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How To Roast Turkey with Herb Butter

The juiciest, most tender, flavorful Roast Turkey with Herb Butter you ever sunk your teeth into!  This is the only roast turkey recipe you will ever need for the rest of your life for the BEST turkey of your life!
Servings 10 varies with turkey size

Ingredients

  • 1 (14-18 lb) turkey never frozen, NOT pre-brined

Brine

  • 8 cups vegetable broth
  • 3/4 cup coarse sea salt NOT table or kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 TBS each dried rosemary, dried thyme, paprika
  • 2 tablespoons peppercorns
  • 5 bay leaves
  • Peel from 2 large oranges save oranges

Add later:

  • 8 cups apple juice
  • 1 gallon ice water

Herb Butter

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened,
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 TBS EACH garlic powder, dried rosemary, dried parsley, dried thyme leaves
  • 2 tsp EACH onion powder, paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp EACH pepper, ground cumin

For Roasting

  • 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 orange, quartered (use above orange from brine)
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 apple, quartered

Gravy

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons reserved Herb Butter, divided in directions
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 4 cups turkey drippings/juices in directions

Instructions

Brine

  • In a large stock pot combine all of the Brine ingredients EXCEPT apple juice and ice water. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove from heat, stir in apple juice and cover. Let cool to room temperature. You can place in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
  • Remove turkey neck, giblets and tailpiece. Rinse uncooked, defrosted turkey and pat dry. Place in a large brining bag (see Notes).*
  • Pour cooled brine over the turkey then stir in the ice water (both directly into brining bag with turkey). Make sure the brine fills the cavity of the turkey and covers the turkey by squeezing out any excess air in the bag. If your brine needs more liquid, top it off with equal amounts vegetable broth and apple juice. Place the turkey in the refrigerator 16 to 24 hours.*
  • When ready to roast turkey, remove turkey from brine. Discard brine. Thoroughly rinse turkey, inside and out for 5-10 minutes to rinse off excess salt.
  • Thoroughly pat turkey dry (to achieve crispy skin). Place turkey, breast side up upon wire rack set in roasting pan.
  • Refrigerate, uncovered for 30 minutes or time permitting, 8-24 hours for crispier skin.

Herb Butter

  • When ready to roast the turkey, remove it from refrigerator, wipe away any condensation and let it sit at room temperature for 60 minutes. Meanwhile, make herb butter and spread on the turkey anytime in the 60 minute window.
  • Mix all the Herb Butter ingredients together in a medium bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons to another small bowl and reserve for gravy; let stand at room temperature.
  • Using your fingers, gently loosen skin covering each breast by gently running your fingers between the skin and the meat, taking care not to tear the skin. Loosen the skin on the breasts starting at the large cavity end and go halfway then rotate the bird and repeat from the neck end until all the breast skin is loosened.
  • Place 2 tablespoons of the softened butter under the skin of EACH breast and gently press on the skin to spread the butter evenly over half of each breast. Rotate bird and repeat using 2 additional tablespoons per breast so the entire breast is covered in butter (a total of 8 tablespoons).
  • Spread half of the remaining butter over the turkey including drumsticks and wings. Flip turkey over so it is BREAST SIDE DOWN and spread the remaining butter over the turkey.
  • Fill the turkey cavity with oranges, onions and apple. Tuck wings behind back of the turkey and tuck tips of drumsticks into skin at tail to secure. (many turkeys come with drumsticks already secured) Add 2 cups chicken broth to bottom of roasting pan.

