Thanksgiving Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe

Golden brown, moist and delicious. Behold the Thanksgiving turkey! I use lots of butter, it’s like suntan lotion for poultry. Note the lovely pan drippings all ready to add to your gravy base.

And now, for my last recipe in the Thanksgiving extravaganza -- the turkey! Centerpiece of the whole event - besides me, of course. I read a lot of recipes and techniques, but I do this pretty close to the way I've always done it, with a few tweaks here and there.

First of all, I am NOT a briner. I get a big turkey every year (20 lbs. or so) and getting that thing in and out of brine, plus refrigerating it for 24 hours in some type of container is just too much hassle for me. Turkeys are slippery when wet. Instead, I take my fresh (or defrosted) bird out on Wednesday, put it on a baking rack inside a pan, making sure to remove the giblets and neck. I pat it dry with a paper towel, inside and out. I then mix up 2 - 3 sticks of softened butter with pepper plus fresh chopped fresh herbs - rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano or any combination thereof. The pan goes onto a dishtowel on the counter to prevent slipping. After taking my rings off, I use my hand to loosen the skin on the breast meat from the cavity end and the breast end, meeting somewhere in the middle and being careful not to rip the skin. There is a membrane along the backbone, so do each breast side separately. It's a little gross, but not a lot. We are creating a pocket to hold the butter.

Once the skin is loosened from the breast meat, place a large wad of herb butter under the side closest to the neck, then swipe the edge of your hand OVER the skin, with the butter wad in front on you, and push towards the cavity to spread the butter all the way down the breast. Almost like a squeegie. You should be able do this in one smooth motion. I wish I had a video of this, it's sounds harder than it is. Do both sides and make sure there is a good amount of herb butter in there. Salt and pepper the outside and inside of the turkey, then place into the refrigerator overnight, uncovered, for the skin to dry out, this aids crispiness. Come Thursday morning, remove from the refrigerator an hour before oven time so it can return to room temperature. Having a spare refrigerator helps here, but if you do not have the space, skip the overnight thing and do it all in the morning.

Once it's oven time, give your turkey a nice massage with the rest of that softened herb butter, add a few aromatics (carrot, onion, celery, herbs) to the cavity and bottom of the pan along with a half inch or so of turkey or chicken stock before putting it in the hot box. Some years I truss, some years I don't, it's just a matter of if I can find the butcher's twine. Seriously.

I like to set the oven at 425, then turn it down to 350 when the bird goes in, tented loosely with tin foil to avoid overbrowning. Plan on 15 minutes per pound at 350 degrees. While I peek quite a bit through the glass, I don't often open the door. All that butter makes it self-basting. I might brush it down once, check temp and the bottom juices. If the pan seems to be drying out, add more stock, wine or water. And look for proper browning, that tent can come off for the last hour or so if you're not getting the color you want.

When the turkey is done (I use a meat thermometer and remove it when the breast reads 160 - 165 F), transfer to a cutting board and cover with foil for up to an hour. It will remain warm, yet retain its juices. We like to remove the breasts and cut into medium-thick slices, and since I am all about the dark meat, I make sure it is treated with care, they are tricky to carve. Cover with copious amounts of the Best Turkey Gravy Evah, the serve alongside the Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes and some Rice and Sausage stuffing. Add your favorite sides, or better yet, have people bring a side dish of their own making (prior approval optional). Hanging out together in the kitchen and sharing in the preparation is part of the charm of Thanksgiving, after all. Most importantly, enjoy yourself and your guests. Don't forget to give thanks for your blessings, we all have a few. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

From the top left: a buttery turkey ready for the oven, cranberries boiling on the stovetop, cooked lobster ready for the chowder pot, the shells bubbling to create lobster stock, my dad admiring the roasted turkey (miss you dad!), a perfectly carved turkey with a few sides, Adam’s cheddar and jalapeño cornbread, and my homemade apple pie using Ina Garten’s Perfect Pie Crust recipe. She’s not lying. Enjoy your meal and your day!