Rub rosemary butter under and over the skin to get a fragrant and juicy turkey.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 3 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 8-10 |
Ingredients
- One 10- to 12-pound turkey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves plus 2 rosemary sprigs
- 2 lemons, quartered
Instructions
- Let the turkey sit out for about 1 hour to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove the packet of neck and giblets and set aside. Cut away any fatty pieces near the cavity or neck of the bird and discard. Pat the turkey dry inside and out with paper towels and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper inside and out. Combine the butter and chopped rosemary. Loosen the skin over the breast of the turkey and push half of the butter mixture under the skin and over the breast meat. Rub the skin of the turkey with the rest of the butter mixture. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with the lemons and rosemary sprigs. Tie the legs together with twine. Tuck the wings under the body of the turkey and put it, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Roast the turkey until it begins to turn golden, about 25 minutes. Loosely tent the breast with foil, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Continue cooking until the internal temperature near the thigh joint reaches about 155 degrees F. Remove the foil and continue roasting until it reaches 165 degrees F in the thigh joint, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer the turkey and rack to a cutting board and let rest about 30 minutes.
- Present the turkey whole on a platter garnished with the lemons from inside the cavity. To carve, first remove the wishbone, then legs, thighs and wings, and thinly slice the breast meat on an angle to serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 636 |
| Total Fat | 34 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 77 g |
| Cholesterol | 292 mg |
| Sodium | 1231 mg |