Easy Roast Turkey
This roast turkey recipe is tender, juicy, and simple to make with a delicious garlic herb butter rubbed on the skin. Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a special occasion!
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 1 (14-16 pound) whole turkey see note
- Salt & pepper to taste
Herb butter:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped finely
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
Inside the turkey:
- 1 lemon halved
- A few sprigs each fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary
- 1 head garlic break into cloves and peel them
Instructions
- Take the turkey out of the fridge to let it warm up for an hour prior to roasting it. Set it on a baking sheet (this will help collect spills etc. once you open the packaging later on). Also take the butter out of the fridge to let it soften up.
- Add the butter to a bowl, along with the other herb butter ingredients. Mash together with a fork.
- Preheat oven to 450F and move a rack to the bottom third of the oven (remove the rest of the racks so there's plenty of room).
- Take the turkey out of its packaging and remove the giblets and neck if they were included (found inside the cavity). If your turkey was frozen, you'll want to do this near the sink since there will be lots of excess liquid. Be sure to drain as much liquid from the cavity as possible, then put it back on the baking sheet.
- To prep the turkey: Pat it dry with paper towel. Season with salt & pepper (add some inside the cavity too... about a teaspoon of salt in total since the herb butter contains salt too). Stuff the cavity with the lemon, herbs, and garlic. Rub the turkey all over with the herb butter (I don't do the very bottom of the bird). Tuck the wings under the turkey and tie the legs together with kitchen twine (optional, but it makes for a neater appearance).
- Place the turkey on the rack of the roasting pan (breast side up).
- Place the roasting pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F.
- Roast the turkey for about 3 hours (for a 14 pound turkey), until an instant read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165F. When the turkey rests, the temperature will continue to rise, and the thigh meat should end up in the 170s, which will be perfectly tender. Begin testing for doneness 30 minutes before total roasting time is reached to avoid surprises. There is no basting in this recipe. Important: the skin will brown before the turkey is done (up to an hour or so before). At this point, loosely cover the turkey with non-stick foil for the remainder of cooking time so the breast meat doesn't burn.The timing rule for turkey is 13 minutes per pound at 350F, so adjust accordingly based on the size of your bird. Also remember that each time you open the oven, it'll lose some heat and cooking time will increase a bit.
- Once the turkey is cooked and out of the oven, carefully tilt the roasting rack so the juices inside the turkey spill out to the bottom of the pan (these can be made into gravy!). Lift the rack (with the turkey on it) and transfer the turkey to a large cutting board or plate. Let it rest for 20 minutes prior to carving. This is important! The juices need time to redistribute or else you'll end up with a dry turkey. You can use the drippings to make gravy while the turkey rests.
Notes
- You can roast a turkey that doesn't fall within the 14-16 pound range, but if it's much bigger or much smaller, you may want to use a bit less/more butter and fillings in the cavity. The timing rule is to roast 13 minutes/pound at 350F. I would not roast a turkey without having an instant read thermometer.
- Use sea salt or kosher salt if possible. Do not salt an already brined turkey, and I would reduce or eliminate the salt in the butter if using this recipe with a brined turkey.
- Please see blog post for more tips and answers to FAQs!
Nutrition
Calories: 537kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 56g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 234mg | Sodium: 684mg | Potassium: 623mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 754IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 3mg