Easy Oven Roasted Citrus Turkey
Serves 830 mins prep130 mins cook
ššš¦ This EASY turkey recipe makes the JUICIEST and most FLAVORFUL roast turkey that everyone loves! The cavity is stuffed with aromatics including a lemon, an orange, fresh herbs, and the skin is coated in a citrus herb butter so it's moist AND bursting with FLAVOR! This is a SIMPLE recipe that uses basic ingredients to create a PERFECT Thanksgiving or holiday turkey that your family and friends will rave about for years to come!
0 servings
What you need
Instructions
0 Thawing - Read the blog post for more complete info about thawing a turkey from frozen, but the general rule of thumb in the refrigerator is 24 hours for each 5 pounds of turkey. Meaning a 10-pound turkey = 48 hours and a 15-pound turkey = 72 hours. I like to also add ~24 hours of cushion time in case things are going a bit slower than anticipated. Meaning, no later than Monday morning of Thanksgiving week I have my frozen turkey in my fridge, with a drip pan underneath it to catch the turkey water that's coming out as it thaws. 1 Turkey - Preheat your oven to 350F and place the turkey on a large roasting pan (with a rack is preferrable) with the breast side up. Pat the turkey skin with paper towels to dry. Remove the neck and giblets from the inside of the cavity. 2 Place the quartered onion, lemon, orange and fresh herb sprigs inside of the cavity of the turkey and season the outside of the turkey with salt and pepper. 3 Herb Butter - To a small bowl, add the softened butter, lemon zest, orange zest chopped herbs, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and stir to combine. Tip - This is much easier with softened butter so make sure to set it out at least 30-45 minutes beforehand. 4 Using clean hands (wear kitchen gloves if you'd like), rub the butter mixture both underneath the turkey skin and all over the outside of the turkey evenly. Tip - Use caution when lifting up the turkey skin to rub butter underneath it so you don't rip the skin. The butter does not have to coat or reach every single inch but the more you can spread it, the better. 5 Tressing - Using cooking string or twine, tie the turkey legs together; called tressing or to tress the turkey. Alternatively, use a piece of the turkey skin pulled over the legs to hold together if you don't have twine. 6 Roasting - Pour the water or broth into the bottom of your roasting pan. Roast the turkey uncovered for 13 minutes per pound, basting occasionally with the pan juices if desired. Roast until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the turkey meat is 160 to 165F. 7 Resting - Remove the roasting pan from the oven and place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the turkey to seal in the heat, during which time the internal temp will come up to 165F (the safe temp to eat dark meat) to 170F. juices. Allow the turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. 8 Carving and Garnishing - Discard the herbs in the turkey cavity. Slice the turkey and serve warm, or garnish on a serving platter with additional herbs and citrus slices, and enjoy!View original recipe