Roasted Garlic and Meyer Lemon-Rubbed Turkey

Mellow white miso paste is the secret ingredient in this amazing roast turkey rubbed with Meyer lemon and roasted garlic. The miso gives the turkey a mildly salted taste without the hassle of brining.

Active Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours

(Make 10 serves) 3 ounces each, plus plenty of leftovers

Healthy Recipes Amount Per Serving (without skin and 1/4 cup of gravy): 200 Calories, 26 g. Protein, 6 g. Carbohydrates, 1 g. Dietary Fiber, 6 g. Fat ( 1 g sat , 2 g mono ), 63 mg. Cholesterol, 250 mg. Sodium, 312 mg. potassium.
Carbohydrate Servings: 0
Exchanges: 3 lean meat

Ingredients:

Roasted Turkey

• 2 heads garlic
• 3 Meyer lemons (Look for it from late fall to early spring in well-stocked supermarkets and specialty grocers.)
• 1/4 cup of white miso (Look for it near the tofu in most supermarkets or natural-foods stores.)
• 2 Tbsp. of canola oil
• 1 Tbsp. of chopped fresh thyme , plus 3 sprigs
• 1/2 tsp. of freshly ground pepper
• 1 10 lb. to 12 lb. turkey , neck and giblets reserved for stock (discard liver)
• 1 medium yellow onion , peeled and quartered, divided
• 2 cups of water , plus more as needed

Turkey Giblet Stock

(optional, 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth may be used instead to make the gravy)

• 6 cups of water
• 1 medium onion , peeled and quartered
• 1 medium carrot , chopped
• 1 stalk celery , chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 tsp. of whole black peppercorns

Citrus Gravy

• 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp. of Meyer lemon juice or 4 tsp. of lemon juice plus 2 tsp. of orange juice
• 1/4 tsp. of salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

• To prepare turkey: Position rack in lower third of oven, preheat to 400 degrees F.
• Rub off excess papery skin from garlic heads without separating the cloves. Slice the tips off, exposing the ends of the cloves. Place the heads on a square of foil. Sprinkle with 4 tsp. of water and wrap into a package. Roast about 40-45 min until very soft. Unwrap and let cool.
• Zest lemons. Place the zest in a medium bowl; juice the lemons into the bowl through a strainer to catch the seeds. Reserve the squeezed lemon skins.
• Add miso, oil, chopped thyme and pepper to the lemon mixture. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the bowl. Whisk until the mixture forms a paste.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set aside giblets and neck for making Turkey Giblet Stock, if desired. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
• Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat. Rub the paste under the skin onto the breast meat and leg meat and a little inside the cavity. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey. Place the reserved squeezed lemon skins, thyme sprigs and 2 onion quarters in the cavity. (You may not use all the citrus skins.) Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Place the turkey breast-side up on a roasting rack set in a large roasting pan.
• Roast the turkey for 1 hour. Add 2 cups of water and the remaining onion to the pan, tent with foil and continue roasting for 1 hour more. Baste the turkey with pan drippings and continue roasting, basting every 15 min or so, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Add more water 1 cup at a time if the pan is dry.
• To prepare stock: Meanwhile, combine the reserved turkey neck and giblets (except liver), water, onion, carrot and celery in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Reduce heat and simmer, skimming and discarding any foam, for 1 hour. Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl and let cool. Discard solids. If necessary, add enough water (or reduced-sodium chicken broth) to measure 4 cups stock.
• Transfer the turkey to a clean cutting board (reserve the pan juices and onions). Let the turkey rest while you make Citrus Gravy.
• To prepare gravy: Skim off any visible fat from the juices from the roasting pan.
• Whisk 1/2 cup of the stock and flour in a small bowl until smooth; set aside.
• Set the roasting pan over two burners on medium heat. Add wine; bring to a boil and cook, scraping up the browned bits, until the liquid is reduced by about half, 2-4 min. Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of stock. Increase heat to medium-high; return to a boil, stirring often. Boil until the liquid is reduced by about half, 6-8 min.
• Whisk the reserved flour-stock mixture and add to the pan, whisking constantly, until the gravy thickens, 1-3 min. Stir in lemon juice (or lemon and orange juices). Remove from the heat and pour the gravy through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup. (Discard the solids.) Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the string and carve the turkey. Serve with the gravy.
• Note : Miso is fermented soybean paste made by inoculating a mixture of soybeans, salt and grains (usually barley or rice) with koji, a beneficial mold. Miso is undeniably salty, so a little goes a long way. White or sweet miso (Shiromiso), made with soy and rice, is yellow and milder in flavor than red miso.

Source : EatingWell

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