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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Roast a whole kosher turkey with a lemon and thyme stuffing, brushed with an Earth Balance and paprika rub, and cook it to 180 to 185 degrees measured in the inner thigh. The host presents it as a dish to serve year-round, not just at Thanksgiving,
Key Points
- The turkey is stuffed with onion, fresh thyme sprigs, mashed garlic cloves, and lemon, which the host says pairs well with the turkey.
- The skin is coated with melted non-dairy Earth Balance buttery sticks, olive oil, kosher salt, paprika, and black pepper, rubbed on by hand.
- The pan drippings are meant to be collected for gravy, with extra lemon squeezed into the bottom of the pan to catch seeds and flavor it.
- The host notes the Earth Balance is vegetarian and free of hydrogenated oils and trans fats, and jokes that cooking with real margarine would be 'against her religion,' mentioning she was a vegetarian before.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: Wash the turkey (it comes prepped) and lift the legs to stuff the cavity with one onion, fresh thyme sprigs, peeled and mashed garlic cloves, and a lemon squeezed on top and placed inside (washed well first, optionally with a vegetable wash). Optionally add a second lemon squeezed and placed in the pan bottom.
- Concrete instructions: Melt the Earth Balance in the microwave, whisk in olive oil, kosher salt, paprika, and black pepper, then pour over the turkey and rub into the skin.
- Concrete instructions: Scatter one or two cut onions around the turkey in a deep roasting pan on a rack, cover loosely with foil, and uncover near the end of cooking for a golden skin.
- Concrete instructions: For a 13-pound turkey, roast at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes per pound (roughly 2 hours 36 minutes). Test doneness with a digital thermometer in the inner thigh, aiming for 180 to 185 degrees, then rest 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.
- The host recommends a digital thermometer as the best way to test doneness.
Bottom Line
This is a practical, year-round roast turkey method built on lemon, thyme, garlic, and a paprika-spiced non-dairy butter rub, with clear temperature and timing targets for a 13-pound bird.
