This Easy Roast Turkey with Herb Butter recipe will guide you with step by step instructions and helpful tips to help you create a holiday masterpiece! Commonly asked questions included.
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Why you'll want to make it
It's easy-even for beginning cooks! Daunted by the idea of making a holiday turkey? Even if you've never made a whole roasted turkey before, this easy roast turkey with herb butter recipe will make you look like a seasoned pro.
It's made with easy to find fresh and pantry staples. You'll love the classic herbs and aromatics in this recipe especially because they are so easy to find at your local grocery store.
It's a holiday classic that's moist and flavorful. How do you cook a turkey in the oven that's moist, you may be wondering? The key is not overcooking it and using the Orange Butter Herb rub to coat the turkey before baking.
Ingredients
- To make this easy roast turkey with herb butter, you'll need a 14-15 pound turkey plus the following:
- Salted butter
- Celery
- Onion
- Orange
- Fresh thyme, fresh parsley, fresh rosemary, fresh sage
Substitutions- there are many possibilities when it comes to making an easy roast turkey. Common classic flavors include lemons and apples. Many folks also like garlic. You can use lemon instead of orange or apple instead of onion-it's up to you! If you want to add garlic, chop up about 4-8 cloves and add it to the herb butter. You can also slice to top off a whole head (not the root end) and place that in the cavity.
Step by step instructions
- An hour before: Unwrap turkey from packaging. Remove the bag (containing the giblets and neck) from inside the cavity. Reserve for another use such as gravy or stock, or discard.
- Place turkey on the rack of the roasting pan or on a large sheet pan. Rinsing the turkey is no longer recommended because it may increase the chance of cross contamination. Instead, just pat it very dry with several paper towels. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour.
- Adjust a rack on the lowest rung of your oven. Position other racks high enough so the turkey will fit.
- Preheat oven to 325º F. Make the Orange Herb Butter by combining the softened butter with the chopped rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme, orange zest, and salt and pepper. Reserve leftover herb sprigs for stuffing into the turkey. Make this herb butter rub up to one week ahead (see notes).
- Combine the salt and pepper and season the cavity of the turkey. Stuff the onion, celery, orange and remaining herb sprigs into the cavity. If your turkey is a little smaller, it may not all fit in, just get as much as you can in there.
- Using your fingers or the handle edge of a wooden spoon to separate the skin of the turkey from the breast meat, being careful not to tear the skin.
- Rub about 3 tablespoons of the Orange Herb Butter under the skin. Rub the remaining herb butter over the entire turkey.
- Tuck wing tips under turkey and tie legs together to help hold its shape.
- Roast turkey at 325 º F for about 3 hours and 15 minutes for a 15 pound bird (based on 13 minutes per pound) or until a meat thermometer measures 165º F at the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh (without letting the thermometer touch the bone).
- Let your easy roast turkey with herb butter rest for up to 40 minutes (loosely covered with aluminum foil) but at least 15 to 20. Just keep in mind that the turkey will continue to cook while it rests and may rise in temperature 5 or 10 degrees.
Tips
Meat thermometer- it’s an essential tool to properly cooked meat, especially turkey. Turkey should be cooked to 165º F at the thickest part of the thigh or breast without touching the bone. If you need to purchase a thermometer, they are widely available at most grocery and big box stores, as well as from online retailers like Amazon. I use a digital version by Oxo.
Roasting pan- I use a Calphalon roasting pan with a fitted rack to make my easy roast turkey with herb butter. The surface is non-stick and makes for an easy clean up.
Orange Herb Butter-If you are making a turkey that's larger than 15 pounds, double the amount of butter to 1 cup (2 sticks). Keep herbs the same.
Turkey serving sizes- I like to figure about 1 ¼ pounds of turkey per person. To calculate for a gathering of 12 people, multiply 1.25 x 12 = 15 lbs. This amount usually leaves us with a little leftover for this enchilada recipe.
Refrigerate leftover easy roast turkey with herb butter as soon as possible. Cooked turkey left out more than 2 hours is considered unsafe to eat.
Quick Facts
We used to think we could rinse bacteria off a turkey, but that's actually not possible. What happens instead when we try to "wash" a turkey is that bacteria ends up all over the sink and countertops. It's best to set the turkey on a large sheet pan or platter and pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
Frequent basting isn’t recommended during the cooking process because it lowers the oven temperature and can prolong cooking time. This recipe doesn’t require basting, but if you like that method (some habits are hard to break), baste no more than once per hour (preferable just once or twice) and adjust cooking time if necessary. I usually baste once at the halfway point, when I check the skin for browning.
I like to use the formula of 13 minutes per pound when cooked at 325º or 350º F. Simply multiply the number of pounds by the 13. For example, 15 (pounds) x 13 (minutes) = 195 (total minutes). 195 minutes converts to 3 hours and 15 minutes. I like to check my bird about 20 minutes before time, just in case it reaches 165º F sooner than expected.
It is safe to cook a turkey at either 325 degrees or 350 degrees or somewhere in between. Going higher might cause the turkey to dry out and going lower many not cook the interior of the turkey to a safe temperature.
You can pierce the turkey with a fork at mid thigh and check to see if the juices run clear. If the juice is clear, not reddish or pink in color, the turkey should be done.
If you want to use a disposable pan without a rack, be sure you have some extra vegetables to help elevate the turkey. Cut 4-5 stalks of celery and 4-5 carrots, and and onion or two into large pieces. Spread on the bottom of the disposable pan then place the turkey on top. Discard veggies after cooking.
