Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 12-16 lb turkey, thawed or fresh
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 tbsp garlic herb sauce mix (recommend Knorr)
1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
2 large onions, large dice
2 bunches celery, washed and cut into 3"- 4" sticks
2 bags carrots, peeled and cut into 3"- 4" sticks
32 oz carton chicken broth
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
fresh sage, thyme, rosemary (around 3 oz each)
1 lemon, thickly sliced
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Directions: |
Directions:In a small bowl, combine butter, poultry seasoning, garlic herb mix, and crushed garlic. Mash together until mixed thoroughly. Spoon into Ziploc bag, remove air from bag and form the butter mixture into a log in the bottom of the bag. Put in the refrigerator until firm. Preheat oven to 500º.
Arrange celery sticks, carrot sticks, and 1/2 of the onion in the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour chicken broth over these and set pan aside.
Rinse turkey and pat dry. Use your finger to carefully loosen skin around the entire bird (don't pull skin off of bird, just loosen enough to slide butter pats between skin and meat). Slice butter log into 1/4" slices, and place under skin of turkey, all around the bird. Use as many slices as you can reasonably get under the skin, pushing some as far back as you can get them, and making sure they are spread as evenly as possible. Rub the remaining butter over the outside of the turkey (If it's too hard to rub, grate it first). Season with salt and pepper. Stuff the inside of the turkey with the remaining onion, lemon slices and fresh herbs. Truss if necessary. Insert meat thermometer into breast parallel to breast bone. Place turkey on bed of vegetables in roasting pan. Place in oven and roast for 20-30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325º. Baste turkey with pan drippings and cover breast with foil when nicely browned. Continue to roast until meat thermometer in breast reaches 165º (When breast is 165º, thigh should be 180º - you can check the thigh to make sure). Let turkey sit 20-30 minutes before carving to allow juices to redistribute.
Note: This is from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade recipes on Food Network. We've adapted it a little. The original recipe calls for you to baste the turkey every 20 minutes. We did this for several years, and it does make a very moist turkey. However, open the oven door frequently really increases your cooking time. We decided not to baste this year, and were able to roast a 20 lb turkey in 3 hours. |
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