How to Roast a Two-Step Turkey

The great American tradition of serving turkey has been marred by the difficulty of cooking the meat - the dark meat takes longer to roast than the white meat, resulting in dry, overcooked white meat. But the "Dean & DeLuca Cookbook" gives us a solution. Remove the turkey from the oven as soon as the white meat is cooked, slice off the juicy turkey breast, and return the bird to the oven to finish cooking the dark meat.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 12- to 14-lb. turkey, thawed and giblets removed
• butter
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Butter
• Dark Gravy
• Groceries
• Light Gravy
• Peppers
• Red Or White Wine
• Salt
• Butter
• Salt
• Carving Boards
• Carving Knives
• Meat Thermometers
• Roasting Pans
• Salt
• Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Smear the turkey with a little butter, then season with salt and pepper.

3. Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan in the lower portion of the oven, with the legs toward the back.

4. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F, and roast the turkey for about 1 1/2 hours. (Baste with pan juices every 20 minutes.)

5. Check the white meat of the turkey with a meat thermometer. When the white meat reaches 160 degrees F, remove the turkey from the oven.

6. Remove the large breast fillet from each side of the turkey. Let the fillets rest a few minutes before carving them into thin slices.

7. Return the rest of the turkey to the oven and cook until the dark meat reaches 175 degrees F.

8. Remove the turkey from the oven, let it rest for a few minutes, and serve.

Tips & Warnings

• Serve the turkey breasts (white meat) as a first course with light gravy and white wine. Then serve the dark meat with a darker gravy as a second course; complement with red wine.
• Anticipate about 10 to 12 minutes cooking time per pound for an unstuffed turkey, and 12 to 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed one.

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