Description
My foolproof Herb Butter Roasted Turkey recipe! It’s juicy, flavorful, and surprisingly simple. Learn my secrets (and my mistakes!) for the perfect holiday bird.
Ingredients
Scale
- The Star of the Show:
- 1 (12 to 14-pound) whole turkey, giblets and neck removed
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- The Magical Herb Butter:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- Aromatics for the Pan:
- 2 large yellow onions, quartered
- 4 carrots, roughly chopped
- 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Prep the Bird: First things first, let’s get that turkey ready for its spa day. Take your bird out of the fridge—and please, for the love of all that is holy, make sure it’s fully thawed! I learned that the hard way one Thanksgiving. Oops. Give it a good rinse, inside and out, then pat it incredibly dry with paper towels. Like, bone dry. This is the secret to crispy skin, I swear. Don’t skip this! Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity. I save mine for gravy, but you do you. Season the cavity generously with salt and pepper.
- Make the Magical Herb Butter: Now for the magic paste: the herb butter. In a bowl, mash up your softened butter with the chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, and minced garlic. Honestly, the smell alone is worth it. It’s pure holiday comfort. Add a good amount of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix it all together until it’s a beautiful, fragrant, green-flecked concoction. I always use my hands for this part because it feels right, but a spoon works too. Just make sure everything is really well combined. This butter is what makes the turkey sing.
- Butter Up the Turkey: Okay, this is the slightly weird but totally necessary part. Gently, very gently, slide your fingers between the turkey skin and the breast meat to separate them, creating little pockets. Be careful not to tear the skin! Now, take generous scoops of that glorious herb butter and massage it all over the meat under the skin. Get it everywhere! Then, rub the remaining butter all over the outside of the turkey. Every leg, every wing, every nook and cranny. This ensures a juicy inside and a golden, crispy outside. It’s a bit messy, but so worth it.
- Prep the Roasting Pan: Let’s build a cozy bed for our turkey to roast on. Roughly chop your onion, carrots, and celery—no need to be fancy here, they’re just for flavor. Scatter them across the bottom of your roasting pan. This little veggie rack not only adds amazing flavor to the pan drippings for your gravy, but it also elevates the turkey slightly, allowing air to circulate for more even cooking. I sometimes throw in a head of garlic, sliced in half, for extra goodness. Pour in a cup or two of chicken broth to keep things moist.
- Roast to Perfection: Place your beautifully buttered turkey on top of the veggies in the pan. It’s time for the oven! Roast it at 325°F (165°C). The general rule is about 13-15 minutes per pound, but honestly, every oven is a diva. I start checking with a meat thermometer after about 2 hours. You’re looking for 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh, avoiding the bone. If the skin starts getting too brown before it’s cooked through, just loosely tent it with some aluminum foil. Don’t stress, just watch it.
- Rest and Carve: This is the hardest part: the waiting. Once your turkey hits that magic temperature, pull it from the oven. Carefully transfer it to a large cutting board. Now, leave it alone! Let it rest for at least 20-30 minutes before you even think about carving. This lets all those delicious juices redistribute back into the meat instead of running all over your cutting board. It’s torture, I know, but it is the absolute key to a juicy bird. Use this time to make your gravy with those amazing pan drippings. Then, carve and serve!