Whole Roasted Turkey

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: North American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 5

Resting Time: 20

Total Time: 5 35

Servings: servings

Calories: 863kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Roasting a whole turkey does not need to be complicated. For a super moist and delicious turkey, you only need 5 ingredients and a little patience. The secret to keeping a turkey from drying out in the oven is butter, and it's so easy!

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Equipment

Large roasting pan with rack - roughly 18" x 13" x 4"
Butcher's twine (string)
Turkey baster

Ingredients

20 pound turkey, thawed, giblets removed, and washed well under cold running water
2 large white onions, peeled and halved
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3/4 cup salted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Measure out the salt and pepper. Stir together in a small bowl.
Wash turkey and roughly pat dry with paper towel. Rub the entire surface of the turkey with just over half of the salt and pepper mixture. Distribute the remaining salt and pepper inside the cavity.
Place the turkey onto the rack in the roasting pan.
Tuck the wing tips under the breast meat. This will prevent them from burning. (Use force; sometimes they're a bit stiff.)
Add the onions to the cavity of the turkey. (If you are adding anything else, please do so now. If you are stuffing the turkey, please do so at this point.)
Using butcher's twine, tie the two legs together in a cross-over fashion.
Place the turkey in the oven uncovered. Roast for 1 hour.
Remove the turkey from the oven and place all of the butter into the bottom of the pan. Return to oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and use turkey baster to baste the entire surface of the turkey. Return to oven. Baste every 30 minutes.
At the 3 hour mark, pay attention to the skin on the turkey. If it has browned enough, tent the roasting pan with aluminum foil. Do not press the foil onto the bird - the skin will stick to the foil.
Return to oven and continue roasting; baste every 30 minutes.
Once the turkey has been roasting for 4 hours and 30 minutes, check the temperature of the breast meat using a meat thermometer. The temperature should be between 165-170 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is not, return to the oven to continue cooking.
After the turkey is fully cooked, remove from the oven. Keep covered with the foil and allow the turkey to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Notes

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information accounts for everything and does not account for the remaining butter and juices left in the bottom of the pan.

Nutrition