Pasture-Raised Turkey

Whole Turkey raised on pasture (not fed a vegetarian grain diet). Flavorful and no need to brine.

The thought of cooking a Turkey on holidays always scared me for some odd reason. The only memories I have are my grandmother who was an exceptional cook but she wouldn't let anyone near her Turkey...so it gave me a misunderstanding of the "holiday bird".

As I got older, I realized..."Wow...I'm the adult now and I'm the one who has to learn this". So after about 2007 I started to learn how to cook my own. Some were failures and other's were a success. After my successes I learned my lesson and wrote them down.

It wasn't until after my mold exposure in 2012 that I was educated on poultry and how both chickens and turkeys found in most conventional stores were fed terrible unhealthy ingredients that literally make the birds so fat and sick that they end up weighing more...(which means they make more money off of the sale of a bird at YOUR health expense). This really turned my thinking of poultry around completely.

I always seek out the pasture-raised meats and birds now even if I'm not on a strict detox diet. The reason people exposed to mold MUST choose a "pastured" turkey is because most farm-raised Turkeys that are sold in the supermarkets are fed a vegetarian (mostly grains...MOLDY GRAINS) diet. What your bird eats is exactly what your IMMUNE SYSTEM is going to react to. Believe me, once you do your research...it should bother you from here on out on never eating "unpastured" birds again.

Here's my Turkey recipe that I've adapted over the years...I hope you enjoy your next holiday Turkey!!

KITCHEN ITEMS YOU'LL NEED

• Glass or stone cutting board (avoid wood unless you have bamboo. Bamboo contains a natural chemical that is antimicrobial and anti-mold).

• Kitchen stainless steel meat knife

• Stainless steel chopping knife for veggies

• Glass or Stainless steel mixing bowl

• Meat thermometer

• Cooking Timer

• Silicone mat to replace aluminum foil (if you absolutely cannot buy this silicone mat then I suggest using a non toxic parchment paper because aluminum on your turkey is very toxic and will poison your food with tiny fragments of aluminum. Heavy metals and mold exposure are a bad combination and you want to avoid using anything aluminum for the rest of your life.

• Stainless steel, Cast Iron, lead-free enameled or Glass roasting pan (Do not roast your turkey in aluminum or non-stick pans to avoid heavy metal toxicity.

• Stainless and Silicone turkey baster. (Do not use plastic turkey basters..they are toxic and the plastic melts into your juices when the hot juice enters the baster).

• Turkey platter to serve your Turkey

INGREDIENTS

• Whole Pastured Turkey

• Pastured Turkey Broth - I buy mine at Vitacost. https://www.vitacost.com/bare-bones-bone-broth-paleo

• Olive oil (Make sure your brand is PhazeMoldDiet approved: Here's the list)

• 1 large organic onion

• 1 organic carrot

• 4 stalks organic celery

• 1 organic bay leaf

Butter Mixture Ingredients

• 10 oz grassfed butter (about 2.5 sticks) at room temp

• 4 tsp fresh organic rosemary

• 2 tsp fresh organic parsley

• 4 tsp fresh organic sage

• 1/2 Tbsp organic dried garlic

• 1 tbsp fresh organic oregano

• 4 organic lemons (2 for juicing and zesting and 2 whole lemons)

• 3 fresh organic garlic cloves

• ¼ tsp organic allspice

• Celtic Sea Salt to taste (Do not, under any circumstances use table salt. Iodized salt will make your bird taste metallic. It will also make your bird more salty since the grains are smaller, you end up getting a lot more salt. Plus....we "DON'T" consume iodized/table salt on the PhazeMoldDiet.

Want extra flavor? I didn't add these into my herbed butter rub but you can add these additional spices for an extra awesome-tasting turkey

• Cayenne Pepper to taste (Avoid black and white pepper they are high in mycotoxin)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the Herbed Butter Rub - chop the herbs, lemon zest, and garlic. Combine herb butter mixture ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2. Loosen the turkey’s skin with your hands, and rub the butter mixture over the whole turkey, under and over the skin. Tip: Use a piping bag to get the mixture under the skin more easily. If you have time, cover and refrigerate the bird overnight to allow the flavors time to penetrate the meat. We’ve found you don’t need to brine pastured birds because they hold moisture and flavor better than conventional birds.

You learn something new everyday!!

What is a mirepoix? (Pronounced "Meer-Pwah")

Mirepoix is a flavor base made from diced vegetables that are cooked—usually with butter, oil, or other fat—for a long time on low heat without coloring or browning, as further cooking, often with the addition of fruits, creates a darkened brown mixture called pinçage.

Making mirepoix

Mince up your celery, carrot, and onion into small pieces and then place them in the bottom of a roasting pan along with some pastured bone broth or filtered water and an organic bay leaf. You'll want to use just enough liquid to cover the vegetables. This mixture will add flavor to the bird and keep it moist. Set aside a few pieces of onion for roasting inside the cavity of the turkey.

Ready to cook

1. Remove turkey from refrigerator 30-60 minutes before cooking, and preheat oven to 325F.

2. Place turkey on a roasting rack, breast up, and set in the roasting pan over the mirepoix.

3. Loosely place 2-4 lemon halves and a few pieces of onion inside the cavity. Truss the bird loosely with butcher’s twine and drizzle turkey skin with olive oil.

4. Place the "Silicone mat" or "Parchment paper" OVER the turkey to prevent it from burning.

5. Once Turkey is covered put the pan into the oven and roast it for ONLY the exact cooking time of the weight of your turkey(approximately 8-10 minutes per pound).

6. Set your cooking timer for either every 10 or 15 minutes and using your baster, baste the bird with pan juices. Continue to reset your timer over and over until the bird is done..(this can be a tedious process but basting your turkey every 10-15 min will make a nice juicy turkey).

7. Remove the bird once the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh registers 160F (approximately 8-10 minutes per pound). Please note that pastured turkeys generally cook more quickly than conventional birds.

8. Allow the turkey to rest 15-20 minutes before carving so you don’t lose all the delicious juices. Enjoy!