Recipe Details
Recipe provided by AllRecipes.com
How to Cook a Turkey
Learn how to cook a turkey with Chef John's recipe for juicy, perfectly-cooked turkey seasoned with butter, rosemary, and sage and roasted in the oven.
Makes:24 servings
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
- 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets reserved
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- ½ bunch fresh sage, chopped
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Directions
Prep:20 mCook:185 mReady:3 h 35 m
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Place onion, celery, and carrot in a large, shallow roasting pan.
- Place turkey, breast-side up, on top of vegetables in the roasting pan. Pat outside and inside of turkey dry with paper towels.
- Combine salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Season inside of turkey with about 1/3 of the salt mixture. Fold wing tips under bird.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until edges turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add rosemary and sage; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Place rosemary and sage inside cavity of turkey; reserve melted butter. Tie turkey legs together with twine.
- Brush melted butter over turkey. Season with the remaining salt mixture.
- Bake turkey, uncovered, in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and juices run clear, about 3 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).
- Remove turkey from the oven and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.