The Epic Shenanigans of My 16lb Turkey
Story of a Thanksgiving Adventure
Last week, I declared my commitment to cook a turkey for 12 people. What was I thinking?
After some deliberation, I came up with an ingenious plan. I’d done this on a smaller scale before, so it wasn’t a completely crazy idea.
Whole Foods does a great job with fully-cooked turkeys, so I decided to order a ‘Classic Whole-Roasted Turkey for 12’. Turns out that it was a 16lb whopper!
Fret not — it sounds like I cheated, but only a little. This is really a great way to prep a turkey by saving time on the cooking and feeling confident that you won’t be serving raw meat. You are free to customize the bird any way you want, or leave as-is. Read on for my devilish plan.
The 24-hour Marinade
I poked and prodded the bird to create holes for the marinade to seep in. I rubbed in olive oil, seasoning, cayenne pepper, whole peppercorns, a whole bunch of the freshest parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (yes, like the song which I love) sourced from my local farmers’ market, and of course, oranges, lemons, garlic, and jalapenos. I popped the turkey into the fridge and let the marinade do the trick.
