lavender salt turkey (cooking my first turkey)

Boldly going where I’ve never gone before, Turkeylandia.

After reading copious notes in my Betty Crocker Cookbook I swiped from my Mom’s house and having my grandmother, Beverly, give me the full run down on what I needed to do to execute a good turkey, I still felt nervous.
Nevertheless I gave my 15lb turkey a bath in the kitchen sink.

I was a little disturbed by this weird plastic thing tying her together. At first, like an idiot, I thought it was the built in pop up thermometer. But I quickly sighted a 6pack of Duff beer in my kitchen and made the connection. Scissoring through the plastic I freed my girls wing and we were back in business.

Stuffed her with herbs, tied her wings down with twine and then smothered her in lavender sea salt until she cried ‘Uncle”.

Now she sits in my fridge until tomorrow, when I will begin baking her at 400 degrees for about 3 hours with a 30-minute post-cooktime nap, so her juices can sink back into her meats.
Mmmm.
Turkey.

Meanwhile I took all her insides and threw them into a crockpot along with rosemary, leeks, carrots, onions and celery to make a thick stock for the gravy I plan on whipping up in the early afternoon.

Stay tuned for the results …

Tags: cooking, food, herbs, lavender, mire poix, photography, prep, thanksgiving, therbsday, turkey