Turkey Part 2: Prepping to Roast
This is my tried-and-true, go-to method for prepping a bird to roast.
After you brine the turkey you’re ready to prep it to roast. I never stuff my turkey with actual stuffing (gross! it never gets to the safe food temperature after being inside a raw bird), but instead I use citrus and onion that I discard afterwards. I make an herb butter to rub on the outside of the skin and then liberally season it with salt and pepper. The butter melts into the bottom of the pan with tall the herbs and makes a perfect, flavoful basting liquid. The citrus inside the bird releases flavor and moisture into the meat helping to keep it tender.
I’m not going to do a post how to roast the bird since it is fairly self-explanatory. Using a roasting pan with a removable rack inside (this is the one I use ), add enough water to bottom to fill up about 1/2 inch and place turkey in rack. Heat the oven to 450 degrees and brown the bird for about 30-45 mins depending on how big it is. Baste it and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast for what is usually about 6 hours, (cooking chart here) basting every 30 minutes or so. When the temperature of the thigh reads 165 degrees then it’s done. Let it sit for 1 hour so that the juices don’t run right out of it. I don’t tent mine with foil because it just ruins the nice crispy skin that you worked so hard on with all the steam that gets trapped inside the foil.
- 1 lemon, zested and quartered
- 1 orange, quartered
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1/2 lb. butter softened (always unsalted)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- fresh cracked black pepper
- kosher salt
- Pat turkey dry and put lemon, orange and onion in cavity.
- Combine butter, lemon zest, and herbs in a bowl. Spread all over the top of the bird with hands.
- Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and pepper.
November 1, 2016 @ 3:52 pm
Hey- Would you please come to my house for Thanksgiving and make the turkey?
November 1, 2016 @ 3:54 pm
Haha sure! But I won’t have enough time to brine it. That’s something you’ll have to do:)
November 30, 2016 @ 5:47 am
Best turkey we ever had! Thank you Mary. I put 1 cup of chicken broth in the bottom of pan when I put the turkey in. When I made the gravy, I didn’t have to add ANY seasonings. It was perfectly seasoned from the drippings.