Classic Thanksgiving Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!! I know you’re all probably super busy with prepping for the holiday dinner, but if you followed my Thanksgiving prep tips from my last blog post, your prep should be flowing with ease. As promised in that same post, I am leaving you all with my classic Thanksgiving Turkey recipe below.

The key to a juicy, tender, and flavorful turkey is a good brine and a food thermometer to check the doneness of your turkey where the internal temperature should be 165 Fahrenheit at the thickest parts of both the breast and thigh.

Ingredients:

1 12-18 lb thawed, brined, and room temperature turkey
1/2 stick of unsalted softened butter (room temperature butter)
1 stick of salted softened butter (room temperature butter)
2 tbsp fresh rosemary (chopped)
1 tbsp fresh thyme (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
5 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp poultry seasoning
cooking twine

Turkey aromatic stuffing

1 large onion
1 whole garlic head
2 carrots
2 celery stalks broken in half
a few rosemary twigs
a few thyme twigs
a few sage leaves

Instructions:

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees
In a medium mixing bowl combine softened butter, rosemary, thyme, minced garlic, and lemon zest.
Place your room temperature turkey on your roasting rack and begin to massage the entire bird with the herb butter rub making sure to get under the skin of the turkey breast and the back of the bird. Then sprinkle onto the bird poultry seasoning (for additional flavor a part from the brine) and then top with paprika for color.
Stuff your turkey with all the aromatics listed above to ensure you have a great smelling aroma from your bird but also so your turkey drippings can make a good gravy later if you decide to make one.
After stuffing your bird, tie it up with the twine to ensure that the cavity is closed enough and secure and the wings are flat —–tucked behind the bird and as close to the breast as possible.
This is optional, you can place your turkey in an oven safe roasting bag or leave it as is placing a tent shaped aluminum foil on top until near the end of the roasting time where you then can remove it to further get color on the turkey.
Add your turkey to the already preheated oven and allow to cook depending on your bird size for 3.5 – 4.5hrs but most importantly use your food thermometer at the three hour mark to check what temperature your bird is, so you can monitor how much more time you may or may not need. Try not to constantly open the oven because it’ll cause the heat to escape and prolong your turkey cook time.
Once your Turkey has reached the 165 internal temperature and has that rich brown skin, remove your turkey and allow it to rest for an hour before carving and serving (you can baste your turkey while its resting if you like).