Whole Foods Fragrant Roasted Turkey with Chiles & Citrus
JenniferE | On 15, Nov 2012
Reality set in a couple days ago that Thanksgiving is NEXT week! Tell me I’m not the only one? It feels like November just began, yet my oldest starts his Thanksgiving vacation tomorrow. On the plus side, I’m good on canned pumpkin through the Holidays and beyond. I also know what kind of turkey I’m getting. I haven’t been able to find a local farmer who offers just turkey breast. We don’t like dark meat, so I don’t bother with an entire bird. Last year I discovered Mary’s Turkeys. I got a large bone-in breast and was thrilled with the results. I’m also thrilled that I can enjoy Thanksgiving knowing I’m serving my family a quality, humanely-raised, drug and hormone-free turkey while supporting a farm committed to those standards.
You can find Mary’s Turkeys at Wholefoods along with other humanely-raised turkeys and meat. Here is what a friendly Wholefoods representative had to tell us about their 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating program:
“With food in the oven and family around the table, Thanksgiving is the feel-good meal of the year. And this year, it feels even better – because every turkey sold at Whole Foods Market comes from a farm that’s achieved certification to Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating program.
The 5-Step system sets base animal welfare standards for turkeys and helps shoppers know exactly what farm management and animal raising practices went into growing the bird for their dinner. At Step 1, turkeys must have ample space to move around, flap their wings, preen and dust bathe. As farms achieve higher ratings, the birds also have environmental enrichments (things to do!), more space indoors, and access to the outdoors where they can forage for insects and native vegetation. Turkeys on farms that have achieved a Step 5+ rating live their whole lives – enrichments, dust baths, foraging and all – on the same farm; they don’t even leave for processing.
In addition, all of Whole Foods Market’s turkeys are raised without antibiotics or animal byproducts in their feed.”
This will be our third Thanksgiving here in Texas. I’ve been throwing some Southwestern touches into some of our Holiday traditions. For New Years Day I made Texas Caviar as our lucky side instead of the plain blackeyed peas I grew up with. I think this Fragrant Roasted Turkey with Chiles and Citrus will make a wonderful new Texas tradition, too. (Recipe courtesy of Wholefoods.)
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 2 limes
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened (I use grass-fed)
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo)
- 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
- 1 (8- to 10-pound) turkey
- Salt and pepper
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange a roasting rack in a large roasting pan and set aside.
- Zest lemons and limes and transfer zest to a large bowl. Halve and squeeze lemons and limes. Add half of the juice to the bowl with the zest; reserve remaining juice and squeezed fruit. Add butter, adobo sauce, chile powder and thyme and beat with an electric mixer until combined.
- Carefully loosen the skin from around the turkey breast and thighs and rub some of the butter mixture between the meat and skin. Rub remaining butter mixture all over the outside of the bird. Season turkey generously, including the cavity, with salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stuff squeezed lemon and lime halves into cavity, then tuck in wings and tie legs together with kitchen twine. Arrange turkey breast-side up on rack in prepared pan. Pour 3 cups of the broth into bottom of pan then pour remaining lemon and lime juice over turkey. Roast until deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. Tent turkey with foil and continue roasting, basting every 30 minutes with pan juices, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat registers 165°F, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Transfer turkey to a large platter, tent with foil and set aside to let rest while you make the gravy.
- Degrease pan juices then add as much of the remaining 1 cup broth as needed (if any) to get 2 1/2 to 3 cups; return juices to roasting pan. Arrange pan on the stovetop over two burners and heat over medium-high heat, stirring to scrape up any browned bits, for 1 minute. Whisk in flour, bring to a boil and cook, stirring often, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer gravy to a bowl. Discard lemons and limes from turkey cavity. Carve turkey, transfer meat to a large platter and serve with hot gravy on the side.
Also, Wholefoods is giving away a free case of Imagine Broth (ends 11/23/12)! Think of the soups, stews, and sides you could whip up!
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