In Defense Of Slow-Cooking (How To Roast A Turkey)

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Slow roasted turkey

Slow roasted turkey

I get it. I work full time. And even when I get home from work, the work doesn’t stop. There’s homework, laundry, sports, bills, emails…and do I have time to walk the dog? Then there’s dinner to think about. That’s why I have lots of recipes in my back pocket that take under 30 minutes. (This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. I receive a small percentage at no extra cost to you, which helps maintain the free recipes on this site. Thank you!)

Pre-roast, lemons, herbs, kosher salt and butter.

Pre-roast, lemons, herbs, kosher salt and butter.

Because sometimes I just don’t have the time or energy to spend more than an hour preparing a meal. Yep, I totally get it. But what I don’t get is why on Thanksgiving, when we should be slowing down, reflecting and appreciating what we have, why, when we should be rejoicing in family time, whether it’s cooking with three generations, playing Cribbage with grandpa, or listening to corny jokes for the umpteenth time, WHY would you want to speed up time?

Lift the skin gently to separate from the meat.

Lift the skin gently to separate from the meat.

I’ve seen, this “cook a turkey in under an hour”, recipe flying all over the internet, billed as the greatest thing to happen to Thanksgiving since canned cranberries…not! But I just don’t get it. Short of an unplanned trip to the emergency room, the whole day is blocked off, just to spend time with people you care about! The bird is the easiest part of the whole meal. Rub, season, roast. To baste or not to baste, that’s entirely your call. We always go to my mom’s house for Thanksgiving. Christmas is at ours. Mom is widowed and 79, Thanksgiving is her holiday. She’s been baking for days, planning the centerpieces, the menu, and adding guests along the way.

Slid some butter and salt under the skin. Stuff some lemon wedges and herbs in the cavity of the bird.

Slid some butter and salt under the skin. The lemon keeps the meat super moist.

A few weeks before, we have the same conversation. “How many are you expecting mom?” I’ll ask her. “Oh, I think we’ll keep it small this year…probably just us and a couple more.” During subsequent conversations, mom will say, “Well, we’re up to 18…there’s a friend of mine who had nowhere to go this year…and the man next door just lost his wife…” She cannot bear the thought of anyone being alone during the holidays.

…and a little more melted butter for the skin...

…and a little more melted butter for the skin…

So, every year the guest list changes, ebbs and flows, depending on who might be alone. My daughters, 19 and 14 understand that they will be socializing with 80 year olds, and they’ve learned, quite well over the years, how to do so.

Turkey just out of the ovenThe day before Thanksgiving my daughters will bake pies with my mom, while I snap photos of three of them, knowing that one day my mom won’t be able to teach my daughters how to roll a pie crust anymore.

Mom teaching my daughter how to make a Crostata.

Mom teaching my daughter how to make a Crostata.

Far more precious than any other gift my mom has given my girls, are the intangible gifts. The gift of opening ones’ heart and home, the gift of sharing ones’ knowledge and wisdom, and the gift of time. So why, would one choose to shorten that time?

5 from 3 votes
Slow roasted turkey
Print
Roast Turkey
Cooking time varies depending on your oven, the size of the bird and whether or not you choose to roast your bird stuffed or not. We usually purchase a kosher turkey which is pre-brined, thus eliminating the need to brine. Cooking time varies depending on your oven, the size of the bird and whether or not you choose to roast your bird stuffed or not. A general rule of thumb for an unstuffed turkey is 15 minutes per pound at 325 degrees. How much meat per person? Figure on 1 pound per person, which allows for bones and leftovers.
Course: Entee
Cuisine: American
Author: Cynthia McCloud Woodman
Ingredients
  • Turkey
  • Butter diced
  • Kosher salt
  • Lemon wedges
  • Fresh herbs rosemary, thyme or oregano
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Clean turkey and remove giblets.
  3. Carefully separate skin from turkey. Slide some butter and salt under the skin of the turkey.
  4. Fill cavity of bird with lemon wedges, herbs and more salt.
  5. Melt remaining butter and pour over bird. Baste or not…it's your call.
  6. Roast until thermometer inserted in thick part of thigh registers 165 degrees F.
  7. Remove from oven and tent with foil and allow to rest 20 minutes.
roast turkey how to

Some of the items I used in this post are available here:

 

Easy Roast Turkey

Easiest and moistest ever Roast Turkey with lemon and herbs.

