7 Days of Thanksgiving Recipes - Herb-Roasted Turkey

Ok, so it's pretty hard to screw up a turkey, right?  I mean, isn't it 20+ pounds of poultry bliss no matter which way you cook it?  The answer is probably yes, but I choose this recipe from BHG just because the presentation looked amazing.  I guess I do judge books by their cover, but luckily it worked out for me this time.  The turkey was moist and delicious.  I only have three "lessons learned":

1. Thaw the turkey out more than 24 hours in advance when you buy a 23lb turkey so that you don't have to wait to cook it.
2. Use an apple (not an orange like I did--the Rhine has a weird flavor) to "cork" the butt of the turkey where you put the stuffing.  
3. I know you aren't suppose to stuff the bird with stuffing, but seriously, how good is stuffing from the bird?  Like anyone is counting calories at that point.  Reserve the fat-saving ideas for another day, but on Thanksgiving, just enjoy the damn stuffing from the bird!

Herb-Roasted Turkey 

Ingredients:

1 Whole fresh free-range turkey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
15 fresh sage leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 onions, quartered
1 apple, quartered
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups unfiltered apple juice


Instructions:

1. Rinse the turkey inside and out; remove giblets and neck from body and neck cavities.

2. Loosen skin of turkey breast. Place 2 Tbsp. butter and 4 sage leaves under the skin of each breast. Season turkey cavity and skin with salt and pepper. Place 2 rosemary sprigs, 1 onion, half the apple, and 4 sage leaves in breast cavity. Pour wine and apple juice in roasting pan; add remaining onion, apple, sage, and rosemary. Place turkey breast-side down in pan. Cover; refrigerated overnight.

3.  Remove turkey from refrigerator; let stand 1 hour at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

4. STUFF THE BIRD and then pull the skin over the cavity and seal shut with an apple.  

5. Skewer neck skin to back. Tuck drumsticks to tail using kitchen string. Tuck wing tips under the back.

6. Roast turkey, covered until it "pops," basting the juices frequently. Uncover the turkey for the last 10-30 minutes before it pops (check out this timetable for cooking and thawing instructions).

7. Remove turkey from oven; spoon pan drippings on roasted turkey. Transfer turkey to a cutting board (reserve pan drippings for making Gravy). Let turkey stand for 30 to 40 minutes before carving (temperature of turkey will continue to rise 5 to 10 degrees), and the meat will firm up for slicing.