It’s that time of year again, families across America will be serving this bird to celebrate thankfulness and togetherness. Some look forward to this experience, some lean more towards the alternative meat option, ham. Inevitably, amateur and experienced cooks alike will work very hard to perfectly roast a turkey for their guests, and will over-cook it, leading to a dry and sad piece of poultry. I prefer breast meat which tends to be the first to dry out. This recipe is a turkey game changer for me as it turned out perfectly moist and flavorful in all the right ways. I was so impressed how easy it was to create and turned out like I slaved over it for hours. This recipe does not require brining your bird for days in advance, or repeatedly basting throughout the cooking process. If you want a fool-proof crowd-pleasing recipe, this is for you!
Ingredients
Roast Turkey:
- 12 pound whole turkey, skin on (fully defrosted, washed, giblets and neck removed)
- 3 heads garlic cut in half horizontally divided
- 3 lemons divided
- Sage, rosemary, and thyme sprigs to stuff inside
- 1/2 yellow onion
Herb Butter:
- 2 sticks salted butter, melted
- 6 sprigs thyme, chopped
- 4-5 sage leaves, chopped
- 6 sprigs rosemary, chopped
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- Half a lemon, squeezed
- Salt
- Cracked Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Lower oven shelf to the lowest part of your oven.
- Combine the Herb Butter ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Line a large roasting pan with foil or parchment paper. Arrange halves of garlic cut-side down on the bottom of the pan with sprigs each of thyme and rosemary, and slices of lemon.
- Thoroughly pat turkey dry with paper towels. Stuff with the remaining heads garlic halves, lemon slice, quartered onion, and herbs.
- Rub melted butter all over the turkey and generously under the skin. Season all over with salt and pepper. Place turkey on top of the garlic and herbs in the pan. Tent the turkey with foil to cover.
- Roast 2 hours for a small turkey under 10 pounds, 3 hours for a 10-14 pound turkey, or 4 hours for large turkey over 14 pounds.
- Pour any remaining juices over your turkey.
- For extra crispy skin, broil for a further 10-15 minutes, keeping your eye on it so it doesn’t burn, until the skin is crispy and golden browned all over, when internal temperature reached 165°F your bird is done.
- Allow it to rest for 15-30 minutes before carving and serving.
- Remove 2 1/2 cups of the liquid from the pan juices (top up with stock if you need too), strain and reserve for your gravy.
Turkey Gravy Recipe
- 2 1/4 – 2 1/2 cups pan juices (top up with chicken stock if needed)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup flour
- Salt and pepper, if needed
- Heat oil in a small pot over low-medium heat. Whisk in the flour and allow to cook for about a minute or two, while whisking.
- Pour in 1/2 cup of the pan juices from Roast Turkey and whisk until it forms a paste. Add remaining liquid in 1/2 cup increments, whisking in between, until the gravy is smooth.
- Allow to simmer over medium heat until thickened. Take off heat and season with salt and pepper (if needed). The gravy will continue to thicken as it cools.
The Texas Table 