Martha’s Modified Turkey

I started with the original Martha Stewart Recipe. However, she includes parsnips, onions and carrots and stuffs her turkey with stuffing. We have simplified by getting rid of most of the vegetables and simply stuffing the turkey with apples and onions. We then trash the apples and onions before we serve the turkey. (Call us paranoid). I wrote this up as we prepare it. If you would prefer to follow Martha’s more traditional directions you can find them here: https://www.marthastewart.com/317812/turkey-with-stuffing

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1 fresh whole turkey (20 pounds), giblets (the heart, gizzard, and liver) and neck removed from cavity, rinsed with cool water, and dried with paper towels
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, at room temperature
• 1 bottle dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• 2 Granny Smith Apples quartered
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1
• Remove turkey from the refrigerator and let stand for 2 hours at room temperature.
• Step 2
• Place rack on lowest level in oven. Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine melted butter and white wine. Fold a large piece of cheesecloth into quarters; cut it into a 17-inch, four-layer square. Immerse cheesecloth in the butter-and-wine mixture, and let soak.
• Step 3
• Working on a large piece of parchment paper, fold wing tips under the turkey. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper inside the turkey. Fill the large cavity and neck cavity loosely with as many apples and onions they hold comfortably — do not pack tightly. (Cook remaining stuffing in a buttered baking dish for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.) Fold neck flap under, and secure with toothpicks. Tie legs together loosely with kitchen string (a bow is easy to undo later; it is not necessary to make a tight knot). Rub turkey all over with the softened butter.
• Step 4
• In a heavy, metal roasting pan (sides should be 2 to 3 inches high), place parsnip, onion, celery, carrots, celeriac, and white turnip. Place a roasting rack on top of vegetables, then place turkey, breast side up, on the roasting rack. Sprinkle turkey with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper.
• Step 5
• Lift cheesecloth out of liquid, and gently squeeze it, leaving it very damp. Spread a folded square of cheesecloth evenly over the breast and about halfway down the sides of the turkey; it can cover some of the leg area. Place turkey, legs first, in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Using a pastry brush, baste cheesecloth and all exposed parts of turkey with butter-and-wine mixture. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Cook 2 1/2 more hours, basting with pastry brush every 30 minutes and watching the pan juices; if the pan is getting too full, spoon out juices so the level remains below the rack.
• Step 6
• After this third hour of cooking, remove and discard cheesecloth. Turn the roasting pan so the breast faces the back of the oven. Baste turkey with juices that have collected in the bottom of pan. If there are not enough juices, continue to use the butter-and-wine mixture. The skin gets fragile as it browns, so baste carefully, particularly over the breast. Cook another hour, basting every 30 minutes. If some areas of the bird start getting too brown, cover those areas loosely with aluminum foil.
• Step 7
• After the fourth hour of cooking, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. Do not poke into a bone. The thermometer should reach at least 180 degrees and the turkey should be golden brown. The breast does not need to be checked for temperature. If turkey is not golden brown or the thigh meat does not register 180 degrees, baste turkey, return to the oven, and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes. Insert the instant-read thermometer into the center of the stuffing. Temperature should read from 140 degrees to 160 degrees.
• Step 8
• When fully cooked, transfer the turkey to a serving platter, and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Make  the gravy using the turkey drippings while the turkey rests.