If I had to pick a favorite holiday, it’s hands-down Thanksgiving. There’s no better way to celebrate the season than with our bounty of local offerings in the Fingerlakes area! On the farm we have so many vegetable ideas and recipes, but we’ve also cooked a lot of turkeys. This year we teamed up with The Good Life Farm and Emma Frisch to create 2 short videos that cover everything you need to know about thawing, prepping, and roasting a local organic turkey! We’re so excited to share this information with you (and we didn’t mind all the delicious turkey we got to eat while working on it!).
Good Life Farm turkeys are raised in the best conditions possible, they spend their days on pasture, roost at night, and enjoy a certified organic diet. Melissa and Garrett are raising the healthiest flocks possible and you can tell the difference! These birds have delicious white and dark meat – perfect for your Thanksgiving Feast!
Combine these high quality turkeys with Emma’s recipe for Easy, Amazing Dry Rub Turkey and you’ll want to dig right in – that’s exactly what we did after we called this a wrap! Emma and I say it in the video, and I’ll say it again – Dry Rub Turkey is the easiest and most delicious turkey you can make! It’s much easier than wet-brining, takes up less space, and produces fantastic results. We gave Emma’s recipe a little twist by stuffing the breast with an herb butter for the juiciest turkey breast possible. What are you waiting for? Watch these quick videos, order your turkey, and get cooking!
Easy, Amazing Dry Rub Turkey
1 local pastured turkey
mix of fresh herbs to equal 1 cup – like parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme*
1 tablespoon kosher salt per 5 lbs turkey
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper (more or less depending on size of turkey)
6 – 8 cloves garlic, minced
2 – 3 cups dry hard cider like Workhorse by The Good Life Farm
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
Several days in advance – Thaw turkey: If your turkey is frozen, plan ahead to allow for it to defrost, 1 day in the refrigerator for every 4 lbs of turkey or submerge in cold water, thaw 30 minutes per pound of turkey. Change the water every 30 minutes to keep it cold.
The day before – Make the dry rub: Mince 1/2 cup of mixed herbs and combine with the salt and pepper.
Apply the rub to the turkey, remove the organs from inside the turkey if they’re included. Place the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet, or in a large bowl that will fit inside your refrigerator. Season the turkey with the mixture inside and out, rubbing it into the skin. Let the turkey rest uncovered in the refrigerator overnight and flip once.
The day of cooking – Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking. Transfer to a roasting pan with a rack.
Make the herb butter. Mix 1/2 cup of minced herbs with the garlic in a small bowl. Soften the butter by placing in a plastic bag and rolling over it with a rolling pin. Use a spatula to fold the garlic and herbs into the butter, then mix with your hands. Separate the butter into 2 pieces, one for each breast.
Preheat the oven to 450°F
Use your hands to separate the turkey skin from the breast, turkey skin is really thick so this is pretty easy to do (we show this in the video). Stuff half of the butter under the skin on each side, then use your hands to press it down and evenly distribute it over the breast.
Tie the turkey legs together and pour the dry cider into the roasting pan. The turkey will release a lot of juice during cooking time, but if it looks dry at all during cooking, just add more cider, white wine, or cooking stock to the pan.
Cook the turkey at 450°F for 30 minutes, then drop the heat down to 350°F for the remainder of cooking. Cook your turkey for roughly 15 minutes per pound, but check the temperature about halfway through expected cooking time. Don’t overcook! Turkey is done when a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F. Let turkey rest for 1 hour before carving.
*If the breast starts to brown too much, tent a piece of foil over it. For this recipe we kept the bird unstuffed and skipped basting the turkey for quick, even cooking. The results? A juicy turkey with crispy skin we know you’ll love!
*For herbs I like to buy the mixed herb packages – get 2 or 3 so you don’t run out, you’ll use the rest in other dishes.
