We're just about 2 weeks from Thanksgiving, and one of our favorite combinations is Birdy's Mustard and roasted turkey. This was extremely fun to think about, and founded with a mustard herb compound butter! This compound butter really has so many applications outside of thanksgiving.
Compound Butter:
To make the mustard compound butter, in a medium bowl mix 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature), 2 Tbs Birdy's Smooth mustard, 1 Tbs finely chopped preserved lemon, 2 Tbs finely chopped parsley, 2 tsp fine sea salt, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, and pepper to taste. Fold together until thoroughly mixed and you have a smooth butter with no lumps.
Lay out approximately 12 inches of plastic wrap, and add the butter mixture in a mound in the center of the wrap. Work the mixture into an approximate 6 inch log and carefully roll up into the plastic wrap to form a cylinder. Holding the 2 ends of the plastic wrap, roll the cylinder back and forth until it develops into an evenly shaped log.
The compound butter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Roasted Turkey:
After removing the giblets from the turkey, pat the turkey dry with paper towel. Rub turkey all over with 1/2 tsp salt per pound of turkey, pepper to taste, and lemon zest if desired. Seal the turkey in a resealable plastic bag for approximately 1 day. Remove the turkey from the resealable bag and return to fridge for approximately 4 to 8 hours to dry out the skin.
Remove the turkey from the refrigerator for at least one hour prior to cooking, and heat the oven to 450 degrees. After using your fingers to carefully loosen the skin around the entire bird, rub the compound butter under the turkey skin. Also use the compound butter to rub on the outside of the turkey breasts to help the browning process during cooking.
In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add white wine and chicken stock to fill the pan to approximately 1/3 inch. Add chopped onions, fennel, carrots, celery, garlic, and bay leaves to the bottom of the roasting pan, as well as filling the cavity of the turkey.
Place the turkey, breast side up, on the roasting rack and transfer to the oven for 30 minutes at 450 degrees. After 30 minutes (or until which time the skin is browned), reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees and cover the turkey with aluminum foil to protect the browned turkey skin. Cook the turkey till the temperature at the thickest part is 165 degrees. Our twelve pound turkey took approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes at 350 degrees. During this period, we also monitored the roasting pan and added chicken stock as needed to prevent burning of the vegetables. Rest the turkey for 30 minutes.