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Comments

  2. Rita says

    November 26, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    Love this post–I can picture your Mom collecting guests along the way. My only question: 1/2 a pound per person? I’m cooking for 8 tomorrow and have a 19.5 lb bird!!

    Reply

  3. Christina @ Christina's Cucina says

    November 26, 2014 at 6:29 pm


    Cynthia, consider yourself given a virtual standing ovation!! Hear, hear! I don’t understand it either, especially since cooking a turkey for 5 hours means peeking in the oven now and then and basting it! Such time consuming work, right? As if you have to stand by the oven for 5 hours!

    I understand people not having time to make certain things, like recipes with 10 different steps on a weeknight, but the least we can do is give our family the tradition of slowing everything down (including the cooking) on Thanksgiving Day!

    Great post, I’m sharing!!

    CC

    Reply

  4. Annie @ Annie's Noms says

    November 5, 2015 at 7:45 am

    We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here, but there’s a similar opinion on Christmas here and it’s really annoying. There’s loads of adverts and magazine articles about how to rush through all the cooking when actually I quite enjoy slowing down for that one day a year when the shops are closed and you don’t have to do anything!

    Reply

  5. Laura @ Family Spice says

    November 7, 2015 at 11:31 am

    Amen, sistah! I love the holidays and that every store is closed because of that very reason. Sometimes, in this constant rush to do everything at the same time, we forget to slow down and appreciate what we have. Slow cooked turkey is the BEST!

    Reply

  7. cristina says

    November 8, 2015 at 10:15 am

    Heartfelt – your mom has such a big and loving heart. Love the image of your Mom and daughter’s hands working together (so priceless!). I still don’t have the will to do a full on turkey so I’m envious of your talents with the bird. 😉

    Reply

  9. Vicky @ Avocdo Pesto says

    November 8, 2015 at 4:13 pm

    Totally with you on not shortening that special time on the holidays spent together baking, cooking, just in the kitchen. My family always congregates around the kitchen and I will spent hours just cooking and spending time with all of them in that one room!

    Reply

  12. Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says

    December 22, 2015 at 4:10 am

    A beautiful post and a helpful technique to know. I always forget that formula for the minutes per pound so it is great to have this post to come back to as a reminder. And the message of enjoying the holiday will be there to remind me to enjoy! Thank you!

    Reply

  13. allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says

    December 22, 2015 at 6:43 am


    I love this post Cynthia! Yup, let’s give ourselves permission to slow down for a day, spend the time with those we love and savor every delicious minute along the way. Your turkey looks amazing and I’ve never done it quite this way wiht the lemons — would love to try it over the holidays. xo

    Reply

  14. Catherine says

    December 22, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    Dear Cynthia, call me old fashioned, but I prefer baking it low and slow as the saying goes. The kitchen is where the best memories are made…and I don’t think I trust the idea of cooking a bird under an hour…that’s all new to me! A beautiful post dear and such a sweet note to your mom. Wishing you a beautiful and blessed Christmas and New Years. xoxo, Catherine

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] Those classes involved a lot of tasting, discussing flavor combinations, and deciding which spices matched a particular cuisine. Our instructors gave us ingredients and basic  instructions, but nothing further. The amounts were left ambiguous on purpose. It was our job as students to figure out the proportions, and in doing so, to create our own adaptations. Therefore, this recipe for cherry chutney is my interpretation of what I tasted, wrote down, and experimented with. I think chutney is a beautiful blend of spices, with the tang of vinegar and a little bit of sweet. Chutneys are ubiquitous in British cooking, yet oddly enough, missing from American cuisine. Though, not entirely. We serve a “chutney” of sorts at Thanksgiving, when we serve the sweet cranberry sauce with our savory turkey. […]

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