Herb Roasted Turkey

Juicy, moist and super flavorful, this Herb Roasted Turkey should be at the center of your Thanksgiving table!

Serve up the BEST green bean casserole to round out the meal!

What is Thanksgiving without the bird?  Just a regular Sunday dinner!  Lol, not really, well at least not at my house.  Each year I get up at 7 a.m. and prepare the turkey for the oven and every year I try to cook the bird using a different method.  In the bag, outta the bag, to brine or not to brine, to stuff or not to stuff (the answer is always, not to stuff)  And if we’re being honest here, I’m not a stuffing fan anyways.

I do love turkey though and I really do enjoy the leftovers.  Especially when you turn them into Turkey Carnitas and Turkey Pot Pie Pizza.  But to make delicious leftovers, you need to first cook a delicious turkey, which is what I struggle with the most.  Everyone has their own opinion on how to cook the bird and the best methods, sometimes I’m just struggling to get him in the oven so we can eat at a decent time!

This year, I saw a recipe in southern Living magazine that stopped me dead in my reading.  Herb Roasted Turkey.  No brining, no bagging it, just slathering the bird with a delicious rub and cooking until it was juicy and tender.  Sounds like my kind of recipe.  And boy did it turn out to be the best by far!  This one is a keeper folks!

I love preparing for the big meal.  It’s one of my favorite days of the year next to Christmas (I cook Christmas dinner too).  But for me, it’s more preparing the meal and watching others enjoy it rather than enjoying it myself. This is totally fine with me, but let me explain.

When I’ve been in the kitchen since 7 am and it’s time to eat around 4pm, after we’ve had an entire table of appetizers, I’m not hungry.  I’ve been grazing all day long and I’m ready for a nap when it comes to dinnertime.  So I usually end up with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Then I save room for my mother in law’s pretzel salad.  It’s my all-time favorite dessert!

This is the first time I have not brined the bird.  Which can I just say is a job in itself.  It always requires me and my husband carrying a super heavy cooler filled with ice water, the turkey and lots of aromatics.  Therefore, this Herb Roasted Turkey is one less step.

You start by making a herb butter rub which is filled with thyme, sage and fennel, which are all the classic seasonings you use for Thanksgiving.  You melt the butter, add the spices and allow to cool.

While the butter is cooling, I added chopped carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves and chicken stock to my roasting pan.

Then I proceeded to rub the butter under the skin, oil the outside and continue to use the rubbed until gone.

Once the turkey is rubbed all over with the herb butter, place the bird onto the roasting rack, in your roasting pan and tie the legs together.

At this point you can either allow to stand at room temperature for 1 hour or up to overnight. So the herb rub and turkey can be prepared 24 hours in advance which can save you time to prepare all the fixins!  Just remember to leave the bird out 1 hour to come to room temperature before cooking.

Once ready to cook, place the turkey into a preheated 375 oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part, the thigh, registers 165 degrees.  The juices should run clear.  Allow turkey to rest 30 minutes before carving.  Isn’t that one gorgeous bird?

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Herb Roasted Turkey

Prep 1 hour, 45 mins

Cook 2 hours

Total 3 hours, 45 mins

Author Strawberry Blondie Kitchen

Yield 12 servings

Juicy, moist and super flavorful, this Herb Roasted Turkey should be at the center of your Thanksgiving table!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 (12-13 lb) turkey
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 5 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups chicken stock

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan and add salt, poultry seasoning and fennel seeds. Cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Allow to cool completely.
2. Remove giblets and neck from turkey and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry. Loosen and lift skin from turkey, without removing it.
3. Reserving 1 tablespoon of rub, spread the remaining butter mixture evenly under skin.
4. Drizzle oil all over the outside of the turkey and coat with the reserved tablespoon of herb butter.
5. Remove rack from your roasting pan and in the bottom add onion, carrots, celery, bays leave and stock. Replace rack.
6. Tuck wings under the bird and tie the ends of the legs together with kitchen twine.
7. Place turkey onto roasting rack and allow to sit at room temperature at least 1 hour or place into the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.*
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
9. Bake turkey in preheated oven until a meat thermometer placed into the thickest part, the thigh, registers 165 degrees. Rotate pan after 1 hour for even browning.
10. Remove turkey from oven and allow to stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes before carving.
11. *If placing into refrigerator, allow turkey to come to room temperature before cooking, at least 30 minutes.

Notes

Slightly Adapted from Roasted Herb Turkey and Gravy

Courses Main

Cuisine Thanksgiving

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 12 servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 257
% Daily Value
Total Fat 16 g		25%
	Saturated Fat 5 g	25%
Cholesterol 124 mg		41%
Sodium 699 mg		29%
Total Carbohydrates 2 g		1%
Protein 32 g		64%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

I must apologize, as I did not carve the bird for this post, as 1.  Honestly, I have no idea how; my mother in law does it every year and 2.  I forgot.   I was so excited to just start picking at this delicious golden brown turkey that I completely forgot to even attempt to carve it for you.  Therefore, you’re on your own for this one, but any tips for me for next year?

This roasted turkey is now my go to way of cooking my Thanksgiving bird.  It’s juicy and tender and it’s not burnt on the top!  The skin is golden and crispy and perfect!  The skin is one of the best parts and I always end up having to cover my bird halfway through because the top is starting to get overly brown.  No one wants burnt skin! Not this herb roasted turkey, it’s beautiful. crispy and awesome!!

I must also admit this was the first time I “styled” my Thanksgiving bird.  My mother in law usually carves it all up and throws it onto the platter and it’s being eaten within 10 minutes so there’s no time or need for a pretty preparation.  But because this is my blog and I had time, I made her look pretty.

If you have time to make your Thanksgiving turkey really hit center stage, I used a bed of kale, pomegranates, oranges, lemons and some sage.  All inexpensive garnishes and really makes the bird sing!

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