Recipe: Super-Fast Roast Turkey and Stuffing (Tyler Florence)

SUPER-FAST ROAST TURKEY
"Wanting to take some of the guesswork out of the cooking time for roast turkey, we thought about butterflying, or spatchcocking, the turkey. Think of it this way: Turkeys vary tremendously in size, but if you split It open and flatten it out, the size difference matters a lot less in the oven because you don't have a big, cold center fighting against the heat.

Prepared this way, our turkey cooked in 1 hour and 45 minutes, saving 1 hour and 15 minutes, and our bird was beautifully juicy."



1 (10 pound) turkey
Test Kitchen Stuffing (recipe follows), in a piping bag or zip-close plastic bag with a corner snipped off
Grapeseed or vegetable oil, as needed
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh sage
1 bunch fresh thyme

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the heart and giblets from the turkey and reserve; discard the liver. Flip the turkey upside down so the breast is on the cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone so the bone can be removed. Pull the bone out of the turkey and reserve. Gently but firmly open up the bird a little (you can flatten it if you'd like) and set it on the board with the skin side up.

Insert your fingers gently between the skin and breast meat, separating them while keeping the skin attached. You want to create a pocket for the stuffing without tearing the skin. Pipe the stuffing underneath the skin of the bird, creating an even layer of it between the meat and the skin. Rub grapeseed or vegetable oil over the skin, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Do the same to the underside of the bird.

Place a large rack in a roasting pan or sheet pan, and put the whole sprigs of herbs on top of the rack. Put the turkey skin-side up on top of the herbs. Sandwiching the herbs between the rack and the turkey will prevent them from burning.

Put the turkey in the oven, and cook at 375 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The skin should be golden brown, and the meat should be 135 degrees F when you insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh.

Tent the turkey with foil, and continue to roast until the temperature reaches 160 degrees F in the leg, about another 30 minutes. Remove the turkey, and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

Makes 12 servings

TEST KITCHEN STUFFING
Makes enough to stuff 1 turkey

4 cups sourdough bread, torn into 1-inch pieces, without the crusts
2 tablespoons grapeseed or vegetable oil
1/2 pound sage breakfast sausage, crumbled
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
5 fresh sage leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2/3 cup chicken stock
1 egg

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Toast the bread on a sheet pan in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium-high, heat the oil. Add the sausage and let it brown. After it's nice and golden on one side, stir to get color all over. Add the carrots, celery and onion, followed by the sage and thyme. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally to keep the cooking even. Season with salt and pepper.

When the vegetables are aromatic and tender, add stock; mix to loosen any brown bites from the bottom of the pan. Add the toasted bread and mix well.

Transfer the stuffing to a food processor. Process until fairly smooth, adding the egg while pureeing.

Transfer the stuffing to a piping bag (or a large zip-close plastic bag with a corner snipped off) and pipe under the skin of your turkey.

Adapted from source: Inside the Test Kitchen by Tyler Florence