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Roasted Butter Herb Turkey

This recipe guides you through roasting a tender, flavorful herb-butter turkey. It emphasizes preparing an aromatic butter blend to rub under and over the skin, stuffing the cavity with fresh herbs and lemon, and roasting on a bed of vegetables with chicken broth. Frequent basting and precise temperature monitoring ensure a moist, perfectly cooked bird.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours
Servings: 12 people
Course: lunch/dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 6122.8
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Main
  • 3/4 cup butter softened
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons garlic herb sauce mix recommended: Knorr
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed garlic
  • 1 32-ounce bag celery and carrot party sticks
  • 2 large onions large dice
  • 1 32-ounce container low-sodium chicken broth
  • 12- pound turkey thawed if necessary
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon pepper
  • 3 3/4-ounce packets fresh herbs poultry herb blend (sage, thyme and rosemary)
  • 1 lemon thickly sliced

Equipment

  • 1 Roasting Pan Large enough to accommodate a 12-pound turkey
  • 1 Small Mixing Bowl For combining the herb butter
  • 1 Instant-Read Thermometer Crucial for ensuring internal temperature reaches 180°F
  • 1 Basting Ladle or Bulb For frequent basting with pan juices
  • 1 Cutting Board and Chef's Knife For preparing vegetables and carving the turkey

Method
 

  1. In a small bowl, combine softened butter, poultry seasoning, garlic herb sauce mix, and crushed garlic. Use a fork to mix together until well combined. Cover and put in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes, until firm but not hard.
  2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
  3. Arrange celery, carrots, and half of the diced onions in the bottom of a roasting pan. Add chicken broth and set aside.
  4. Rinse the thawed turkey and pat dry. Use your finger to carefully loosen the skin around the entire bird. Take the butter mixture and cut into large pieces. Place the butter pieces under the skin of the entire turkey. Rub the remaining butter pieces on the outside of the skin and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the inside of turkey cavity with remaining onions, fresh herb poultry blend, and lemon slices. (Truss if necessary.) Insert the pop-up thermometer at an angle about 3-inches down from the neck cavity and 2-inches from the breast bone, in the thickest part of the breast.
  5. Place turkey on the bed of vegetables in roasting pan. Place in the oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F. Roast for 1 hour, then baste with pan juices every 20 minutes until thermometer pops up or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 180 degrees F, about 3 hours.

Notes

Achieving a succulent, flavorful roasted turkey hinges on a few key techniques. Distributing the herb butter under the skin is paramount; it directly bastes the breast meat, preventing dryness and infusing it with flavor from within. Basting frequently with pan juices helps keep the skin moist and promotes even browning. Always rely on an accurate instant-read thermometer to gauge doneness (180°F in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching bone). After roasting, allow the turkey to rest, tented with foil, for at least 20-30 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute, resulting in incredibly moist meat. Consider adding extra aromatics like fresh herbs or citrus halves to the roasting pan for deeper flavor in your pan drippings.