Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 turkey When selecting your turkey, allow 1 pound of turkey per person. Opt for a fresh turkey when possible. If frozen, allow turkey to thaw for several days in the refrigerator allowing one day for every four pounds of turkey. Place the turkey on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator on a rimmed baking pan to contain any juices.
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- After removing the turkey from its packaging, do not rinse the turkey!
- Remove neck and giblets packet, and reserve them for making stock or gravy. Free legs from clamp.
- Season inside with a ½ tablespoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. For added flavor, fill the cavity with aromatics such as an orange, cut in half, a quartered onion and/or fresh thyme or sage.
- To allow the turkey to roast more quickly and evenly, plan to cook your stuffing recipe in a separate pan.
- To brown the bird, brush skin with unsalted butter or olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Another option is to mix unsalted butter or olive oil and fresh herbs together and apply the mixture under the skin.
- Secure legs in clamp and tuck wingtips under. Place turkey, breast side upon V-rack set inside a two-inch deep roasting pan.
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Use the chart to determine estimated cooking time for your bird. Cooking time will vary by size of bird and function of your oven. Transfer pan to the oven. Cover breast with aluminum foil and roast one hour.
- After one hour, remove the foil and reduce oven temperature to 325ºF. Turkey is cooked to a safe internal temperature when it reaches 165°F on food thermometer.
- Once cooked to 165ºF, remove turkey from the oven. Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes. If you wish, reserve the turkey drippings to make gravy.
Notes
This recipe was developed using the Safe Recipe Style Guide at SafeRecipeGuide.org.