- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 5 hr 10 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Inactive: 20 min
- Cook: 4 hr 30 min
- Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
1/4 cup dried sage
1/2 cup seafood seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
1/4 cup ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 (14 to 16 pound) fresh turkey
1 bunch fresh sage
1 bunch fresh parsley
Celery leaves, from 1 bunch celery
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Let the turkey sit at room temperature while the oven is heating.
- When you are ready to cook, make the rub. Combine the dried sage, seafood seasoning, pepper, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil using just enough to make the rub the consistency of wet mud. Massage the rub all over the turkey. Stuff the fresh herbs into the cavity. Using butcher's twine, truss the turkey: tie the legs together and make sure the wings are held tight against the turkey's body. If you are using a rotisserie, put the turkey onto the spit. Otherwise, place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan and put it into the oven. Mix together the lemon juice and olive oil and baste the bird every 20 minutes. Bake the turkey for approximately 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature taken at the thickest part of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F and the thickest part of the breast reaches 160 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving; the temperature will raise 5 degrees while the turkey rests. If you do not have a meat thermometer, the juices should run clear when the turkey is poked in a few places [between the leg and thigh] with a fork.
