Pumpkin Chilpotle Pesto Encrusted Turkey
Ingredients
1 (18 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped or 1/2 bag of mini pre-washed carrots
4 stalks celery, chopped or 1/2 bag of mini pre-washed celery sticks
2 cup dry white wine
2 7 ounce tins of Pumpkin Chilpotle Pesto(defrosted)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thoroughly rinse the turkey with cold water and pat dry.
- Combine 1/4 cup of softened butter & one 7 ounce tin of Pumpkin Chilpotle Pesto. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Rub the Pumpkin Chilpotle Pesto /butter mixture all over the outside of the bird. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme, and the bay leaf, that have been tossed in half, of the second container, of Pumpkin Chilpotle Pesto. Scatter the remaining vegetables, coated with the second half, of the container of Pumpkin Chilpotle Pesto, around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the white wine.
- Roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about 2/3 through the roasting time, and bast with the remaining juices, every fifteen minutes, for the last hour of cooking. Allow the bird to stand about 30 minutes before carving.
