Looking for holiday menu inspiration?

This one is from the @chefandthef archives, a showstopper for Thanksgiving

Buttery Turkey with Warm Sorghum Vinaigrette
Photo by Jennifer Hitchcock

from Chef Vivian Howard of the Chef & the Farmer, Kinston, NC

Ingredients

Buttery Turkey
One fresh 12-18 pound turkey
Salt and black pepper
4 sprigs rosemary
4 sprigs thyme
1 orange, halved
2 pounds butter
1 lemon, halved
2×2-foot square of cheesecloth folded to cover the breast portion of your bird

Warm Sorghum Vinegar Sauce
1/2 cup small diced red onion
1/2 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sorghum syrup
1/4 cup honey

Directions

Buttery Turkey

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Remove the giblets from your turkey and rinse both the inside as well as the outside of the bird. Pat your turkey dry and season his skin and cavity thoroughly with salt and pepper.

Stuff the cavity with the rosemary, thyme, and halved orange. Place the turkey in a roasting pan and slide him into the oven.

Melt the butter along with the halved lemon in a small saucepan. After about 30 minutes of roasting, dip the cheesecloth into the lemon butter and lay it over the top of the turkey breast. Repeat this every thirty minutes (remove, dip in lemon butter, and replace) for the duration of the cooking time. The turkey is done when the juices run clear between the leg and the thigh, between 2½–3½ hours.

Remove the turkey from the oven and allow him to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Warm Sorghum Vinegar Sauce

In a medium saucepan, sweat the red onion in the butter. Cook until onions are soft and translucent. Add the nutmeg, black pepper, and vinegar. Bring this to a boil and add the syrup and honey. Simmer until it’s reduced by half. Serve warm.

Roast Turkey w/ Warm Sorghum Vinaigrette

Roast Turkey w/ Warm Sorghum Vinaigrette