Enjoy a perfectly roasted turkey with a golden, crispy skin and juicy, tender meat. Infused with a blend of aromatic herbs, garlic, and citrus, this turkey is basted to perfection for a rich and savory flavor in every bite.
The Best Holiday Turkey
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The Best Holiday Turkey
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
From the Kitchen
Servings
8
Prep Time
12-24 hours
Cook Time
3 hours
Enjoy a perfectly roasted turkey with a golden, crispy skin and juicy, tender meat. Infused with a blend of aromatic herbs, garlic, and citrus, this turkey is basted to perfection for a rich and savory flavor in every bite.
Author:The Meatery MN
Ingredients
-
Turkey
-
Turkey Brine (See suggested below, or use your own!)
-
Butter
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Sage
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Thyme
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Garlic
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Salt
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Paprika
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Celery
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Carrots
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Onion
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Bread Cubes
Directions
Remove neck and giblets and brine Turkey for up to 24 hours
Once brined, pat turkey completely dry
Mix seasoning with 1 ½ sticks of butter, completely cover turkey in butter seasoning mix. If you feel motivated, put butter mix between skin and meat of chicken for an extra juicy experience!
Stuff cavity with diced onion, carrots, celery, bread crumbs, thyme sprigs and remaining ½ stick of butter
Put Turkey in oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, then baste with melted butter and juices.
Continue to baste every 30 minutes until turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. This should take about 2 hours.
Transfer turkey to cutting board and let sit for 30 minutes before carving. Save juices to make gravy (see recipe below)
Enjoy!
Recipe Note
Turkey Brine
- 2 quarts vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 3/4 cup salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 quarts cold water
1) Add all ingredients but the water and vinegar to a pot and bring to a simmer.
2) Allow mixture to cool for at least 30 minutes, then add vinegar and water
3) Let Turkey brine one hour for every lb that it weighs (ex. a 14 lb turkey should sit for 14 hours)
4) Once done brining, rinse turkey and pat dry
Turkey Gravy
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more as needed
- Turkey neck and giblets (liver discarded)
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth, plus more as needed
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Turkey pan drippings
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1) Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the turkey neck and giblets; cook, turning, until browned.
2) Add the onion, carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaves and stir to integrate
3) Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Repeat until reduced by half.
4) Reduce heat, add broth and bring to a simmer for about 1 hour. Strain. You should have 7 cups stock-if you're short, add more broth.
5) Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in the reserved saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes.
6) Gradually whisk in the 7 cups stock; bring to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Set aside until the turkey is done.
7) Pour the turkey pan drippings into a fat separator and let stand until the fat rises to the top. Discard the fat (or drizzle on your stuffing).
8) Whisk the defatted drippings into the gravy; season with salt and pepper. Reheat before serving.