 degrees, medium is 160 and well done is 170. Be sure to check the thickest part of the meat without touching bone. When the temperature reaches the desired doneness remove the lamb from the oven and cover it with a tent of aluminum foil. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

 

    A leg of lamb this size will feed about 8 people. If you have a larger leg of lamb you will need to increase the cooking time in order to reach the desired degree of doneness. Plan on an extra 30 minutes for every pound over 5 lbs.

 

    You can find more recipes for lamb in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook.