There are so many ways to make a turkey and some of these processes can be quite complicated. From brining days in advance to adding different rubs and seasonings, various basting techniques and varying the temperature throughout the cooking process, you can get as involved as you want when it comes to preparing your holiday bird.
Now, I am not in any way implying that these methods do not work, I just know that the morning before my house is filled with friends and family, I want to find ways to make things as easy as possible and this turkey is incredibly simple, absolutely delicious and an average sized bird will roast in only about 2 hours.
Let’s get it started…
One of the easiest things you can do to help your turkey roast evenly and remain super juicy inside is to let it come to room temperature before putting it into a super hot oven. Placing a really cold turkey into high heat can cause the outer portion of the bird to overcook, while the inside could be underdone. This is one of the reasons that so many holiday turkeys are unfortunately dry.
It will take a small to medium turkey about an hour to come to room temperature and a larger turkey will take 90 minutes.
Start by unwrapping your turkey and removing everything inside (the neck, giblets, gravy packets…etc). Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat the entire bird dry with paper towels. You can place it in your roasting pan or leave the turkey sitting in a clean kitchen sink while it comes to room temperature.
When your turkey has about 30 minutes of resting time left, preheat your oven to 475 degrees and place your oven rack on the setting second from the bottom.
Once the turkey has come to room temperature and your oven is preheated, place the turkey breast side up into a roasting pan with a rack and pat it dry again. Rub the skin with olive oil and then sprinkle spices and dried herbs over the outer surface of the turkey.
You can use your favorite seasoning and spices or you could use my blend of garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper and dried herbs, such as poultry seasoning, Italian herb blend or a few of your favorites.
Once the turkey has been seasoned, use some baking twine to tie the legs together tightly and cover the boney ends of the legs with a small strip of foil. The foil is optional, but I find that the ends of the legs can burn when the turkey is roasted in a very hot oven and the foil prevents this from happening.
Place the turkey into your preheated 475 degree oven and roast for about 8 minutes per pound. This turkey was right at 17 pounds and it was done in 2 hours and 5 minutes
The turkey is done when the deepest part reaches 165 degrees.
*Note: After the first 45 minutes of roasting, if your turkeys skin is getting brown too quickly, loosely cover the turkey with foil.
Take a look at that beautiful bird! So deeply golden and the skin is incredibly crisp and well seasoned. It is going to be delicious…
Once your turkey is cooked through, transfer the roasting pan onto a heat proof surface, such as a wooden cutting board, loosely cover the turkey with foil and let it rest for about 30 minutes before carving it up. I know this sounds like a long time, but there is so much juice in your turkey and it needs time to reabsorb and redistribute throughout the turkey.
While your turkey is taking a nice little nap, transfer all of the drippings from the roasting pan into bowl and set it aside for your turkey gravy.
The easiest way to carve a turkey is to remove the legs first. Cut the skin surrounding each leg and carefully lift and twist the legs off of both sides. Use meat sheers to trim any excess away and begin gathering the meat from the leg area first.
The remove the breasts, run a very sharp knife along the breast bone and transfer the breast to a flat cutting surface. Slice and transfer everything onto a serving platter.
This turkey is amazing. The skin is super crisp, the meat is tender and juicy and the flavors are everything that a good holiday bird should be.
Whether you end up placing this turkey at the very center of a huge holiday spread or you sliced it up thin for a weeks worth of turkey sandwiches, you are going to be so happy with how fabulous this turkey turns out.
Happy turkey day everyone!
Classic Holiday Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- turkey, defrosted, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of dried herbs (such as poultry seasoning, Italian blend or your favorite herbs)
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
Instructions
- Bring your turkey out of the refrigerator 60-90 minutes prior to cooking to allow it to come to room temperature
- Rinse the turkey with cool water, drain completely and pat dry
- 30 minutes prior to cooking, preheat your oven to 475 degrees
- Re-dry your turkey and transfer it into a roasting pan
- Rub the turkey with olive oil and your seasonings
- Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and cover the ends of the legs with a small piece of foil
- Roast your turkey for 8 minutes per pound in a 475 degree oven
- Cover the turkey loosely with foil, if necessary, to prevent over browning of the skin
- The turkey is done when the deepest internal temperature reaches 165 degrees
- Transfer the cooked turkey to a heat proof surface
- Rest for 30 minutes prior to carving
