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Roast Turkey Recipe

roast turkey

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.

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.

roast turkey

Roast Turkey Recipe

A holiday is not a holiday at our house without turkey. This roast turkey recipe gives you a no fail way of cooking turkey perfectly on any day of the year.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 15 Servings
Calories

Ingredients
 
 

  • 15 pound turkey
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions
 

  • 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 (find a link to a great recipe below). 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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

This roast turkey recipe is as close as you can get to no fail turkey cooking. Find the recipe for perfect turkey gravy here.

Roast turkey is a wonderful meal for those on restricted diets. It is low carb, high lean protein, gluten free and a perfect diabetic recipe. It’s also low calorie. So go ahead and eat your turkey.

Look here for our information on how to thaw, clean, store and cook a turkey.

A roast turkey recipe just isn’t the same without the stuffing. Click here for our great tasting turkey stuffing recipe.

Want some potato recipes to go with that roast turkey recipe? You’ll find ours here.

Don’t forget the easy homemade cranberry sauce.

You just can’t beat turkey leftovers! Look here for our turkey and chicken recipes, plus easy ways to use turkey leftovers!

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Roast turkey recipe



diabetic recipe

1 thought on “Roast Turkey Recipe”

  1. What to do with left over turkey gravy?

    Any suggestion what to do with left over turkey gravy? I have gravy but no turkey and it is difficult to find a turkey this time of year.
    Any ideas or suggestions?

    From Karen: I would just use it as you would chicken gravy. It would be great on mashed potatoes, or fries, or make it into a chicken pot pie.

    Reply

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