Gilded Saffron and Butter Basted Roast Turkey With Herb Garland

Name: Gilded Saffron and Butter Basted Roast Turkey With Herb Garland
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 h 40 min
Total time: 3 h 50 min
Yield: 1 Gilded Roast Turkey, 6-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 (10 -11 lb) free-range fresh whole turkey; 1 onion, peeled and quartered; softened butter, to rub into the bird; 1 small fresh thyme sprig; 1 small rosemary sprig; 1 lemon, quartered; salt; pepper; 2 -3 pinches saffron; 3 egg yolks, beaten; 1 ounce butter, melted; 2 -3 pinches saffron; 2 ounces butter, melted; 2 -3 sprigs fresh thyme; 2 -3 sprigs fresh rosemary; 2 -3 sprigs fresh bay leaves; cooking string or kitchen twine

Submitted by French Tart

"Gilding is a 15th Century novelty - originally gold leaf was applied to decorate meat and poultry that was served at Christmas, as well as other feasts and festivals! This is a wonderful way of serving your traditional roast turkey - and with a saffron and butter basted gilded effect, NOT using gold leaf I hasten to add - but still achieving a deep golden gilded finish. If you cannot get any saffron, you could use just a little turmeric instead - but be careful as it has a very pervasive flavour! Bring this 15th century art back to your modern dining table this Christmas - and enjoy a wonderful moist butter basted roast turkey at the same time. Please try to source an organic, free-range or home-reared turkey – such as a Bronze or Heritage turkey; you will be doing your bit to support a traditional and more humanitarian way of rearing these lovely birds, as well as gaining a much better taste and flavour! NB: If you can get hold of edible gold dusting powder, you can sprinkle some of that on to the turkey before serving, for an extra sparkle! Joyeuses Fetes – Merry Christmas!"

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photo by French Tart

Ready In:: 3hrs 50mins
Ingredients:: 17
Yields:: 1 Gilded Roast Turkey
Serves:: 6-8

ingredients

1 (10 -11 lb) free-range fresh whole turkey
1 onion, peeled and quartered
softened butter, to rub into the bird
1 small fresh thyme sprig
1 small rosemary sprig
1 lemon, quartered
salt
pepper
GILDED GLAZE ONE
2 -3 pinches saffron
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 ounce butter, melted
GILDED GLAZE TWO
2 -3 pinches saffron
2 ounces butter, melted
HERB GARLAND
2 -3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 -3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 -3 sprigs fresh bay leaves
cooking string or kitchen twine

directions

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/350°F or Gas Mark 4.
Wipe the turkey, and remove any giblets from inside the bird if necessary.
Smear the butter all over the bird and place the onion, herbs and lemon inside the body cavity. Season the bird with salt and pepper to taste.
Place the buttered bird into a foil lined turkey tray. Cut a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment and press this over the breast part of the bird - to prevent the breast becoming too dry during cooking.
Cover the turkey with 2 large pieces of tinfoil/aluminum foil - making sure the foil DOES NOT touch the bird - you are creating a tent - with lots of air to circulate inside!
Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes per pound, plus 20 minutes - so a 10lb turkey will take about 3 hours and 40 minutes.
Try to take the turkey out at least twice during cooking time, to baste it with the buttery juices. Replace the foil cover before putting it back to continue cooking in the oven.
Whilst the bird is cooking, prepare your gilded glaze - choose which one you prefer, egg glaze or butter glaze.
Whisk the egg yolks with the saffron and melted butter. It needs to be the consistancy of a coating glaze, or a thick pouring cream or custard. If you are using just the butter glaze - whisk the saffron and melted butter together - this glaze will be thinner than the egg glaze.
Twenty minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the turkey from the oven, and drain off all the juices for your gravy.
Turn the oven up to 190°C/380°F or Gas Mark 5.
Apply your gilded glaze to the turkey with a large pastry brush - brush it ALL over the turkey as evenly as you can and NOT too thickly with the egg glaze.
Return the turkey to the oven uncovered for the last 20 minutes - remove from the oven and allow to "rest" for 30 minutes before carving.
Remove the herbs, lemon and onion from the cavity before carving and serving.
Make the herb garland - twist sprigs of thyme, bay and rosemary together with some cooking string or twine, to form a circlet.
Serve the turkey adorned with a twisted garland of herbs, and with traditional accompaniments such as: Roast potatoes, mixed vegetables, red cabbage, gravy, stuffing, bacon rolls and Chipolata sausage rolls.
You can also "gild" the turkey by sprinkling edible gold dusting powder over the breast and legs of the turkey - this is available from specialist cake decorating shops.

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Reviews

Looking for something new and exciting and found this, another great recipe french tart. Tried ths on a big 8 lb chicken this weekend and it was awsome. Used tumeric with butter for the gold with no egg yolk tho, and the butter basting was a good trick for a moist bird. Did not do the herb garland this time but will do it for thanksgiving tho. All sorted for thanksgiving now thanks.

RecipeJedi

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

French Tart

277

The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France: <img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /> I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA & Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! I used to be an English Literature & Art History teacher & lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband & my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!) 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