Easy Roast Turkey with Herb Butter
 
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This simple recipe works wonders for a small roast turkey. In fact, this is the easiest most foolproof turkey recipe I've ever encounters. The keys to success here, are the salting, the air drying, and the use of the baking stone in conjunction with the cookie sheet and roasting rack. I promise if you follow these instructions, you'll have an awesome turkey for dinner!
Author:
Recipe type: turkey, entree, meat, thanksgiving, christmas
Cuisine: American Traditional
Serves: 6-12 people
Ingredients
  • 1 8-12 lb turkey
  • ¾ Teaspoon coarse sea salt for each pound of turkey
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • ½ cup finely chopped fresh herbs (I used sage, parsley, rosemary, and lemon thyme)
Instructions
  1. One to three days before cooking, salt the turkey both inside and out. Cover tightly and leave in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 48 hours. Eight hours before (or the night before) cooking, gently rinse the turkey and pat it dry with a towel. Place it on a rack on a baking sheet uncovered in the fridge for 8-12 hours. This is what ensures truly crispy skin. Do not leave the turkey uncovered for more than 12 hours to avoid getting tough leathery skin.
  2. On cooking day, Take the turkey out of the fridge and bring to room temperature while you make the herb butter and heat the oven. Place a baking steel or pizza stone on the middle rack of your oven and preheat to 500º for a minimum of one hour while the turkey looses its chill. Line a baking sheet with foil so that it comes up the sides, and overlaps well then place a v-shaped cooking rack on top.
Make the Herb Butter
  1. Melt butter with mustard and maple syrup or honey over low heat. Once butter is completely melted, stir herbs in and allow steep in butter for about 10 minutes before brushing on the turkey.
  2. Brush the herb butter all over the turkey and even put a bit inside the cavity. Set the turkey on the roasting rack then put the baking sheet, rack, and turkey in the oven right on top of your baking steel or pizza stone. Immediately lower oven temp to 300º and roast for 2-3 hours until a temperature, thrust into the deepest parts of the breast registers 150º and the deepest part of the legs register 165º.
  3. Remove the turkey from the oven and tent with foil for 30 minutes before carving.
Recipe by The Tomato Tart at https://www.thetomatotart.com/recipe/easy-roast-turkey-recipe/