How to Perfectly Roast a Turkey
This guide on How to Perfectly Roast a Turkey will show you everything you need to know on how to make a delicious turkey. Learn the best method on roasting a turkey that will result in a flavorful, tender and juicy turkey everyone will love. Plus, follow my tips on how to decorate your turkey platter for a vibrant and elegant presentation.
Ingredients
- 1 12-15 lbs Turkey
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (see note below)
For Outside Rub:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp fresh sage
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp pink salt
For Stuffing:
- 1 yellow onion (roughly chopped)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 2 sage sprigs
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 1 lemon halved
Instructions
Preparing Turkey:
-
Remove wrapping from turkey, reach inside the turkey and remove packet filled with giblets. You can discard this packet or use if desired. Pluck out any extra feathers that may still be sticking out of your bird. Dab turkey dry and place in an extra large mixing bowl or platter. Drizzle turkey with lemon juice and apple cider vinegar making sure you get the turkey well coated with both. Including the inside. Set turkey aside.
-
Next, prep you ingredients for the outside rub; mince garlic, chop and measure out fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage. In a small bowl combine softened butter, herbs, olive oil, and spices. Mix them together making sure the butter is well combined with the rest of ingredients.
-
Rub mixture all over the turkey. Make sure you really get in there including under wings, legs, and back of turkey. Use your fingers to gently separate the skin from the breast. Get some of the rub in there too. Be careful not to tear the skin.
-
Stuff the inside of turkey with ingredients for stuffing; yellow onion, garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and lemon. Use cooking twine to tightly tie the turkey’s legs together. Holding all of the stuffing in.
-
Place turkey on a roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil. Refrigerate overnight.
Roasting Turkey:
-
The next morning, take turkey out of the fridge and allow it to sit for 30 minutes on kitchen counter. This will give the turkey a chance to get to room temperature, which will allow turkey to roast evenly in the set time, resulting in tender and juicy turkey. (see note below).
-
Preheat oven at 325 degrees F. (read note below)
-
Place turkey in preheated oven and roast for the first 45 minutes.
-
Remove turkey from the oven and baste. Flip turkey upside down and baste that side too. (see notes below). Place turkey back in the oven and roast for 1 hour.
-
Remove turkey from oven and baste. Flip turkey again and baste again. Place turkey back in the oven for 1 hour again.
-
Remove turkey from the oven and baste again (lots of basting). By now there should be a lot of drippings in the roaster so make sure you get a lot of juice all over that turkey. Flip again and baste with a lot of those drippings. Place back in the oven for 45 minutes this time.
-
Remove the turkey from the oven and baste. Flip and baste again. At this point, your turkey should be right side up. Cover with aluminum foil. Roasting the turkey covered in aluminum foil will give it that nice gold shade. Place turkey back in the oven for the last time and roast for another 30 minutes.
-
Remove turkey from oven and remove foil. You can give turkey a few minutes to cool down a bit before handling it if you wish. Place turkey on a serving platter and decorate with fresh greens, fruits, herbs, etc. Serve turkey and enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!
Recipe Notes
Tips for roasting a turkey:
- Apple Cider Vinegar and lemon juice are great on turkey- The acid in them helps make the turkey meat tender and also minimizes that potent turkey after taste and smell.
- Take turkey out of the fridge and allow it to sit for 30 minutes on kitchen counter- This will give the turkey a chance to get to room temperature. Once you place room temperature turkey in the oven it will start to cook immediately. Which will allow turkey to roast evenly in the set time, resulting in tender and juicy turkey. If you put the turkey in the oven directly from the fridge, it will spend the first 30 minutes or so warming up rather than cooking. This will result in it needing additional cooking time in the end and risking your turkey getting dry.
- Follow roasting instructions on turkey package as to how long to roast turkey for- It depends on how big your turkey is. Times also may vary depending on Turkey brand and whether it is organic or not. This is what I have noticed from personal experience. Once you have your bird in the oven and know how long you need to cook it for follow the next steps to achieve a juicy and tender turkey.
- Flipping the turkey upside down every hour makes the juices drip down from the bottom to the top and vice versa- This maximizes the flavor of the turkey, makes it juicy and a lot more tender.
- BE CAREFUL WHEN FLIPPING THE BIRD- The turkey will be very hot when you take the turkey out of the oven. If you don't have thick silicone oven mittens, you can also use a bunch of paper towels rolled up to your hands.