Description
Juicy, flavorful roast turkey with herb butter, citrus, and vegetables
Ingredients
- Butter (softened, cubed) – amount as needed
- Fresh herbs (e.g. thyme, rosemary, parsley) – to taste
- Salt and pepper
- Carrots, celery, onion – roughly chopped
- Orange and lemon (quartered)
- Bay leaves
- Whole turkey (size per your gathering)
Instructions
- Remove packaging from turkey, check cavity, bring to room temperature.
- In a bowl, mix softened butter with herbs, salt and pepper.
- Chop vegetables and fruit for stuffing the cavity.
- Dry turkey with paper towels; season cavity with salt & pepper, and loosely stuff with vegetables, herbs, citrus, bay leaves.
- Gently lift skin over breast and thighs; place some herb butter under skin, and slather remaining butter over entire turkey.
- Tie legs with butcher’s twine and tuck wing tips under the body; place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Tent turkey loosely with foil until ready to roast.
- Roast until internal temperature reaches safe level (follow roasting table or thermometer guidance).
- Remove foil in latter stage if needed to crisp skin.
- After cooking, let turkey rest 25–30 minutes (depending on size) before carving.
Notes
- Resting allows juices to redistribute and keeps turkey moist.
- For skin crispiness, remove foil in last stage of roasting.
- Herb butter under the skin helps infuse flavor throughout the meat.
- You can adapt the recipe to smaller turkey breast if not roasting a whole bird.
