This is my way to cook the perfect herb butter roasted turkey every time. It is simple yet produces a turkey that is incredibly moist and full of flavour. The stuffing having been cooked in the bird is amazing. Serve with amazing vegetables such as Peas and Parmesan, Spiced Honey Coated Carrots and Low Fat Roast Potatoes. I always use a Sage and Onion Stuffing when roasting a turkey as the flavour combine incredibly well with the other herbs. I use a different method to roast a turkey crown for obvious reasons. If you would like to try something different, then why not try Roast Goose.

Herb Butter Roasted Turkey

A very simple method to infuse so much flavour with so few ingredients every time.

4.53 from 91 votes

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Turkey

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 3 50

Total Time: 4 10

Servings: people

Calories: 527kcal

Ingredients

12 - 14 lbs turkey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup butter soft
2-3 tbsp thyme chopped - see note
2 cloves garlic peeled and minced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove giblets and neck from interior cavity of turkey if included and reserve for gravy stock. Rinse bird and thoroughly dry.
Season the cavity with salt and pepper.
For Herb-Butter Seasoning, combine butter, the fresh herbs, and garlic. Starting at the neck end of the turkey, loosen the skin by sliding your fingers underneath it, being careful not to tear it.
Slide your hand as far as you can toward the other end of the turkey, separating the skin from the meat. Rub about two-thirds of the herb-butter seasoning over the entire breast.
Spoon the stuffing loosely into the body cavity ensuring that you do not overfill as it will not cook enough by the time the turkey is cooked. Tuck drumsticks under tail skin, or tie to tail.
Transfer any remaining stuffing into a dish, cover with foil or cling film and place in the refrigerator.
Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into the center of one of the inside thigh muscles. The bulb should not touch the bone.
Rub remaining herb-butter seasoning over the entire turkey. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F.
Continue roasting turkey for about 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until thermometer registers 180 degrees F. Bake extra stuffing alongside turkey during the last 40 minutes of roasting.
For the last 30 minutes of roasting remove the foil and uncover the turkey.
When done, remove turkey from oven; cover. Let turkey stand 20 minutes before carving. To serve, remove stuffing from turkey and put into a serving dish.
Carve turkey and serve warm with the vegetables. Enjoy