Herb Citrus Butter Roasted Turkey
Herb Citrus Butter Roasted Turkey is an easy and flavorful whole roasted turkey. Made with a refreshing herbed citrus butter and stuffed with fall vegetables. This whole roasted turkey recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving and easy to make thanks to our step-by-step guide on how to cook a whole turkey.
Ingredients
- 1 lemon Zested
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup Shallot, minced
- 8 large Fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 12 lb Whole turkey, defrosted
- 1 large Yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large Carrots, chopped
- 2 large Lemons, cut into wedges
- 2 12 oz Hard cider bottles
- 1 cup White wine
- 1 cup Chicken stock
- 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring your turkey out of the fridge and set on the kitchen counter for at least an hour to bring to room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray your roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small food processor combine lemon zest, butter, shallot, sage, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth. Reserve a 1/4 cup butter to use to make the gravy later.
- Take your turkey out of the package. Remove the giblets and neck, and discard. Drain the cavity well and then using a paper towel, pat the turkey dry. Using your hands, loosen and lift the skin from the turkey breast. Rub the herb citrus butter under the skin and then over the top of the skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Flip the turkey over and rub the remaining butter all over the back and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper. Place the turkey in the roasting pan breast side up. Stuff with cavity of turkey with onion, carrot, celery, and lemon wedges. Using kitchen twine, tie ends of the legs together. Pour wine and chicken broth into the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Bake the turkey at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or a nice golden crust starts to form on the skin. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and cook the turkey 15 to 20 minutes per pound and basting with hard cider every 30 minutes. You will want to check the temp of the turkey around 2 hour mark to gage how far you need to go. Plus, rotating the turkey pan will help ensure even cooking. If you need to tent the turkey with foil to keep it from burning that's okay!
- Once a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees on the thickest portion, remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to rest for 30 minutes prior to serving.
- Once cooled, move the turkey to a serving platter so you can begin to make the gravy. Pour the drippings from the roasting pan through a sieve into a bowl. Discard any solids. Reserve drippings.
- Melt the reserved 1/4 cup herb citrus butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the flour and whisk. Cook the flour for about 1 minute. Gradually add in the reserved drippings to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and keep whisking. Stir until thickened, and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with turkey.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #thecuriousplate!