Easy Lemon Herb Butter Roasted Turkey
Servings: 8
This Easy Lemon Herb Butter Roasted Turkey is packed full of flavour and makes for an unforgettable Easter, Thanksgiving or Holiday dinner!
Print Recipe
Rate this Recipe
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
Lemon Herb Butter
- 1 cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 2 tbsp minced shallot (about 1 small shallot)
- zest from 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Leaves from 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
For the turkey
- 1 whole fresh turkey, 12-14lbs
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 yellow onion, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 celery stalks, chopped into 8 pieces
- 2 carrots, chopped into 8 pieces
- 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 pieces
- Handful of fresh thyme & parsley
Instructions
- To make the herb butter stir together softened butter with remaining ingredients.
- Remove the turkey from the fridge 90 minutes before roasting and allow it to come to room temperature. Make sure once you remove the turkey from it’s packaging, remove the neck and the bag of giblets (usually found in the cavity of the turkey); then pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
- When ready to roast the turkey, preheat the oven to 325F.
- To the roasting pan add broth, 4 pieces of onion, celery pieces, chopped carrots & 2 pieces of lemon.
- Season the turkey cavity with salt & pepper then stuff in the rest of the onion pieces, 2 pieces of lemon & handfuls of thyme/parsley.
- Pat turkey dry with paper towel & tie legs together with kitchen twine; set turkey inside a roasting pan.
- Use your fingers to smooth herb butter all over the outside of the turkey. If butter isn’t soft enough, microwave for 20-30 seconds & use a basting brush to spread over the turkey.
- Baste the turkey with the juices in the pan about 3-4 times during cooking.
- About halfway through the cooking time, if the skin becomes a golden brown colour, you can cover the top / turkey breast with foil to keep it from over cooking.
- Roast the turkey until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, you can estimate it will take about 13-15 minutes per pound. *Remember, everyone's oven is different so the best way to see if the turkey is done is measuring the internal temperature.* Once cooked, let the turkey rest, tented with foil for at least 20 minutes before carving.
Notes
- If you don’t have fresh thyme sprigs, you can use dried thyme - replace the leaves of fresh thyme with 2 tsp dried thyme.
- You can make the herb butter the day before and store in the fridge. Remove from the fridge at least an hour before using so it can soften up.
Tried this recipe?Mention @cookinginmygenes or tag #cookinginmygenes!