Roast Turkey (Easy Steps for New Cooks)

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 6 hrs 30 mins
  • Servings: 10
  • About This Recipe

    “With Thanksgiving, Christmas etc sneaking up on us I thought it may be helpful for new cooks to have an easy step by step recipe for roasting a Turkey. This is a straight forward basic recipe. Add to the preparation time the time to make the stuffing and gravy. Happy cooking”

    Ingredients

  • 1 (14lb)turkey
  • 1teaspoonsalt
  • 1teaspoonblack pepper
  • 1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cupmargarine
  • 2tablespoonsdried rosemary
  • 2tablespoonsdried sage
  • 2tablespoonsdried thyme
  • onion mushroom dressing( already posted on recipezaar)
  • Directions

  • Preheat oven to 325f and put a rack in a roasting pan.
  • N.B. If you use a foil roasting pan have it seated firmly on a solid tray do not attempt to carry it on it’s own without bottom support.
  • Remove neck& giblets from the cavity of the bird Rinse turkey thoroughly inside and out patting it dry with a paper towel.
  • Sprinkle salt& pepper inside and over the skin of the bird Stuff the bird with dressing.
  • N.B. Do not do this until just before you are going to cook the bird.
  • Stuff the neck cavity as well as the body cavity.
  • Secure the neck flap with a skewer or stitch it Tie drumsticks together and close the body cavity securely.
  • In a small bowl combine butter,rosemary, sage& thyme, mix well Gently loosen the skin covering the breast, be careful not to tear it Spread herb mixture under the skin and over it Place turkey on rack in the roasting pan Roast the turkey basting every 20 minutes or so If the bird begins to brown too soon place a piece of tin foil loosely over it.
  • The bird is cooked when a meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh Apprx 5 1/2 hours Remove turkey from roaster and let stand for 25 minutes Remove ALL the stuffing from the bird, Carve and Serve (Left over turkey and stuffing can be frozen as long as you freeze them separately) Make gravy in the roasting pan while the turkey is resting (a separate recipe will be posted or try one that is already posted).
  • Reviews

  • “I was born and raised in Germany, so turkey is not really my cup of tea but when I tried this recipe for Thanksgivimg, all my (american!) friends said that they never had a better turkey!Great recipe, easy to follow.”

  • “For those of you who were as confused as Recipezaar’s computer by the N.B. … it stands for Nota Bene, which is Latin for Note Well. Although I am not a new cook, Turkey is not on my resume, but I found this procedure very easy to follow. Once I have tried it, I’ll be back to rate it.”

  • “I made this in January just for the fun of it.I have never cooked a turkey before, but was given one and needed to find a way to prepare it.The procedure was easy to follow, and the turkey was amazing!The herbs are a really nice added flavour. I didn’t use the mushroom stuffing mentioned though, because we ar enot mushrrom fans here…I used the bread stuffing that is with recipe # 45678. Thanx for the recipe!!”

  • “I never cooked a Thanksgiving turkey by myself, until today!I can honestly say that, thanks to your recipe, our dinner came out great!My husband said that he thought this was the best turkey he has ever had!We made an unstuffed, 14 pound turkey and cooked it for just under 4 hours.It came out tender and flavorful!Thank you so much!”

  • “Super-simple!Tasted wonderful!I loved the herb-butter idea and plan to use it whenever I roast a bird from now on.Thanks so much for posting!”

  • “Thank you Bergy!This was my second turkey and my first family dinner with the inlaws Was a total hit and so easy to make!!Felt very confident about making it with the descriptive steps.So confident in fact that a=I shared it with my future Daughter in law.She hasn’t made one yet and my stepson”

  • “Wonderful! Made great broth for my southern cornbread dressing. I used butter, fresh cracked pepper and kosher flake salt. Will decrease the thyme a bit next time, but otherwise wouldn’t change a thing!”

  • “Thank you so much for this posting, Bergy!!This recipe was so easy to follow and the turkey came out spectacular.The only variation I did was to use fresh herbs rather than dried and it really came through in the flavour.Having never cooked a turkey before, I was really nervous.Your recipe made my Christmas dinner a breeze! Thank you again!!:)”

  • “While not a _new cook_ I borrowed your recipe to brighten up my Thanksgiving meal.Spreading the herbed butter mixture under the turkey skin was a brilliant success! The drippings also made a rich, savory gravy when mixed with a little flour. I made another batch of the butter, using the same herbs only fresh minced, to serve alongside the hot dinner rolls and everyone except the kids loved it.(quoting one grandson: “Green leaves do not go on bread, Gran.� ;-)) Thanks for teaching this _old_ cook some new tricks!”

  • “I was really intimidated by some of the other recipes on this site, and I wanted to make my first Thanksgiving as hostess the best possible.This really worked great!I was unable to get the margarine mixture under the breast skin, but it still turned out super moist and flavorful, and I got rave reviews! Thanks a million, Bergy!”

  • “This was easy to follow, thanks!My first turkey turned out really well, and next year I will be more confident!”

  • “I always made my turkeys in a roasting bag but after making your herb butter I never will again! The turkey was so moist and tender, my mom said it was wonderful! Doubled the margarine as I had a 20 pound turkey and added a bit more of each herb. Spread the mixture under the skin and than with the bit I had left, rubbed all over the turkey. Basted while the turkey roasted and my turkey browned beautifully! I did cheat and use a packaged stuffing mix that I added a few goodies too but next time will try your dressing recipe too. Bergy thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!UPDATE – 2007 Outstanding turkey, thank you again Bergy!!”

  • “Delicious recipe for my first ever turkey. Very clear instructions for first timers. I did not stuff the bird but it still turned out very moist and delicious. I basted the bird with chicken broth in the bottom of the pan.”

  • “Very easy and delicious!”

  • “Well, I pulled out my frozen $5 turkey last week and was looking for a recipe this morning that would be easy as well as tasteful.I was a little nervous, never having roasted a turkey before, but this was very easy, and turned out very moist and flavorful!And I even used canola oil since I was out of butter. And I didn’t make any dressing, just left the inside hollow. I needed it done in less than five and a half hours, so I turned up the heat around 4 1/2 hours to 400 and let it cook for about 30 minutes (covered in foil).For some reason, I didn’t have any juices to baste with, but it didn’t seem to matter.Bergy, thank you for a simple and delicious recipe for those of us who are new at roasting turkeys!”

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