Champagne Turkey Recipe

When I moved to San Francisco in 1987, I worked at a big hotel as a front desk clerk. Since I had no seniority, I had to work both Thanksgiving and Christmas days. My roommate, Troy, worked at another hotel (though he later left and came to work at the same hotel as me). He had the pleasure of working the ‘graveyard’ shift, so he was usually asleep while I was at school or work, and I was asleep while he was at work.

Troy was a pretty darned good cook, and on Thanksgiving Day, while I was working, he cooked a delicious Thanksgiving meal for me and some of our other hotel friends. While I’ve lost touch with Troy, I do remember his turkey, and so I decided I would try to duplicate the recipe. What I remember is that he made it with one of those roasting bags, and that he poured a bunch of champagne in with the turkey while it roasted. I like turkey, and I like champagne, so I Googled it, and found this recipe. We’ll be enjoying this tomorrow – I’ll let you know how it turns out.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 apples, cored and halved
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey’s cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.

Turkey Update (Friday afternoon): Putting the turkey in the bag seemed to make it cook faster, and the juices would have made a very yummy gravy, but we didn’t end up using them.  It was a 23 lb turkey, and it cooked in about 3 1/2 hours.  Since the recipe said 3 1/2 hours for a 12 lb turkey, I was surprised.  Other than that, to be honest, I couldn’t tell the difference between this turkey and the one Ted’s mom made, which she prepped the night before and put in the oven with a little tin foil tent.  We always have two turkeys, so there will be plenty for leftovers for everyone to take home.  Was the recipe good?  Yes, but it was a bit of work as I started with the Turkey breast down and then had to flip it, which was hard with a bag full of champagne that I didn’t want to lose…I doubt that I would work that hard again, seeing as how the other turkey was just as yummy.  Anyway, we have a fridge full of leftovers now.  Guess what’s for dinner tonight? 😉