How to Roast a Turkey
Roasting a turkey seems like an easy enough thing to do but so many people end up with a turkey that doesn’t quite meet their expectations. A slow roast turkey obviously takes some time and patience and there isn’t just one way to do it. But no matter which roast turkey recipe you choose, they all usually have one thing in common. Moisture. Keeping a turkey moist in turkey stock or other juices as well as consistently basting the turkey a t regular intervals while cooking will ensure that you will have a turkey that you can actually swallow without an entire glass of water to go with it.
Below you’ll find one of the many Roast Turkey recipes I’ve come across and it is one that I’ve really enjoyed.
This perfect roast turkey makes 24 servings, has a prep time of about 30 minutes and a cook time of approximately 4 hours.
Stuff the turkey with your favorite dressing for added flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 (18 pound) whole turkey
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 quarts turkey stock
- 8 cups prepared stuffing
Directions
- First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place the rack in the lowest position of the oven.
- Remove the turkey neck and giblets, then rinse the turkey and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
- Place the turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Every 30 minutes, baste the turkey with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time.
- Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours.
- Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the turkey thigh reads 180 degrees F (80 degrees C), which should be about 4 hours.
- Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
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