Bay-Spiced Roast Turkey
In this healthy roast turkey recipe, brining keeps the turkey moist and a homemade bay-spice mix gives the turkey amazing flavor. Diced celery root or parsnip adds flavor and texture to the gravy. A heritage, natural or organic turkey, without added sodium solution (found in most conventional turkeys), tastes best in this recipe. If you have a conventional bird, just skip the brining (Step 1). The recipe that's included for Bay Spice Blend makes 1 cup; if you want to skip the step of making the spice blend, you can substitute Old Bay Seasoning.
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Recipe Summary
Nutrition Profile:
Ingredients
Directions
Tips
Make Ahead Tip: Brine turkey (Step 1) for up to 16 hours. Store spice blend airtight at room temperature for up to 3 months.
Tips:
For your holiday turkey, we recommend using a natural, organic or heritage turkey, because it will not contain any sodium solution that is added to most conventional turkeys and will have a better taste and texture. If you can only find a conventional turkey, you can still use a recipe that calls for a natural turkey, just skip any brining instructions. The added brine would make the -turkey--and gravy--too salty.
Find celery root, a celery-flavored- root vegetable with a texture similar to potatoes when cooked, in the refrigerated produce section near other root vegetables. To peel it, trim off the root and stem end, then remove the thick skin with a knife or use a vegetable peeler and peel around the root several times to remove the fibrous skin.
Nutrition Facts
1/2 vegetable, 3 1/2 lean meat