Best 6 The Best Roasted Turkey Recipes

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Roasted turkey is a classic dish that is perfect for special occasions, but it can be intimidating to prepare. With a little planning and preparation, however, you can easily create a roasted turkey that is moist, flavorful, and sure to impress your family and friends. From choosing the right turkey to selecting the perfect herbs and spices, there are a few key steps you can take to ensure that your roasted turkey comes out perfect.

Here are our top 6 tried and tested recipes!

VERY MOIST AND FLAVORFUL ROAST TURKEY



Very Moist and Flavorful Roast Turkey image

Does your turkey need a boost of moisture and flavor? Try this! Tweak it to your own liking as much as your imagination wants. Carve the entire turkey and save the bones, joints, tail, wing tips, drippings, and reserved onion, garlic and celery (but NOT the skin) to make turkey soup. Mix the apple pieces into your dressing.

Provided by Andie

Categories     Meat and Poultry Recipes     Turkey     Whole Turkey Recipes

Time 4h30m

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 8

½ cup cold butter
1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 Granny Smith apples - cored, peeled, and cut into 8 wedges each
1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
½ whole head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
1 pound celery, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
  • Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces, quarter the pieces, and refrigerate butter until needed.
  • Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the turkey breast and thighs. Cut a hole in the turkey skin between tail and body (to affix legs); cut a hole on each side of the turkey beneath each wing (to affix wings). Rub the entire skin with vegetable oil.
  • Toss apple and onion wedges, garlic cloves, and celery in a large bowl until combined; sprinkle poultry seasoning over the apple mixture and toss again to coat. Stuff the body and neck cavities with the apple mixture. Insert each wing tip into the hole under the wing to secure wings; insert both legs into hole near tail to secure legs.
  • Place turkey onto a rack and set in a roasting pan. Insert cold butter pieces under the loosened skin, distributing the butter as evenly as possible.
  • Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 3 1/2 hours. Check for doneness after 3 hours.
  • Remove roasting pan containing turkey from oven and cover with aluminum foil, lightly pressing the foil directly onto the bird. Let the turkey rest for 40 minutes before carving.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 774.2 calories, Carbohydrate 6.1 g, Cholesterol 284.8 mg, Fat 40.3 g, Fiber 1.3 g, Protein 91.3 g, SaturatedFat 14.2 g, Sodium 305.3 mg, Sugar 3.5 g

A SIMPLY PERFECT ROAST TURKEY



A Simply Perfect Roast Turkey image

Simple, perfect roast turkey just like grandma used to make. Seasoned with salt and pepper, and basted with turkey stock, the flavors of the turkey really stand out. Stuff with your favorite dressing.

Provided by Syd

Categories     Meat and Poultry Recipes     Turkey     Whole Turkey Recipes

Time 4h30m

Yield 24

Number Of Ingredients 5

1 (18 pound) whole turkey
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ½ quarts turkey stock
8 cups prepared stuffing

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.
  • Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
  • Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 4 hours.
  • Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 662.6 calories, Carbohydrate 13.7 g, Cholesterol 211.4 mg, Fat 33.8 g, Fiber 0.9 g, Protein 72.2 g, SaturatedFat 10.4 g, Sodium 709.5 mg, Sugar 2 g

THE BEST ROAST TURKEY YOU COULD EVER EAT



The Best Roast Turkey You Could Ever Eat image

While the cooking method is rather unconventional, this is the absolute best turkey you could ever want to eat. Adapted from a recipe by the late Edna Staebler. This is the same way my mother always cooked her turkey each year. We never ever did have a dry turkey. Word of truth.

Provided by MarieRynr

Categories     Whole Turkey

Time 4h40m

Yield 12 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 3

1 whole turkey, size depending on how many people you want it to serve
1/4 lb butter, softened
salt and pepper

Steps:

  • Rinse the turkey and dry it well. Sprinkle the cavity well with salt. Stuff as desired.
  • Rub the softened butter all over the outside of the bird, and sprinkled it lightly with salt.
  • Place the turkey on the rack of a large roaster, which has a heavy bottom, pouring about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the pan.
  • Lay the neck and giblets alongside, cover the pan tightly and put it on the large burner on top of the stove. Allow it to boil and then steam gently for 4 1/2 to 5 hours, approximately the same length of time that it would take to roast the same bird. Take care to see the pan does not cook dry.
  • When the drumsticks are loosened and the meat thermometer indicates the bird is about done, dribble a bot of soft butter over the skin, sprinkled it with a bit of white sugar and flour and bang it into a 350*F oven to brown while theaccompanying vegetables are cooking on top of the stove.
  • The drippings in the bottom of the roasting pan will be a rich dark brown. Skim off any fat and then use them to make a rich gravy.

