We love turkey! Although we usually have it a couple times a year, the holiday season always adds that little amount of stress.. Your whole family is there and you want to make sure the main dish of the day is perfect, juicy and tender!
What if I told you, all you need is 20 minutes of prep work and then only keeping an eye on your turkey from time to time while it’s roasting? Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it?
Here’s my secret: MAYO! Yes, mayo! I’m Polish, so of course I add butter into the cavity, but mayo is my secret weapon on the outside of the turkey. It seasons the bird beautifully and adds that layer of moisture. Try it out and I promise you’ll be impressed!
Herb Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
8
servings20
minutes2
hours55
minutesI’ll be working with a 12 lb turkey, so if your bird is a different size please make sure to adjust the other ingredients as well as the cook time.
Ingredients
12 lb whole turkey
1 onion
4 carrots
4 stalks celery
1 apple
1 orange
1 lemon
6 cloves of garlic
½ cup butter = 1 stick
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cup mayo
1 tablespoon of each of these fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley for the mayo mixture. Plus a few extra leaves for inside the cavity.
½ bunch parsley
coarse salt & pepper
- Kitchen supplies
kitchen string
aluminum foil
large roasting pan
Directions
- Prep Work
- Preheat oven to 430 degrees F. Prepare your roasting pan, by spreading the carrots, celery and ½ onion on the bottom. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Take the neck and giblets out, wash your turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure you dry it very well inside and out as we’ll be looking for that skin to nicely crisp up. Once done, place the turkey on top of the veggies in the roasting pan. Generously season the cavity with salt and pepper (I used about ½ tablespoon each).
- Place a stick of butter inside the cavity and stuff with apple, quartered ½ lemon, orange and onion. Add 3 full cloves of garlic, ½ bunch parsley and a few leaves of the fresh herbs. Not everything might fit in, depending on the size of the turkey.
- Place 1 ½ cup mayo in a measuring cup or bowl, squeeze ½ lemon, add 3 cloves pressed garlic, 1 tablespoon of each of the herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. Put you fingers between the skin and the turkey’s breast and very delicately seperate the skin. Place a handful of the mayo mixture in between skin and breast and spread out. Cover the whole turkey with the rest of the mayo mixture. Tie the turkey’s legs together with kitchen string.
- Season whole turkey generously with salt and pepper. I used about 1 tablespoon of each. Now you’re ready to roast!
- Roasting
- Place the turkey uncovered into the oven heated up to 430 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes have passed, lower temperature to 350 degrees F and continue roasting for about 13 minutes a pound of turkey. You may want to check in on your turkey every 20-30 minutes to make sure the skin isn’t getting too dark. If it is, cover with aluminum foil (I did after about the first hour). Continue roasting until the internal temperature reaches 160 degress F in the breast area and 170 degrees F in the thigh area. There is no need to baste (my mom always did…. you can baste once, but rememebr not to do it too often because that will impact the crispiness of the skin).
- Once internal temperature is reached, take the turkey out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil. I know this step will be hard (you’re hungry and exposed to all those amazing smells…..) but let the turkey rest for 15-20 minutes to lock all those juices!
- Now you’re ready to dig in! Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- You can use dry herbs instead of fresh ones. Since the dry ones are more potent, substitue 1 teaspoon dry herbs for each tablespoon of fresh herbs. And remember to rub the herbs in between your palms before using, to release those lovely oils.
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