If you are like me, you don’t get super excited for plain turkey, so how about adding peanut butter and bacon! Butter and parsley coating with celery, carrots and apples stuffed in the bird is fine, but Dad’s we are looking for more than fine when we make a Turkey.  So brine it, inject it, smoke it, fry it or do something to give it a bit more pop for your guests.  The Peanut Butter Bacon Turkey is another option that will leave your family and friends asking for more.

I have to credit a friend of my sisters for this prep style.  I was looking for something different but didn’t have the capacity or tools to smoke or fry the bird.  She mentioned peanut better.  Her rationale was that this gave you some of the juiciness of a fried bird without the concern of lighting the house on fire.  Peanut Oil is often used to fry a turkey as this Food Network recipe will suggest.   If you have the setup and safety measures in place to fry the turkey, have at it.  But if you don’t and you still want that taste continue reading to see how you make a Peanut Butter Bacon Turkey.

Peanut Butter Bacon Turkey Recipe

This process is actually pretty simple.  Typically, we are preparing a 16-22 lbs Turkey.  For our family the size of the bird depends on the number of guests that we are having over along with consideration for other center plate food we may be serving (other meat or main entrée).   If Turkey is your single center plate item, you want to plan on one pound of turkey per guest.  If you have kids, you can scale this back some, but 1 lb per person is a good rule of thumb.  You will need the following ingredients and tools to make this happen.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup of Creamy Peanut Butter (I use Honey Peanut Butter to sweeten the taste, but that is up to you)
• 1 Turkey
• 4 strips of Bacon
• 1 Stick of Unsalted Butter (melted and left to stand out to return to room temperature – soft but not liquid)
• Turkey Seasoning (this can be salt and pepper or any other seasoning you typically use)
• 2 cups of Chicken Stock

Item to stuff the Turkey:

• 1 Large Onion (cut into 4)
• 1 Large Apple (cut into 4)
• Tablespoon Black Pepper
• 4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 4 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

Cooking Tools

• Rubber/Plastic Food Handler Gloves
• Large Roasting Pan
• Sharp Knife
• Meat Thermometer
• Aluminum Foil

Peanut Butter Bacon Turkey Steps

Step 1:  Thaw your turkey!  You will need to allow about 4-5 days for a 16 lb bird to thaw (in your refrigerator).  So if getting a larger bird, add a day for every 3-4 lbs. 

Step 2:  Remove the turkey neck and the bag of innards that are put inside the turkey.  Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water.  Pat the bird dry with paper towels or a hand towel that you can dispose of.

Step 3:  Place the turkey in the roasting pan (on the rack if you have this) breast side up.  Now is where you will want those gloves.  You will need to get under the skin of the turkey breast.  Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the skin of each breast and then use your hand to create space between the breast meat and the skin of the turkey. 

This video from Epicurious shows how they do this to put butter under the skin (below picture from the epicurious.com video)

Step 4:  Stuff all the peanut butter under the skin and get as deep as you can on the bird to ensure the peanut butter cooks off and soaks into as much of the meat as possible. 

Step 5:  Cut 4 strips of bacon into ½ inch squares and stuff these under the breasts to combine with the peanut butter.  If done correctly the breasts will appear lumpy with peanut butter and the bacon mixed.  Don’t worry about the lumps as this will cook away and the peanut butter and bacon fat will soak into the meat.

Step 6:  Prepare your turkey as you normally would.  Combine the softened butter with your desired turkey seasoning and generously spread this over all the skin of the bird. 

Step 7:  Stuff the bird with cut onion, apple and thyme, black pepper and rosemary. 

Step 8:  Put 2 cups of Chicken Stock (or white wine) into the base of the roasting pan to further moisten the bird.

Step 8:  Cook to an internal temperature of 165F. 

Steps to Cooking the Peanut Better Turkey

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 425F.

Step 2:  Cook turkey at 425F for 25 minutes and then remove and coat with more butter.

Step 3:  Lower oven temperature to 350F.  If skin of the turkey is nice and golden brown, cover with Aluminum Foil to keep from burning the skin.

Step 4:  Cook until an internal temperature of 165F (should be another 2.5-3 hours depending on the size of the bird).  The USDA provides the following chart to determine cooking times.  Since ovens and turkeys vary, make sure you check the internal temperature and pull out when it reads 165-175F (be cautious not to overcook).

Step 5:  Let the turkey sit for 20 minutes prior to carving to let the juices settle.

Enjoy Your Feast

Turkeys are a very cost effective meal.  You can serve a lot of people for less than $50 if you roast a large turkey.  If you have visited our meat price outlook, you will see that this is a very reasonable price for a center plate option. 

The peanut butter bacon turkey adds a little flare to your run of the mill holiday dinner.  There will be remnants of peanut butter on the breasts, but don’t worry as those only accentuate the meal.  Plate some of the breast meat next to mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce and you have what we call a Thanksgiving PB+J.  Hope you enjoy the meal!