Perfect Delicious Turkey
the most delicious and flavorful roasted turkey you will ever have
Equipment
- 1 roasting pan
- 1 turkey baster
- 1 meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- place turkey in the pre heated oven un covered for 10 minutes to quickly sear the skin.
- lower temperature of the oven to 350℉
- Remove the turkey from the oven and cover in a layer of un cooked bacon.
- 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℉
- 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.
Notes
using a meat thermometer that stays in the turkey while cooking lets you know when it is fully cooked is ideal.