Recipe: White Wine Roasted Turkey with Pepper Rub

WHITE WINE ROASTED TURKEY WITH PEPPER RUB
I make this for a holiday dinner or when Im planning to have a large group of friend and family over. The outside of the turkey is encrusted with a baked-on pepper rub. Inside, the meat is juicy and tender.

One 10 to 12 pound turkey
1/2 cup white wine
FOR THE PEPPER RUB:
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
SEASONING INGREDIENTS:
5 cloves garlic
2 small onions, sliced
2 carrots, cut in rounds
1 bay leaf
2 orange slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the neck and other organs from the turkey cavity and reserve to make stock at a later time. Rinse the turkey in the sink and let the water gush inside the cavity.

Mix all ingredients for the rub together with the Grand Marnier. Spread it over the outside of the turkey, reserving 1 tablespoon. Spoon the 1 tablespoon into the cavity of the turkey. Stuff the cavity with all of the seasoning ingredients.

Set the turkey in a roasting pan and pour in the wine. Cover the turkey with foil and roast. After 2 hours, uncover turkey and baste with the cooking juices. Continue to baste turkey with the juices every 20 minutes for the next 1 1/2 hours, until it is done. Total roasting time should be 3 1⁄2 hours.

Let the turkey cool for at least 15 minutes before carving.

Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Knopf
Source: The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weil, M.D. and Rosie Daley