Roast Turkey

I was always so intimidated by the idea of roasting a turkey. It seemed overwhelming and like one of those tasks that you need to have been doing for years to be any good at. However, when I had the opportunity to host a large gathering at our house around Thanksgiving, a sort of Friendsgiving celebration, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to really hone my skills and build my confidence. I had roasted a turkey once or twice before, always with success, but I just didn’t feel confident in it because I had only done it a few times. This time, having a few more years of cooking experience under my belt, it didn’t seem quite as scary as it had before. It was actually quite simple and came out perfectly! Other than getting the process started early (both defrosting a few days before and prepping the bird early in the day), it was relatively hands off. This bird was delicious! I am so thankful that I gave it another try and would happily do it again for any occasion. I did use a designated turkey roaster oven that sits on the counter, which I believe cooks a bit faster than a traditional oven. Other than that, you don’t need to make any adjustments to this recipe for a traditional oven. I always consult the package for weight, cooking time, and temperature instructions as well. If you want to try out roasting a turkey for the first time this year, or if you’ve done it for years and want to try a new recipe, I highly recommend this one. Everyone loved it!

Roast Turkey

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Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1 whole turkey
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 T. kosher salt
• 2 T. Herbs de Provence
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 2 T. butter thinly sliced

Instructions

 

• About four days before you plan to cook your turkey, take it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw.
• The day before cooking, take it out of the fridge and unpack it.  (This is a messy job so it’s nice to have this done the day before but isn't totally necessary).  Remove packaging and remove the neck and giblets from cavity.  Remove any ice blocks that may still remain in the cavity as well.  Place the turkey in either a large Ziploc bag or a large baking dish covered well with plastic wrap to prevent leaking and place it back in the fridge.
• About 1-2 hours before you are ready to put it in the oven, take the turkey out and allow it to warm up a bit from the fridge. It is best to not go into the oven straight from the fridge.
• When ready to cook, dry thoroughly with paper towels. This will help it to brown nicely.
• Put one cup of chicken broth in the bottom of roaster oven or roasting pan.
• Rub the 2 T. of kosher salt both inside and outside of the bird.
• Rub herbs de provence all over outside of the bird.
• Lightly sprinkle the smoked paprika over the bird. This gives it both nice flavor and a little color.
• Take the thinly sliced garlic and tuck beneath the skin anywhere you can find a good spot, evenly spaced over the bird.
• Place thinly sliced butter all over the outside of the bird as well.
• Tie the legs of the bird together with cooking string.
• Cover and cook at 325 according to package or roaster oven directions for size of the bird. In my roaster oven a 20.5 lb bird cooked for 3.5 hours.