Roast Turkey

Matt's Dad cleaned out his freezer while we were at his house, (which was awesome!) and along with that clean-out came a 21 pound turkey.  Yes, 21 pounds.  Now, I didn't realize at the time that I took it that it was so big, I figured, why would one man have anything bigger than a ten pounder... WRONG!
Yesterday morning when I set out to cook it, I realized we forgot to pick up a roasting pan.  I was going to try and invent something using a 9x13 and some cookie sheets, but my oven is too small for that, so I called my mom.  She told me that I should cut the turkey in half and and use the 9x13, so that's what I did!  (Okay, really, Matt cut it in half... and it was still kind of frozen, so he had a heck of a time!)

Matt hacking away at our turkey

After it was cut, it fit perfectly in our 9x13 and became a great 11 pound bird.  I rubbed the outside with garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and sage.  (I didn't have rosemary or thyme!)

Half turkey before going in the oven

Then I covered it with foil and cooked it for an hour on 325.  After an hour, I took the foil off and let it cook an additional 2 hours.  I pulled it out and when I cut into it, the meat was white!  We ended up going out to dinner last night with Matt's aunt, so we put it in the fridge.  When I took it out to make hot turkey sandwiches tonight, I realized the center was still a little pink.  However, after I nuked the sandwiches in the microwave, the meat cooked.  Next time, I will cook it for about 3 and a half hours.  However, it was very tasty and juicy!  I think it was a pretty good first attempt at a turkey!

Roasted Turkey

Roast Turkey

Ingredients:
1 10-11 lb. turkey
2 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. sage

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325.
Rinse turkey and pat dry.
Mix garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and sage in small bowl.
Rub spice mixture over turkey.
Cover and cook for 1 hour.
Uncover and cook for an additional 2.5 hours, or until juices run clear.
Enjoy!