Description
A flavorful and aromatic herb roasted turkey recipe featuring a garlic and herb butter rub, slow roasted to golden brown perfection. Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any festive occasion, this turkey is stuffed with fresh herbs and citrus, then basted regularly for a moist and tender result.
Ingredients
Scale
Turkey
- 15 lb turkey
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion (peeled and quartered)
- 1 lemon (quartered)
- 1 cup assorted herbs (whole sprigs to stuff inside the turkey)
- kitchen twine (for tying legs)
Herb Butter Rub
- 10 tablespoons butter (softened)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Other
- 3 cups chicken or turkey broth (for basting)
- optional garnishes: assorted herbs, fresh cranberries, seckel pears
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F to prepare for roasting the turkey.
- Prepare Turkey: Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Tuck the turkey wings under the body to ensure even cooking.
- Make Herb Butter: Combine butter, garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy for the herb butter rub.
- Season and Stuff: Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with quartered onion, lemon, and assorted whole herb sprigs. Tie the turkey legs together securely with kitchen twine.
- Apply Herb Butter: Rub the prepared herb butter generously over the entire outside of the turkey and underneath the skin of the breast. Season outside with additional salt and pepper as desired.
- Prepare Broth: Place chicken or turkey broth in a medium saucepan on the stove and keep warm over low heat to use for basting.
- Initial Roasting: Place the turkey in a roasting pan and roast at 450 degrees F for 45 minutes to set the skin and start browning.
- Reduce Heat & Continue Roasting: Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue roasting the turkey, basting every 30 minutes with warm broth to keep the meat moist. Roast for approximately 3 hours more, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F.
- Prevent Overbrowning: If the turkey starts to brown too quickly, tent it loosely with foil to protect the skin while the meat finishes cooking through.
- Rest the Turkey: Remove the turkey from the oven and tent loosely with foil. Let it rest for 25 minutes to allow juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
- Serve: Carve the turkey and serve garnished with optional herbs, fresh cranberries, or seckel pears as desired.
Notes
- This herb roasted turkey recipe delivers moist, flavorful meat with a beautifully crisp skin thanks to the herb and garlic butter.
- Resting the turkey before carving is essential to retain juices and ensure tenderness.
- Basting regularly with warm broth helps keep the turkey moist throughout the long roasting period.
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can finely mince the herbs and garlic and mix by hand with softened butter.
- Ensure the internal temperature reaches 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh to confirm the turkey is safely cooked.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 382 kcal
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 414 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 66 g
- Cholesterol: 236 mg
