Stew Leonard Jr. Shares His Secret for Cooking the Best Thanksgiving Turkey

Stew Leonard Jr. is the President and CEO of Stew Leonard's grocery chain, but also happens to be a visible and vibrant member of many communities in the the Tri-State area. Stew recently shared his secret for the best Thanksgiving turkey on the company's Youtube channel.

This is what Stew says you should do:

• Find a great turkey (at a Stew Leonard's location near you).
• Take out the neck and gizzard and toss them
• Pat the turkey down until it's dry
• Add to the bottom a layer of "mirepoix," a mix of celery, onion and carrot.
• Lay the turkey on top of the veggie mix in a tin.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter the turkey under the skin with unsalted herb butter, use a lot.
• Stuff apples and oranges into the cavity of the bird.
• Rub the outside of the bird (the skin) in salt & pepper
• Cook the turkey 15 minutes per pound.
• Baste the turkey every 45 minutes.
• The last hour, tent the turkey with aluminum foil.
• After you "tent" it with the foil, cook it for another 20-25 minutes.

Here is Stew's full instructional video below.

If I got any of the instruction wrong, used the wrong terms or misunderstood Stew, my bad. I am not the cook in my house, I'm just a spoiled eater. Gobble gobble you filthy animals, Thanksgiving is here!