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY



Perfect Roast Turkey image

Use lemon, garlic and thyme to flavor Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Turkey recipe from Barefoot Contessa on Food Network, great for the holidays or just dinner.

Provided by Ina Garten

Categories     main-dish

Time 3h20m

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 10

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 fresh turkey (10 to 12 pounds)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
1 whole lemon, halved
1 Spanish onion, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise

Steps:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
  • Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.
  • Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
  • Slice the turkey and serve.

THE BEST ROASTED TURKEY



The Best Roasted Turkey image

We wanted a moist and flavorful bird with plenty of well-seasoned drippings. (That way we could use them to make the best gravy!) The key is to use traditional Thanksgiving herbs (think parsley, sage, rosemary, bay and thyme) and classic aromatics like onion and garlic. For richness, we basted with butter which also makes the most golden-brown and crispy skin. Leaving the bird untrussed allows the air to circulate for more even cooking.

Provided by Food Network Kitchen

Categories     main-dish

Time 3h10m

Yield 8 to 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 7

One 8- to 10-pound turkey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, quartered
1 head garlic, halved
Several sprigs fresh herbs, such as; thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage
2 bay leaves
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Steps:

  • Adjust a rack in the lowest position and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Remove any turkey parts from the neck and breast cavities and reserve for other uses if desired. Dry the bird well with paper towels, inside and out. Salt and pepper the inside of the breast cavity and stuff the onion, garlic, herbs, and bay leaves inside. Set the bird on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan breast-side up. Brush generously with half of the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tent the bird with foil.
  • Roast the turkey for 2 hours. Remove the foil and baste with the remaining butter. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F in the thigh of the bird, about 45 minutes more.
  • Remove the turkey from the oven and set aside to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Carve and serve.

THE PERFECT ROAST TURKEY



The Perfect Roast Turkey image

We make two turkeys at Thanksgiving every year -- one smoked and one done this way. It makes the best gravy I have ever had! I never stuff my turkey so I can't vouch for how the stuffing tastes after roasting this way. It's a keeper at our house!! Cooking time depends on teh size of your turkey. Remember to thoroughly cook poultry -- use a meat thermometer!

Provided by Lvs2Cook

Categories     Whole Turkey

Time 5h30m

Yield 10-14 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 10

1 (10 lb) turkey, thawed safely, if frozen
2 onions, quartered
4 shallots, quartered
1 head garlic, peeled
1 bunch thyme
1 bunch sage
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons melted butter (no substitutions)
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Steps:

  • Prepare desired stuffing.
  • Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Remove neck and giblets from turkey.
  • Rinse and drain; pat dry with paper towels.
  • Loosely fill cavity with stuffing.
  • Fold neck skin over back of turkey and fasten with toothpicks.
  • Arrange veggies and herbs on bottom of a shallow roasting pan.
  • Pour wine over.
  • Place turkey, breast side up, on top of veggies.
  • Brush skin with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Cover stuffing in cavity with foil.
  • When skin is golden brown (2 to 2 1/2 hours), shield breast loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning.
  • Follow turkey package directions for cooking times.
  • Start testing for doneness half an hour before end time with meat thermometer~ should reach 180 degrees.
  • Transfer turkey to a serving platter.
  • Cover loosely, let stand 20 minutes, then carve.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 790.5, Fat 38.8, SaturatedFat 11.7, Cholesterol 314.8, Sodium 751.4, Carbohydrate 6.2, Fiber 0.5, Sugar 1.2, Protein 93.5

Tips:

  • Choose a fresh, high-quality turkey. Look for a turkey that is plump and has a moist, smooth skin. Avoid turkeys that have any bruises or cuts.
  • Thaw your turkey properly. The best way to thaw a turkey is in the refrigerator. Allow 24 hours for every 4-5 pounds of turkey. You can also thaw your turkey in cold water. Submerge the turkey in cold water and change the water every 30 minutes. Allow 30 minutes per pound of turkey.
  • Brine your turkey. Brining is a great way to add flavor and moisture to your turkey. To brine your turkey, dissolve 1 cup of salt in 1 gallon of water. Add the turkey to the brine and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
  • Roast your turkey at a high temperature. This will help to create a crispy skin and juicy meat. Roast the turkey at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue roasting for 3-4 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Let your turkey rest before carving. This will allow the juices to redistribute throughout the turkey, making it more moist and flavorful. Let the turkey rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.

Conclusion:

Roasting a turkey is a classic holiday tradition. By following these tips, you can ensure that your turkey is cooked perfectly and enjoyed by everyone at your table. With a little planning and preparation, you can create a delicious and memorable meal that will be the highlight of your holiday celebration.

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