Butter the dull side of a piece of foil that’s large enough to loosely cover the turkey. If you choose to start the cooking process with the foil on, remove it at the halfway point to allow the skin to brown (this is a good time to baste). Or you can cover the turkey with foil whenever you feel the skin has browned enough.
How to make ahead and store
Make ahead- you can make the Orange Herb Butter up to one week ahead. Store covered in the refrigerator. Soften on the counter top or microwave (don’t completely melt it) before rubbing it on the turkey.
If you want to make this easy roast turkey with herb butter ahead of time and reheat on the big day, leave the cooked turkey in the roasting pan and cover it tightly with foil. Reheat in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until heated to 165 degrees F.
Store leftover easy roast turkey in airtight containers for 3 or 4 days.
Freeze for up to three months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
What tastes good with easy roast turkey with herb butter?
- Corn Casserole
- Citrus Salad with Quinoa and Blood Orange
- Cheesecake Factory Kale Salad
- Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad
- Cranberry Sauce
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes (Crockpot)
- Pumpkin and Apple Soup
- Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
- Cranberry Meatballs (Crockpot)
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Easy Roasted Turkey with Herb Butter
Ingredients
- 1 14-15 pound turkey, fresh or thawed
- 1 ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 onion quartered
- 1 celery stalk chopped into large pieces
- 1 orange zest removed for Orange Herb Butter, then quartered
- 1 bunch fresh rosemary divided
- 1 bunch fresh sage divided
- Several sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 bunch fresh thyme divided
Orange Herb Butter
- ½ cup salted butter softened, double amount for a larger turkey
- 3 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 3 tablespoon fresh sage chopped
- 3 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 3 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
- Zest from one orange
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- An hour before: Unwrap turkey from packaging. Remove the bag (containing the giblets and neck) from inside the cavity. Reserve for another use such as gravy or stock, or discard.
- Place turkey on the rack of the roasting pan or on a large sheet pan. Rinsing the turkey is no longer recommended because it may increase the chance of cross contamination. Instead, just pat it very dry with several paper towels. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour.
- Set a rack on the lowest rung of your oven. Position other racks high enough so the turkey will fit.
- Preheat oven to 325º F. Make the Orange Herb Butter by combining the softened butter with the chopped rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme, orange zest, and salt and pepper. Reserve leftover herb sprigs for stuffing into the turkey.
- Combine the salt and pepper and season the cavity of the turkey. Stuff the onion, celery, orange and remaining herb sprigs into the cavity. If your turkey is a little smaller, it may not all fit in, just get as much as you can in there.
- Using your fingers or the handle edge of a wooden spoon to separate the skin of the turkey from the breast meat, being careful not to tear the skin. Rub about 3 tablespoons of the Orange Herb Butter under the skin. Rub the remaining herb butter over the entire turkey.
- Tuck wing tips under turkey and tie legs together to help hold its shape.
- Roast turkey at 325 º F for about 3 hours and 15 minutes for a 15 pound bird (based on 13 minutes per pound) or until a meat thermometer measures 165º F at the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh (without letting the thermometer touch the bone).
- Frequent basting isn’t recommended during the cooking process because it lowers the oven temperature and can prolong cooking time. This recipe doesn’t require basting, but if you like that method(some habits are hard to break), baste no more than once per hour (preferable just once or twice) and adjust cooking time if necessary. I usually baste once at the halfway point, when I check the skin for browning.
- If skin is browning too quickly, loseley cover the turkey with buttered foil (shiny side up).
- Let turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving.
Notes
- Meat thermometer- it’s essential to properly cooked meat, especially turkey. They are widely available at most grocery and big box stores, as well as from online retailers like Amazon. I use a digital version by Oxo.
- Roasting pan- I use a Calphalon roasting pan with a fitted rack. The surface is non-stick and makes for an easy clean up. If you want to use a disposable pan, be sure you have some extra vegetables to help elevate the turkey. Cut 4-5 stalks of celery and 4-5 carrots into large pieces Spread on the bottom of the disposable pan then place the turkey on top. Discard veggies after cooking.
- Foil- butter the dull side of a piece of foil that’s large enough to loosely cover the turkey. If you choose to start the cooking process with the foil on, remove it at the halfway point to allow the skin to brown (this is a good time to baste). Or you can add the foil whenever you feel the skin has browned enough.
- Make ahead- you can make the Orange Herb Butter up to one week ahead. Store covered in the refrigerator. Soften on the counter top or microwave (don’t completely melt it) before rubbing it on the turkey.
- Substitutions- there are many possibilities when it comes to seasoning a turkey. Common classic flavors include lemons and apples. Many folks also like garlic. You can use lemon instead of orange or apple instead of onion-it's up to you! If you want to use garlic, chop up about 4-8 cloves and add it to the herb butter. You can also slice to top off a whole head (not the root end) and place that in the cavity.
- Orange Herb Butter-If you are making a turkey that's larger than 15 pounds, double the amount of butter to 1 cup (2 sticks). Keep herbs the same.
- Turkey serving sizes- I like to figure about 1 ¼ pounds of turkey per person. To calculate for a gathering of 12 people, multiply 1.25 x 12 = 15 lbs. This amount usually leaves us with a little leftover for this enchilada recipe.
- Turkey cooking times and temperatures- you may be wondering how long it takes to roast a turkey! I like to use the formula of 13 minutes per pound when cooked at 325º or 350º F. Simply multiply the number of pounds by the 13. For example, 15 (pounds) x 13 (minutes) = 195 (total minutes). 195 minutes converts to 3 hours and 15 minutes. I like to check my bird about 20 minutes before time, just in case it reaches 165º F sooner than expected.
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