Perfect Roast Turkey

Show: Barefoot ContessaEpisode: Thanksgiving

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (19)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(19)

Cook Time:
2 hr 30 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
8 servings

Times:

Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: 20 min
Cook: 2 hr 30 min
Total:: 3 hr 10 min

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Ingredients

1 (12 pound) fresh turkey
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
1 lemon, halved
3 Spanish onions
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup good olive oil
8 carrots, peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks
10 red new potatoes, quartered
3 heads fennel, fronds removed, and cut in wedges through the core

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, lemon, 1 onion, quartered, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey. Peel and slice the remaining onions, toss them with olive oil, and scatter them around the turkey.

Roast the turkey for 1 hour. Toss the carrots, potatoes, and fennel with the olive oil and add to the roasting pan. Return the pan to the oven and continue to roast for about 1 1/2 hours more, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with foil for 20 minutes. Stir the vegetables and return the pan to the oven. Continue to cook the vegetables while the turkey rests. Slice the turkey and serve on a platter with the roasted vegetables.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Perfect Roast Turkey
madeline ridgefield, CT 11-21-2009
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perfect roast turkey
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

This recipe sounds great ; however, how does one gauge the time for a larger bird . the timing always trips me up because we... always have guests that are on a plane schedule. From other comments, I see that some viewers increased the time by 45 minutes. That's alot. Why doesn't anyone use the convection/conventional mode to cook the whole bird. I usually make turkey breast that way and it's moist and quick . Can't get the timing for the whole bird. Please help madeline, ridgefield, ctRead more
recipe Perfect Roast Turkey
Anonymous 06-24-2008
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Best Turkey of My Life
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I will say this, I am 23 yrs old with a large family filled with great cooks. Last thanksgiving I decided to make a second... turkey as back up to my aunt's. The turkey came out to be so moist and favor filled, that everyone agreed that from now on I will be in charge of Thanksgiving day turkeys. It was so good, my aunt didn't even care my turkey upstaged hers!Read more
recipe Perfect Roast Turkey
Jill Harrisonburg, VA 05-02-2008
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So easy
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was my first year to cook Thanksgiving and thanks to Ina, it turned out beautifully. My grandmother-in-law actually... took a picture of it because it was so gorgeous. People actually ate the roasted onions too. Excellent recipe, and foolproof!Read more
recipe Perfect Roast Turkey
Lynn Chester, MD 12-21-2007
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Extremely flavorful turkey
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Excellent! Even without the root vegetables added during last hour.
recipe Perfect Roast Turkey
Malisa Riverdale, GA 11-25-2007
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perfect roast turkey
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

To give you an idea, I am asian therefore I don't cook turkey often or at all. This year was my first year cooking it and it... was great!!!Except you feel guilty because of all the fat you see in the pan from the butter and turkey. I also did the butter under the skin and my meat was real moist.Read more
recipe Perfect Roast Turkey
NAYRINE ANAHEIM, CA 11-23-2007
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PERFECT TURKEY
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

THIS WAS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT THANKSGIVING DINNER AND IT WAS A HIT. GREAT RECIPE, VERY FLAVORFUL. ALTHOUGH DID CHANGE IT A... BIT. MADE HERB BUTTER, WHICH I'D SEEN ON ONE OF HER OTHER SHOWS, PUT IT UNDER THE SKIN AS WELL.Read more