Roast Turkey
Photo by Andrew Cebulka

recipe heading-plus-icon

yields

6-10 servings

    Ingredients
  • 8-12 pound fresh turkey
  • 4 ounces butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1 small yellow onion, quartered
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 10 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 4 sage leaves
  • 1 head garlic
  • 2 stalks celery, rough chopped
  • Salt and pepper
steps
  1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
  2. Combine butter with chopped herbs and set aside.
  3. Rinse and pat dry the turkey.
  4. Stuff the turkey with lemon, onion, fresh thyme sprigs, sage leaves, and celery. Break up the head of garlic and place inside of turkey.
  5. Gently separate the meat of the breast from skin and rub meat with compound butter. Rub outside of entire bird with butter and season with salt and pepper.
  6. Place turkey on roasting rack with wings tucked underneath and use butcher’s twine to tie legs together. Put rack in a roasting pan.
  7. Place turkey in oven and lower to 350 degrees.
  8. Roast turkey for approximately 2½-3 hours or until the temperature between the leg and thigh reaches 175 degrees. Rotate turkey 180 degrees after roasting for one hour. If breast or legs of turkey begin to get too dark, cover dark areas with aluminum foil.
  9. Let the turkey rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.

Foolproof Turkey Tips

Use a brined turkey for a moist, flavorful bird.

Do not stuff the turkey with the dressing. Bake the dressing separately.

Use a fresh turkey if available.

  • from the Test Kitchen, Charleston, SC

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