Roasted Turkey with Rougarou Hot Wing Sauce

Tired of the same ol’ roasted turkey for Thanksgiving? This year, spice it up with Rougarou Hot Wing Sauce and make a perfect delicious, extra spicy roasted Buffalo-style turkey!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon celery seeds
• 2 sticks butter, softened, divided
• 1 10- to 12-pound turkey
• 3 carrots, cut into 3-inch pieces
• 3 stalks celery, cut into 3-inch pieces
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 12-ounce bottle light beer or 1 quart chicken stock
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 12 ounces Rougarou Hot Wing Sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a small dish, mix together salt, paprika, cayenne and celery seeds. Set aside.
3. Place the turkey into a roasting pan and pat it dry with paper towels. (The drier the turkey, the easier the butter will adhere to it.) Rub the turkey with one stick of softened butter. Once the bird is covered, pour the spice mixture all over the outside and inside of the turkey, rubbing it in a bit so the dry mixture adheres to the bird. Fill the inside of the turkey with some carrot, celery and onion. Whatever doesn’t fit into the bird just place around the outside in the bottom of the pan. Pour the beer or stock into the bottom of the roasting pan and place the turkey into the oven to roast for 1 hour.
4. While the turkey is roasting, combine the Rougarou , the remaining stick of butter and the garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is just melted.
5. After 1 hour, remove the turkey from the oven and brush the turkey with the buffalo sauce mixture using a pastry brush. Place back into the oven and brush with the sauce every 30 minutes for an additional 2 hours or until a thermometer reaches 165°F when placed inside the turkey thigh. Pour the remaining buffalo glaze over top of the turkey. If the turkey begins to brown on top before its done cooking, tent with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning.
6. Tip: Remove the turkey from the oven and close the door for basting. Leaving the oven door open during basting will lower the oven temperature resulting in a longer cooking time.
7. Remove turkey from oven and let rest for at least 20 minutes. Carve and serve.

For sides:

Sticks of Celery

Baby Carrots

Blue Cheese Dressing: Here’s my favorite recipe

Roasted Sweet Potato Fries: Alexia Organic with Sea Salt Frozen Fries are my favorite. For crispiness: toss them in a little olive oil before cooking in your oven according to package directions.