Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Butterball. The opinions in the post are entirely my own.
An easy way to cook a whole turkey!
The Chinese 5-spice turkey recipe uses a whole Butterball turkey, and while cooking with Butterball is always easy, I’ve sped up the time by deconstructing the turkey before cooking. Roasting the white and dark meat in pieces on a sheet pan reduces the cooking time by more than half vs. cooking it whole, and the pieces also cook evenly. Because the turkey is roasted on a pan with vegetables and some liquid, you will still be able to get an incredible gravy with all the turkey drippings.
The rub on the skin consists of Chinese 5-spice powder (star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds), orange zest and fresh thyme, which makes the turkey extremely aromatic and appetizing. The outcome is a tender and juicy turkey with tantalizing flavours. Let’s get started!
Butterball whole turkey options:
Holidays are a busy time of year, so I love simplicity. Butterball makes it possible with their whole turkeys that do not need to be brined in advance and the bag is easy to open. I cooked a 17-pound Butterball frozen whole turkey that I defrosted in the fridge for 4 days. I precut the turkey the day before roasting so that I could focus on cooking and entertaining the day of serving the scrumptious turkey.
Other Butterball whole turkeys products that work well with the recipe include their Naturally Inspired Frozen Whole Turkey and their Fresh Whole Turkey (product info here). If you use Butterball’s fresh turkey, defrosting is not necessary. Whole Butterball turkeys can be easily found at many retailers across Canada (refer to the product locator here).
How to break down a turkey?
To deconstruct a turkey, you will break down the turkey the same way as other poultry, such as chicken. If you have done this before, you know the drill. The main thing is that you have several whole pieces for roasting.
Make sure your knife is sharp enough to cut through the skin and meat easily. I used an 8-inch stainless steel French knife to do the job but feel free to use a boning knife or slicing knife. Relax and don’t worry if the cuts don’t look perfect or uniform. For the joints, the aim is to cut in between the joints and avoid cutting through the bone so you don’t get fragment bone pieces.
Once the Butterball wrapping is removed, remove the gizzards and neck from the cavity and set them aside. Make sure there’s no ice in between the joints and that the turkey is fully thawed for easier cutting.
Step 1:
Cutting the wings. Start with laying the turkey on its back with the turkey breast facing up. Pull the wing out and cut through the crease that connects the wing to the body. Cut through the joint and release the wing. If you are having trouble locating the joint, you can also twist the turkey wing about 180 degrees to disconnect the turkey wing from the body, before using a knife to cleanly cut through the joint. Repeat on the other side. I left the whole wing as is including the tip, rather than cutting it into sections.
Step 2:
Cutting the legs (thighs and drumstick). Using a similar action as when you cut out the wings, pull the legs out and cut through the turkey that connects the leg to the body. Cut through the joint and release the leg. Repeat on the other side. Next, cut the leg quarter from the drumsticks.
Step 3:
Cutting the breasts. It is best to use the tip of your knife while cutting the breast, start at the tail end of the turkey, and cut along the rib cage carefully until you reach the neck side. With the initial cut done, slice breast meat away from the rib cage by cutting as closely to the carcass as possible, until the whole breast is detached. Repeat on the other side.
Cut any excess turkey skin located by the cavity and discard. Keep the carcass for roasting to make extra gravy or for stock.
Place all the pieces on 2 sheet pans lined with paper towels- this will allow access liquid to drip into the towels. Pat the turkey pieces with paper towel to absorb the moisture. If you are cutting the day before serving, cover the turkey on the sheet pan with cling wrap and refrigerate.
Once you get the hang of breaking down the turkey, it is life changing. You can buy a Butterball whole turkey any time of year and portion out pieces for various recipes (AND save money as it’s much more cost effective than buying individual cuts. Pretty great eh?). You can wrap and freeze the turkey pieces for future use. If your knife skills could use a little work, don’t worry – Butterball also offers Easy Fresh turkey cuts that can be enjoyed year-round.
