BONED ROAST TURKEY

THIS IS HOW one begins.

1 Turkey

poundage according to number of people at dinner

If your turkey is frozen, you should thaw the turkey out on Monday before Thanksgiving in the refrigerator. On Thanksgiving morning, wash the inside and out with cold water. I am not a big fan of brining the turkey; it's too salty for my tastes, but you wish, feel free.

With the large cavity facing forward, pull the leg out away from you to release the thigh from the carcass. It should snap. You will have to use a boning or any other very sharp knife and separate the joint to completely remove the leg and skin  from the turkey. Repeat this process with the other leg. You will now need to bone the thigh with a very sharp boning knife always keeing the kife as close to the bone as possible so none of the meat is left on the bone. When this is completed, take a sheet of aluminum foil, fold it in half lengthwise and place the thigh on the foil. Open the thighs up and put an ample amount of stuffing on top and roll the meat over the stuffing. Wrap the foil around the thighs to keep it intact and place each one in two corners of the pan.

Using a very sharp knife, try to cut around the wishbone to give you enough room to pull it out. The larger the bird, the more difficult this will be. Once you have done this, sit the bird upright and cut away the carcass from the breast. I use a meat cleaver for this. You can pull the carcass off the body after you get to a certain point. Trim away any excess fat but keep the pope's nose. You should have an entire turkey free of carcass and legs. Trim the wings and cut of the nibbens. Reserve the carcass and giblets for stock to make gravy.

In a large lightly oiled roasting pan, place a mound of dressing directly in the center of the pan and place the turkey on top.  Strew some onions, celery and carrot around the turkey with a little water and butter. Grease the top of the turkey with butter and/or olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Your turkey is now ready for the oven. If you are not going to put it in the oven immediately, keep it covered and refrigerated. Just a reminder, though, if you do refrigerate it, you should ensure that it and the stuffing are at room temperature before putting in the oven

Place the roasting pan in the middle of a preheated 375º  oven and roast for an hour. Reduce the temperature to 325º and cook until done. Baste occasionally and add more water if ans when necessary. If the skin on the turkey browns too quickly, tent it with foil. Test for doneness after 3 hours. The juices should run clear.