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Herb Roasted Turkey
Honestly, I don't know why I don't cook turkey more often. This recipe is practically fool-proof and it creates such an amazingly tasty bird there's really no reason to wait until Thanksgiving to make it. Its usually just me and my daughter, so I rarely cook a whole bird. I usually just get a nice breast which is enough for a meal and a couple of "gotta have" leftover turkey sandwiches, and, guess what, its just as great on chicken and pork chops!
Ingredients
This is for a whole turkey, but you can make the same amount and use half on a small turkey and refrigerate the rest for chicken or pork chops later in the week.
1 whole bone in turkey, 6.5 - 7 pounds
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 tsp dry mustard (I never have dry mustard on hand so I always substitute with regular mustard and its fine. You could use dijon, too)
1 Tbs fresh rosemary leaves chopped (but dried is fine, too)
1 Tbs fresh sage leaves chopped (but dried is fine, too)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves chopped (but dired is fine, too)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 cup dry white wine or sherry
Preparation
Preheat the overn to 325 degrees farenheit. Remove the neck and gizzards from the turkey, rinse, and place it skin side up on a rack in a roasting pan. If you don't have one, use a cooling rack on a cookie sheet. You just want to keep the turky from sitting in the juice in the bottom of the pan.
In a small bowl combine the ingredients abopve except for the wine. Put on some latex or rubber gloves, and gently loosen the skin from the meat of the turkey by sliding your hand in between. Smear half of the paste direclty on the meat, and the other half on the outside of the skin. Pour the wine into the bottom of the pan.
Place the turkey in the oven. If you're using a whole turkey that is 6-7 pounds, it should roast for about 1.75 - 2 hours. Typically, you will cook a turkey at 15 - 17 minutes per pound at 325 for an unstuffed turkey. At about the halfway mark, you should pull it out of the oven and baste it with the juices in the bottom of the pan. If you don't have a baster, just use a large serving spoon and spoon the liquid over the top of the turkey. If the skin is getting too brown, place a sheet of aluminum foil over it.
Once the turkey registers at an internal temperature of 165 degrees, pull it out of the oven and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. Doing so will allow the juices to reabsorb back into the meat for a juicier turkey. Then, slice and serve with your favorite sides.