I am sharing my favorite roasted turkey recipe. I love turkey. Moist turkey, golden crisp skin is a win! This is my recipe for classic roasted turkey. Turkey may be a Fall favorite for many, but I can eat turkey year-round.
If the turkey is frozen, thaw it out by putting it in the lowest level on a tray in the refrigerator. Don’t put it on the top level. If something drips, it can get on cooked food and other food in your refrigerator.
The turkey needs to thaw for about 3-4 days (depending on size) in the refrigerator before roasting. It will take less time than that if the turkey is smaller. You can continue to ice it in the sink (every 30 minutes) to keep it cold. I prefer to keep it refrigerated. That way you know for sure the turkey is staying cold.
2tbspblack pepperplus ¼ tsp for the cavity of the turkey
Paper Towels
Roaster
Aluminum foil
2onions1 lemon, and herbs of choice like parsley for stuffing (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Pat your turkey dry with paper towels. You want the skin to be crispy.
Now it’s time to inject the turkey with store-bought or homemade flavored butter (injection kit). Inject the turkey on both sides of the upper and lower breasts. Inject one time in each thigh and one time in each leg. (If you purchase a store-bought injection kit, you may see an illustration on the bottle.)
Mix the ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp of pepper. Sprinkle in the cavity of the turkey. Add the ¼ c salt and 2 tbsp black pepper to the softened butter. Mix until evenly incorporated.
Carefully lift the skin of the turkey breasts (upper and lower side) with your fingers and put in the softened butter. Push the butter up further with your fingers. Rub the remaining butter over the entire turkey. You can stuff the cavity of the turkey with onions, lemon, and herbs before you twine (tie the legs together). Honestly I don’t always, and I have a delicious moist turkey.
Place the turkey in the roaster and cover with aluminum foil.
If you roast your turkey whole, you can turn it on the breast side for most of the roasting for a moist turkey. Then, for the last 30-45 minutes of roasting, turn the turkey over on the back. Baste it to get that delicious golden brown crispy skin. Most of the time, I just protect the breast of the turkey from getting dry without turning the turkey over. The aluminum foil protects it.
It takes about 4 ½ hours to roast a 20 ½ lb turkey. You will need to adjust with seasoning, butter, and roasting time based on the size of your turkey. About 3 hours and 45 minutes to 4 hours after roasting, I remove the foil from the turkey and start basting it to get that delicious golden brown crispy skin. I turn the oven up to 350 degrees for the remaining time of the roasting.
Do not slice immediately. Allow the juices to settle.
Notes
If you can’t decide to turn the turkey over or not, remember you don’t have to. I didn’t many times and everything was alright. Lol. Have fun!
