The Art of Roasting a Turkey: A Step-by-Step Guide

As the turkey takes its place on the roasting pan, the next step is to tie the legs together. This simple process ensures that the turkey stays intact while it bakes, and can be achieved by crisscrossing the legs and tying them with string. The author of this article trusts the turkey, knowing that this method will produce a perfectly cooked bird.

The author transfers the rack into the roasting pan and prepares the oven for the first stage of cooking. The temperature is set to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, and the turkey will bake for about 10 minutes per pound. This ensures that the turkey cooks evenly and thoroughly, without overcooking or drying out. With a 20-pound turkey, this means that it will take approximately three and a half hours to complete the first stage of cooking.

While the turkey is cooking, the author prepares the herbs and citrus butter that will add flavor to the bird. The mixture includes two sticks of salted butter, the zest of two lemons and one orange, and fragrant herbs such as sage and rosemary. Fresh herbs are a key component of this recipe, and their pungent flavors will complement the richness of the turkey perfectly.

With the turkey now ready to be basted, the author adds the citrus-herb butter to the cavity of the bird. This is done by smearing the mixture all over the turkey, using both hands to get into every nook and cranny. The author notes that this step may seem strange, but it has proven effective in creating a golden-brown skin on the finished bird.

The turkey is now ready to be uncovered and placed back into the oven, where it will finish cooking at a higher temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The author uses a meat thermometer to ensure that the turkey reaches a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, which indicates doneness. With this information, the author removes the turkey from the oven and lets it rest before carving.

The moment of truth has arrived, as the author carves into the perfectly cooked turkey. Starting with the breast, the author carefully cuts through the meat, using a sharp knife to avoid tearing or shredding the fibers. The resulting two halves of the breast are then set aside, and the author begins to carve the thighs. This process requires patience and care, but the end result is well worth the effort.

As the turkey is carved, the author notes the importance of not cutting short the meat, in order to get all of the flavorful flesh. With a perfectly cooked turkey now exposed, it's time to plate and garnish with some fresh herbs and citrus slices. A platter becomes the stage for this beautiful dish, where colors and textures come together in perfect harmony.

