A holiday is not a holiday at our house without turkey.

This roast turkey recipe gives you a no fail way of cooking Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas turkey or any day turkey.

Roasting a turkey does take a while, but the results are well worth it.

Turkey is one of the leanest and healthiest protein foods.

Plus, you just can't beat turkey leftovers!

Look here for our turkey and chicken recipes, plus easy ways to use turkey leftovers!

Roast Turkey Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 4 hours

Preheat the oven to 325ºF.

Remove giblets and neck from turkey. Place them in a large saucepan and set aside.

Pat the turkey with paper towels inside and out. Loosely fill the neck cavity with stuffing. Fold the neck skin over stuffing and skewer the skin to the back. Lift the wings and twist them so the tips are under the bird.

Stuff the body cavity. Tuck the legs under the band of skin at the tip of the body cavity or tie them with string.

Immediately place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. If you don't have a rack, butter a few slices of bread on both sides and place them on the roasting pan first. Sit the turkey on top of the bread to keep it from sticking to the pan.

In a small bowl, mix together butter, sage and thyme. Rub this mixture over the turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place foil over the turkey so that it points upwards in the middle, making a tent shape. Make sure the foil is dull side up. Leave the sides open.

Roast the turkey at 325ºF, for 4 hours. Baste every 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the foil after 4 hours and continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 185ºF and the stuffing reads 165ºF. This will probably take about 1 hour longer.

Transfer the turkey to a cutting board. Tent with the foil and let stand for about 20 minutes to let the juices settle before carving.

This roast turkey recipe is as close as you can get to no fail turkey cooking.

Note:
If your turkey is a different weight, just cook it for about 20 minutes per pound at 325ºF, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 180ºF and the stuffing reads 165ºF.

Turkey Gravy

Stock for Gravy:

4 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups white wine or water
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery

While the turkey is in the oven, put the turkey parts (neck and giblets) into a large saucepan. Add the stock, wine, onion, carrot and celery. Bring it all to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and skim off any fat. Simmer for 3 hours. Strain the mixture into a large measuring cup, adding wine, if needed, to make 3 cups. Set aside.

To Make the Turkey Gravy:

3 cups stock, as above
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon each, salt and pepper

To make the gravy, put the roasting pan on the stove element. Skim off the excess fat in the roasting pan. Cook the remaining juices for 1 minute. Whisk in stock, leaving out 1/2 cup, and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the brown bits from the pan.

Mix the 1/2 cup of stock with the flour until there are no lumps in the mixture. Add the flour mixture into the pan and stir well to make sure you have no lumps. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Whisk in butter, salt and pepper to taste. Strain if desired.

This Silicone Roasting Rack is large enough to hold a turkey or ham. The added health bonus of using a rack is extra fat will drain below, leaving nothing but a juicy roast. It is made from silicone and it heat resistant to up to 600°F. Its convenient handles allow easy lifting. The Roasting Rack also features an inherent non-stick property that makes the rack very easy to clean and fits 9"x13" and larger roasting pans. Silicone Roasting Rack

• This recipe for making turkey gravy from favored stock is absolutely delicious. But many people simply add the water from boiling potatoes to the pan drippings (add the same amount called for in the stock recipe). That's the gravy I grew up with and I think it results in delicious gravy too. So take your pick - make old fashioned gravy using potato water, or kick it up a notch with wine and chicken stock.

• In this roast turkey recipe I have suggested my favorite seasoning combination. Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your family's tastes.