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Roast Turkey With Herbal Rub

Roast Turkey - A great Thanksgiving Recipe

A Thanksgiving recipe staple, roast turkey can be made many different ways. Here is one simple, but flavorful recipe using an herbal rub.

Ingredients

  • 13 lb turkey (whole (fresh or thawed))
  • 1 onion (quartered)
  • 1 lemon (quartered)
  • 1 ⁄4 c oil
  • 1 tsp thyme (dried)
  • 1 tsp tarragon (dried)
  • 1 Tbls rosemary (dried)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 ⁄2 tsp pepper (black (freshly ground))

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325° F (177° C).
  2. Remove giblets and neck from turkey and reserve for broth.
  3. Rinse turkey with cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place onion and lemon quarters in neck and body cavities.
  4. In a small bowl, mix oil with herbs, salt and pepper. With your
  5. finger tips, gently loosen skin from the breast without pulling off the
  6. skin.
  7. Place 1 tablespoon of herb mixture under skin; replace skin. Rub cavities and outside of turkey with remaining herb mixture.
  8. Secure the neck skin to the back with skewers. Fold wings under
  9. back of turkey. Place legs in tucked position. May be prepared to this
  10. point, covered and refrigerated for several hours.
  11. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a large shallow (no more than 2-1/2 inches ) deep roasting pan.
  12. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful it does not touch the bone.
  13. Cover bird with a loose tent of foil. Roast turkey in a preheated 325° F (177° C) oven for about 2-1/2 hours.
  14. Remove foil and baste bird with pan juices. Continue to roast
  15. for about another hour until meat thermometer registers 180° F (82° C)
  16. in the thigh.
  17. Remove turkey from oven and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. Transfer to a large platter and serve with gravy.

Food Pairing: As part of your Thanksgiving recipes, this roast turkey recipe will be the main event. You need a beer to support that. I suggest a bock or oktoberfest beer. The maltiness will complement the roast turkey and the traditional spices. An English pale ale would also be mighty nice.