This Roast Turkey recipe is a holiday staple! Made with a fresh or frozen and thawed turkey, lots of rich butter, fresh herbs, a hint of bright lemon, and flavorful onion and garlic. It’s easy to prepare and it’s sure to impress family and friends!
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This easy, straightforward recipe is hard to mess up by following the simple guidelines and steps (as in, don’t begin with a partially frozen turkey and be sure you fully cook it through).
The secret in this turkey recipe is in the butter and flavorings. The butter helps yield nicely browned skin and juicy, flavorful meat while the lemon and herbs infuse a nice flavor.
This roast turkey will be the star of the show at your holiday feast with it’s delicious flavor and moist, tender texture. It’s a turkey that does the yearly tradition proud!
Ingredients Needed for a Oven Baked Turkey:
Whole turkey – a fresh or frozen and fully thawed turkey can be used here (see notes below for thaw time).
Unsalted butter – this adds delicious moisture and flavor to the turkey and helps that skin brown nicely.
Fresh herbs – I like to use rosemary, thyme and parsley. They are classic poultry seasonings. Sage can be substituted (for thyme or rosemary) if preferred.
Lemon – this adds a faint citrus flavor which pairs beautifully with turkey. If you love that flavor feel free to double up on the lemon.
Onion and garlic – these are added to the cavity of the bird and those flavors steam and infuse into the meat.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – standard table salt and pepper will work fine if that’s what you have.
Make butter-herb mixture: In a mixing bowl stir together butter, lemon zest, thyme and rosemary.
Create pocket of space for butter underneath skin: Using the back end of a wooden spoon and starting at the back end of the turkey, carefully separate and loosen the skin from the breast leaving skin intact between breasts, front area and sides. Be careful not to puncture and tear skin or butter will melt out as it bakes.
Truss if desired: tie legs with kitchen twine if you want a better presentation.
Bake to 165 degrees: Bake in preheated oven until the thickest center portion of the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees on a probe thermometer or instant-read thermometer, about 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 hours, while tenting top of turkey with aluminum foil as needed to prevent excessive browning.
Tip: to ensure a moist turkey be careful not to over-cook. If you bake turkey breast past 165 degrees it will start to dry out. The thigh should reach 175 degrees.
Rest and carve: Let turkey rest 30 minutes at room temperature (or up to 60 minutes) before carving.
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