Get ready to taste an incredibly scrumptious and juicy turkey!
Recipe:
Easy Chinese 5-Spice Turkey with Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 Butterball turkey, deconstructed
- 6 carrots, peeled and cut 1 inch thick
- 4 celery stalks, cut 1 inch thick
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 yellow onion, peeled, cut into 1-inch slices
- 1 red onion, peeled, cut into 1-inch slices
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 6 sprigs of flat leaf parsley
- 1 cup of butter, cut into 1 cm cubes
- 4 cups of chicken stock
- 1 cup of water
Seasoning:
- Grapeseed oil, or oil of your choice
- Salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to season
- 2 tsp of fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tsp of Chinese 5-spice powder
- ¼ cup orange zest (about 4 oranges)
Gravy
- ⅛ cup each of butter and flour, have more handy for the roux
- 3 cups pan drippings
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup flour, reserve more
- Salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to season
Instructions
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 325 °F.
Drizzle oil over the deconstructed turkey and season with salt and black pepper on both sides of the pieces.
Using half of the butter cubes, place a few cubes underneath the skin of the breast, drumsticks and thighs.
In a bowl, combine the Chinese 5-spice, thyme leaves, and orange zest and gently mix. Evenly spread the seasoning on the turkey skin.
Spread the vegetables, evenly on 2 sheet pans. Fit the turkey pieces on top of the vegetables evenly on both pans. Add the remaining butter cubes on top of each piece of turkey.
Add 2 cups of chicken stock and ½ a cup of water to the first pan and repeat the steps for the second pan.
Roasting time:
Place the pans into the oven using 2 separate racks. Roast the turkey at 325 °F for 1 hour. It is best to use the convection setting on your oven.
After one hour, turn the heat to 385 °F and cook for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the breast hits 165°F and the thigh meat reaches 180°F.
Broil on high for 3 minutes.
Take the turkey out of the oven, remove the pieces onto a plate or cutting board to rest.
Making the gravy:
Using a strainer, pour the vegetables and turkey drippings from the pan into a separate bowl. Skim fat using a spoon and discard.
In a pot, turn the heat on medium-high and make a roux by adding equal parts of butter and flour. Stir until a paste is formed.
Add the strained and skimmed pan drippings into the pot. Add chicken stock and white wine. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste, and add salt and pepper if desired.
To thicken, add flour and stir until the flour fully dissolves. Simmer for a few minutes (add more flour as needed to achieve the desired gravy consistency).
Add the gravy into a bowl or gravy boat.
Serving:
Cut the turkey into desired sized pieces and plate. Serve with the gravy.
Optional steps for extra gravy:
Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Add the turkey carcass, neck bone and gizzards to a roasting pan with a rack and add 4 cups of stock. Roast for 45 mins at 400 °F.
At 45 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and pour the drippings into a bowl. Skim off the fat and add to the current gravy mixture and thicken with flour.
* Please note that the 4 cups of stock are not listed in the ingredient list in the main recipe.
Recipe Notes
Cook time is approximate as oven temperatures vary.
For the vegetables in the pan, you can eat them, discard, or add to the roasting pan with the carcass to add more depth to the drippings. Enjoy!
Easy Chinese 5-spice turkey with gravy
For other Butterball turkey recipes, check out:
- Chinese-Style Turkey Sheet Pan Dinner (recipe here)
- Chinese Turkey Lettuce Wraps (recipe here).
- Grilled Turkey and Asian Pesto (recipe here)
- Soy Sauce Turkey (recipe here)
- Dark Soy and Honey Glazed Turkey (recipe here)
- For more turkey recipe ideas, head to https://www.butterball.ca/recipes/
Follow Butterball on social media:
- Instagram: @Butterball_CA
- Facebook: Butterball Canada
- Twitter:@Butterball_CA
- Hashtag: #ButterballEasy
Share your holiday dinner photos using the hashtag, #ButterballEasy, tagging @Butterball_CA
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