Finally, as the family gathers around the table to enjoy their Thanksgiving feast, the author notes that the hardest part of cooking a turkey is always waiting – but it's also the most rewarding. This recipe offers a tried-and-true method for roasting a delicious turkey, paired with some simple yet effective garnishes to elevate the dish to new heights.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enroasting a Thanksgiving turkey is not hard all I did was I started with a 20 pound turkey patted it dry took out the bag of giblets of course and now I am going to trust the turkey which just means tie the legs so basically you just want to crisscross the legs and just tie them and this makes sure that the turkey stays intact while it bakes okay so what I did was just transferred the rack into the roasting pan and I'm going to put it into the oven for the first stage and for that stage I've got to cover the whole thing with foil here I go so now Alex let's go to the oven okay okay 20 pounder oh yeah so this is going to go into a 275 degree oven it's going to bake for about 10 minutes per pound for the first stage so I'll see you back here in three and a half hours okay so we're gonna move right along and get some herbs Citrus butter ready to smear all over the turkey so I've got two sticks of salted butter which is important and I'm adding the zest of two lemons and one orange and then some gorgeous fragrant herbs I've got Sage and two tablespoons of Rosemary's about a tablespoon of sage and then chopped thyme about a tablespoon I love fresh herbs they make me happy I love them in the morning I love them in the night I love them full stop so the butter is all smeared together you see that Alex oh yeah it doesn't look yummy okay so let's go to the oven so oh gosh I don't want to do this oh you're getting your workout in oh my gosh so heavy now I want to warn you before I take this foil off it is not impressive looking at this stage it's very pale okay but that's exactly what it should look like at this stage now you can be neat about it and just smear it with a spoon but I have never had more luck than when I just do it with my hands so basically you just want to smear this all over getting a nice muscle it is it's just like giving it a massage it's very strange but so what this is going to do is it's going to create a beautiful golden skin when it finishes roasting not only that but it's going to add flavor to the drippings and that's what we're going to use to make gravy so all of this is going to make perfect sense before it's all said and done okay so I'm gonna put it back into the oven but before I do that I want to put a meat thermometer in the leg and you want to go right behind the joint deep into the turkey and that way you know that the temperature is basically registering the coldest part of the turkey so you know it'll be done if this is right so I'm going to leave it uncovered put it back into the oven turn up the heat to 350 degrees and let it finish roasting it's going to take about an hour and a half and I'll baste it as I go okay see you back here then I think the turkey's ready you ready for this oh I'm ready oh it's oh hello my beautiful baby oh gosh it looks amazing the temperature's at 165 and that's when I like to take the turkey out it'll keep cooking for you know 10 or 15 minutes when you pull it out so you don't want to overcook it or dry it out so I need to let the turkey rest before I carve it so I'm just going to Loosely cover it with foil lots of foil on Thanksgiving and then I will come back and carve in a little bit I'm here to show the kids what carving a turkey is all about so I'm going to do my level best I like to start with the breast so I cut down the center Alex do you want to get this and there's a little breast bone and you want to cut right down either side of it and so now you have two halves of the breast I never want to kind of cut it short and not get all of that beautiful meat this is a juicy turkey here is a beautiful breast half okay um so I'll put that over to the side and I'll pull the other one off it helps to have a very sharp knife lad who I mean look at this perfectly cooked turkey though oh baby it's gorgeous all right now I'm just going to keep going it's just going to take me about four seconds so isn't that a gorgeous platter and then all that you need to do after that is just garnish the platter and I like to do oranges Paige you want to come help me and then some Sage leaves I love the combination of citrus and herbs it's so pretty what do you say Paige should we go on down to the house leave these guys behind Happy Thanksgiving no I'm just kidding okay this is beautiful roasted Thanksgiving turkey all carved put on a platter with some garnishes absolutely perfect happy turkey dayroasting a Thanksgiving turkey is not hard all I did was I started with a 20 pound turkey patted it dry took out the bag of giblets of course and now I am going to trust the turkey which just means tie the legs so basically you just want to crisscross the legs and just tie them and this makes sure that the turkey stays intact while it bakes okay so what I did was just transferred the rack into the roasting pan and I'm going to put it into the oven for the first stage and for that stage I've got to cover the whole thing with foil here I go so now Alex let's go to the oven okay okay 20 pounder oh yeah so this is going to go into a 275 degree oven it's going to bake for about 10 minutes per pound for the first stage so I'll see you back here in three and a half hours okay so we're gonna move right along and get some herbs Citrus butter ready to smear all over the turkey so I've got two sticks of salted butter which is important and I'm adding the zest of two lemons and one orange and then some gorgeous fragrant herbs I've got Sage and two tablespoons of Rosemary's about a tablespoon of sage and then chopped thyme about a tablespoon I love fresh herbs they make me happy I love them in the morning I love them in the night I love them full stop so the butter is all smeared together you see that Alex oh yeah it doesn't look yummy okay so let's go to the oven so oh gosh I don't want to do this oh you're getting your workout in oh my gosh so heavy now I want to warn you before I take this foil off it is not impressive looking at this stage it's very pale okay but that's exactly what it should look like at this stage now you can be neat about it and just smear it with a spoon but I have never had more luck than when I just do it with my hands so basically you just want to smear this all over getting a nice muscle it is it's just like giving it a massage it's very strange but so what this is going to do is it's going to create a beautiful golden skin when it finishes roasting not only that but it's going to add flavor to the drippings and that's what we're going to use to make gravy so all of this is going to make perfect sense before it's all said and done okay so I'm gonna put it back into the oven but before I do that I want to put a meat thermometer in the leg and you want to go right behind the joint deep into the turkey and that way you know that the temperature is basically registering the coldest part of the turkey so you know it'll be done if this is right so I'm going to leave it uncovered put it back into the oven turn up the heat to 350 degrees and let it finish roasting it's going to take about an hour and a half and I'll baste it as I go okay see you back here then I think the turkey's ready you ready for this oh I'm ready oh it's oh hello my beautiful baby oh gosh it looks amazing the temperature's at 165 and that's when I like to take the turkey out it'll keep cooking for you know 10 or 15 minutes when you pull it out so you don't want to overcook it or dry it out so I need to let the turkey rest before I carve it so I'm just going to Loosely cover it with foil lots of foil on Thanksgiving and then I will come back and carve in a little bit I'm here to show the kids what carving a turkey is all about so I'm going to do my level best I like to start with the breast so I cut down the center Alex do you want to get this and there's a little breast bone and you want to cut right down either side of it and so now you have two halves of the breast I never want to kind of cut it short and not get all of that beautiful meat this is a juicy turkey here is a beautiful breast half okay um so I'll put that over to the side and I'll pull the other one off it helps to have a very sharp knife lad who I mean look at this perfectly cooked turkey though oh baby it's gorgeous all right now I'm just going to keep going it's just going to take me about four seconds so isn't that a gorgeous platter and then all that you need to do after that is just garnish the platter and I like to do oranges Paige you want to come help me and then some Sage leaves I love the combination of citrus and herbs it's so pretty what do you say Paige should we go on down to the house leave these guys behind Happy Thanksgiving no I'm just kidding okay this is beautiful roasted Thanksgiving turkey all carved put on a platter with some garnishes absolutely perfect happy turkey day\n"