Roasted Turkey

Every good turkey dinner starts with… well Turkey! making a roasted turkey can be a bit intimidating if you haven’t done it before. or if you have and it didn’t turn out all that great. But if you follow my recipe and instructions I guarantee you will have your guests impressed and asking how you did it.

one thing I will suggest is that having a meat thermometer that stays in the turkey is a game changer. it is of course not necessary and there are other ways to test the turkey for its doneness. however, making large meals involves your attention being dragged in all directions. why not make the star almost foolproof?

the thermometer that I have has a probe that stays in the turkey while it is cooking. It’s connected to a wire that comes out the door of the stove and connects to a monitor that you can program to tell you when any meat you are cooking is done.

So even if I am busy preparing some amazing sides like the dressing, some green bean casserole or simply enjoying a glass of wine with your guests your turkey will tell you when it is done.

*Tip

always allow your turkey to rest for as long as it has cooked. that means if your turkey takes 3 hours to cook it needs to also rest for 3 hours. this may seem odd but if you don’t your bird will lose all its juice and you will have dry meat. Remember that the bird does not need to be hot if your gravy is. Even after resting for 3 hours, the meat was still steaming when I cut into it.

Ingredients you will need

• 1 fully thawed turkey
• ¾ cup butter room temperature
• 2 lemons
• 4 cloves garlic
• ⅔ cup chopped parsley
• salt and pepper
• 2 med cooking onions
• 3-4 bay leaves
• olive oil
• 1 pkg bacon

How to make a perfect roasted turkey

1. Mix the butter

to a bowl add butter, salt, and pepper

wash two lemons and roll them on the counter under you hand to release the juices.

zest both lemons into the bowl then slice them and squeeze the juice in as well. do not throw them away

add minced garlic

chop parsley and add to the bowl

using your hands squeeze the butter and mix all the ingredients together

2. Preheat oven

preheat the oven to 430℉

with the turkey in the pan remove anything that might be in the cavity, if the giblets are in there you can add them to the bottom of the roasting pan to add flavour to your drippings for gravy.

3. Prepare the turkey

gently separate the skin from the turkey only slightly from the bottom and again from the top. not removing the skin entirely.

grab about ¼ of the butter and press it under the skin over the breast, then repeat over the second breast and under the skin on the other end.

add salt and pepper to the inside of the bird, stuff the cavity with the lemon halves you kept earlier, and 2 onions chopped in half ( no need to peel them either)

add bay leaves then tuck the legs into the skin flap at the bottom of the turkey to keep it all together

spread the rest of the butter mixture all over the bird, and drizzle with a but of olive oil.

if you are using a meat thermometer that stays in the bird at all times, put it in the breast of the turkey as deep as you can go without touching bone.

4. Quick sear

place turkey in the pre heated oven un covered for 10 minutes to quickly sear the skin.

lower temperature of the oven to 350℉

5. Add bacon

Remove the turkey from the oven and cover in a layer of un cooked bacon.

6. Roast

place the turkey back in the oven until fully cooked. Remember to baste the turkey with the drippings in the pan every 30-45 minutes.

usually about 15 min per pound. using a meat thermometer is recommended. a cooked turkey should be 165℉

7. Allow the turkey to REST

allow the turkey to rest as long as it took to cook. if your turkey took 3 hours to cook let it rest for 3 hours. this will allow all the juices to enter the meat and give you a deliciously moist turkey.

Don’t forget the gravy