Oven Roasted Turkey With Sage Butter - Tyler Florence

DoveChocolatierinKY's Note:

I made this last year for Thanksgiving, my very first bird...it was absolutely amazing and made me look super impressive! I am making it again this year too. My husband said I had too, LOL! I found this recipe on the Food Network in 2007. The key to my turkey last year, however, was I Brined it with Honey Brined Herb Roasted Turkey and finished it using this recipe and even made Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing as a Dressing, which goes along with this Turkey. Another Tyler Florence ULTIMATE! Note: Cooking time does not include the step of Brining it the night before if you choose to do so. Enjoy!

• Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 10-12

Yield: 1.0 Turkey

• 1 (12 -14 lb) fresh whole turkey
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil , to coat

2 Sticks SAGE BUTTER

• 1 cup butter , softened
• ¼ cup chopped sage
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and remove the top rack of the oven.
2. Rinse the bird thoroughly inside and out with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the cavity and skin liberally with salt and pepper.
3. Stuff the cavity with stuffing and, if required, truss the legs. Cover the turkey with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Push the sage butter under the skin of the turkey, being careful not to puncture the skin.
4. SAGE BUTTER: combine 2 sticks softened butter, sage and salt & pepper.
5. Put the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan, and into the oven. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F. The thigh juices will run clear when pricked with a knife, about 3 hours total (15 minutes per pound). If the legs or breast brown too quickly during roasting, cover them with foil.

Reviews

[Super-Wife]

Well I used this recipe as a starting point, and it was FABULOUS! I had never heard of brining, but highly recommend it- there are lots of recipes on this site to help you (thanks for the tip, Dove). I didn't have sage, but I made "spice butter" instead with just everything I thought would be yummy: orange pepper, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, thyme... you name it. One tip, do try to push that mixture all the way down into the legs (my turkey's breast was so juicy and wonderful, my legs were a little ho-hum). I also used a roasting bag (found on the foil aisle in the grocery store) and I covered the breast ONLY with foil. I cooked until the breast was 170 degrees and the thigh read 180 degrees. (Those temps are Butterball's recommendations.) Boy, but butter between the skin- what a concept!!! Thanks for letting me play with this one, we loved it!