Roasted Turkey

This turkey is easy and comes out deliciously moist and succulent. Start it today and have it ready to go in the oven Thursday morning.

Ingredients:
1 turkey
Kosher Salt
2 tsp Seasoning Salt

Pepper
1 stick Softened Butter
Optional: 1 TBS Finely chopped herbs such as sage, thyme, marjoram, etc. You could also add lemon zest or minced garlic, if you won't be using the dripping to make gravy, or if you don't mind the flavors in the gravy. I wouldn't mind a hint of garlic in the gravy, but I don't think I would enjoy the lemon.

Remove giblets and neck bone, set aside. Rinse the turkey inside and out and dry with paper towels. Set it in a roasting pan or on a large rimmed baking sheet. Loosen the skin on the turkey and sprinkle the meat and inside cavity with 2 teaspoons of seasoning salt. Sprinkle kosher salt on the outside of the turkey. Cover the roasting pan with a large bag such as an oven bag or large shopping bag. Place it in the fridge.

The night before you will be serving the turkey remove the bag, and allow the turkey to sit uncovered in the fridge. Just move produce away from it. This will help to dry out the skin, which will make it nice and crisp.

An hour and a half hours before your turkey needs to be in the oven, remove it from the refrigerator. Rinse it with cold water to remove some of the salt, and dry it with paper towels. Place it in a roasting pan and allow it to sit at room temperature, so the skin wont burn before the meat is warm enough.

At this time or right before going into the oven, mix the butter and the herbs, if you are using them. Rub half the mixture all over the turkey, and up under the skin. I use a combination of sage and thyme and it is delicious.

Preheat the oven to 425. Place the turkey in the oven. Roast for 45 minutes.

Baste with the pan juices and a little of the remaining butter/herb mixture.

 

Turn the temperature down to 325 and roast until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.

Baste with the pan juices every 30 minutes. The last 45 minutes, baste every 15 minutes with the butter mixture and pan juices.

Cooking time after the initial high heat roast took about 2.5 hours for my turkey, but please gauge doneness by the temperature, not the time.

 Seriously, how gorgeous is this turkey?









Let it rest, tesnted with foil for at least 30 minutes before carving.