Herb-Citrus Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey – the foolproof method for the most delicious Thanksgiving Day turkey!
This Citrus-Herb Roasted Thanksgiving Day turkey will be the star of the show this Thanksgiving! With wonderful notes of citrus, sage and butter (or ghee), this turkey is ah-mazing and so, SO delicious!
So, as promised, I am following up my post on How to Make a Citrus-Herb Brine with its counterpart! Now, you don’t HAVE to use these recipes together, they can totally be used separately. That being said, I cooking tested out both of these recipes this past weekend and used them together – so incredible.
Between the brining that helps keep the turkey moist and the citrus and fresh herbs stuffed in the turkey and the delicious dry rub with lots and lots of ghee or butter – seriously you guys. The is the best. I love how the citrus somehow makes the turkey taste lighter, but the herbs and ghee add that extra savoriness.
My mother-in-law introduced me to this method – it is so different than the way I was used to having turkey cooked in my family, but I have seriously come to look forward to it. I (obviously) can rave about it enough!
I am in Thanksgiving heaven this year – I did a mini Thanksgiving last weekend when I shot this recipe (and a couple others, coming later this week!); then I have an early Thanksgiving dinner with my mom this weekend and then we will be with my husband’s parents for actual Thanksgiving. So basically 3 weekends in a row I will get to eat and celebrate Thanksgiving! I am one lucky girl!
Quick note for my Whole30’ers – I made notes in the recipe to make this Whole30 compliant. You mainly just switch out the butter for ghee and omit the white wine in the basting mixture – I bet you will barely tell the difference!
Alright, I hope you guys have had a great start to your week!!
Other Recipes You Might Like
- How to Make Turkey Gravy
- Smoked Turkey
- Smoked Turkey Breast
- Roasted Turkey Breast
- How to Deep Fry a Turkey
- Spatchcock Turkey
Don’t forget to check out my Instagram account for some behind-the-scenes action! Or give me a follow on Facebook or see what I am pinning on Pinterest!
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Herb-Citrus Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours 45 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 18 servings 1x
- Category: Thanksgiving
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Herb-Citrus Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey – The foolproof method for the most delicious Thanksgiving Day turkey!
Ingredients
- 18–22 pound turkey, rinse and remove neck and giblets)
- olive oil
- 3–4 Tablespoons butter or ghee
Rub:
- 4 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 Ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
Stuffing:
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 small orange, quartered
- 5 sage leaves
- 1 bunch of rosemary
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
Baste Ingredients:
- 2/3 dry white wine (optional – don’t use if you want it to be Whole30 compliant)
- 2/3 cup butter or ghee, melted
- 2/3 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Combine Rub Ingredients in a small bowl and Baste Ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
- Place turkey in a roasting pan with roasting rack. Ensure it is fully thawed and pat dry with clean paper towel.
- Rub 2 Tablespoons of seasoning inside the cavity.
- Stuff cavity with Stuffing Ingredients, above.
- Rub turkey all over with olive oil.
- Take the 3-4 Tablespoons of softened ghee or butter and rub all over turkey (under skin too, if desired).
- Then take the remaining Dry Rub and rub all over turkey.
- Loosely tent with foil.
- Roast 14-16 minutes per pound, or until thermometer reads 165 degrees in thigh.
- Baste every half hour with pan juice and Baste Ingredients.
- Remove foil for last 30 minutes to brown turkey.
- Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes.
- Carve and serve.
Notes
- No Roasting Rack: you can always make a “rack” out of whole carrots and cut of onions.
- Fully Thawed: Ensure your turkey is fully thawed or it will result in a longer cooking time.
Georige | The Home Cook's Kitchen says
wow! this looks fantastic Erin! love the colour of the photos too! so festive! hope you enjoyed the champagne afterwards 😉
Erin says
Thank you so much, Georgie!!! …. and you know I did ??