ROAST

  • Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Roast the turkey BREAST SIDE DOWN at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes uncovered. Remove pan from oven and turn oven DOWN to 350 degrees F. Using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate turkey breast side up. Baste turkey and continue to cook uncovered until the center of the breast registers 160 degrees F. See chart in notes for approximate cooking times.
  • About halfway through cooking, or when the chicken broth is getting low, add 2 cups water to bottom of roasting pan. At this point, or when breast is golden brown, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the skin from burning.
  • Once cooked, transfer turkey to carving board and let rest, UNCOVERED (so the skin doesn’t get soggy), for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make Gravy. Directions below

Gravy

  • Add contents of roasting rack (drippings and liquid) to degreasing cup to skim off fat when poured. OR if you don't have a degreasing cup then add contents to a large freezer bag and allow fat to separate to the top. Seal bag and hold over a 4+ cup measuring cup so that one bottom corner tip is facing down into the measuring cup like a spout. Make a small cut in this corner with scissors. The bottom liquid broth will flow through the cut made into the bag without the fat and into the large measuring cup. Stop when you reach 4 cups or the fat. Set aside.
  • Add 3 tablespoon unsalted butter and ONE tablespoon reserved Herb Butter to a medium/large saucepan and melt over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
  • Reduce heat to low and slowly whisk in degreased 4 cups of turkey drippings/broth from bottom of roasting pan. If you have less than 4 cups than add water to equal 4 cups. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until thickened, about 20-25 minutes. Taste and add additional reserved butter a little at a time if desired for more flavor. Season with salt and pepper to taste if desired.

CARVE

  • With top of bird facing towards you, cut along both sides of breastbone, from one end of the turkey to the other.
  • Gently pull each breast half away to expose wishbone then pull and remove wishbone.
  • Cut along rib cage to remove breast completely. Place entire breast half on carving board and cut on bias into thin slices.

Notes

  • PLANNING/TIMING:  If using a fresh turkey, you should brine Tuesday-Wednesday, let sit in refrigerator to dry out skin Wednesday-Thursday and cook Thursday/Thanksgiving.
  • WHAT TURKEY TO BUY:  Purchase a fresh, NOT frozen turkey because frozen turkeys are often brined, which means salt is added to preserve the turkey. If you must use a frozen turkey then cut the sea salt in the brine by half.   Do not buy a kosher, self-basting or pre-brined turkey.
  • SEA SALT:  Be sure you are using sea salt. I prefer sea salt because it has great flavor. Kosher salt is twice as strong so if you must use it, then cut the salt in half.
  • HERB BUTTER:  I use dried herbs because fresh herbs have the tendency to burn. If you have had success with fresh herbs then use 3x fresh herbs as the dried amount.
  • BASTING:  Basting is optional. If you like very crispy skin then don’t baste your turkey at all! I baste my turkey 2 different times within the first half of cooking then don’t baste it all the last half of cooking.

*HOW TO BRINE:

  • I use Reynolds Oven Bags, Turkey Size, for meats/poultry 8-24 lbs. to brine my turkey in. I recommend double bagging your turkey in case the bag punctures and leaks. It is helpful to place the bag in another container to push the liquid up around the turkey. I place my bag in a large Home Depot bucket and then add my turkey to the bag. If the turkey is floating, weight it down with a heavy object.
  • The vegetable drawer of your refrigerator is also a great place to brine your bagged turkey. Just make sure all the extra air is out of the bag so it can be sealed tightly and the brine will cover the turkey. If the brine doesn’t cover the turkey, be sure to flip the bag every so often.
    If your refrigerator space is limited, then place your turkey in its brine bag in a cooler and surround with ice packs. Flip turkey/rotate turkey every so often.

COOK TIME

You NEED a meat thermometer.  Brined turkeys cook much faster than not brined turkeys so rely on your meat thermometer. There is no accurate way to know if the turkey is cooked through – and not overcooked – without a meat thermometer due to many variables. Below is a GENERAL guideline on cooking times by lb for BRINED TURKEY but start checking your turkey at least 30 minutes before the below time.
GENERAL COOKING TIMES FOR BRINED TURKEY
Weight Total Roasting Time
8-12 pounds 1.5 to 2 hours
12-16 pounds 2 to 3 hours
16-20 pounds 2.5 to 3.5 hours
20-25 pounds 3 to 4 hours

HOW TO DOUBLE THE GRAVY

To double the recipe without extra Herb Butter or turkey drippings, use:
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons reserved Herb Butter, divided in directions
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 4 cups turkey drippings/juices in directions
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (add less and add more to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon EACH garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon EACH paprika, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried rosemary
  • Salt to taste