whole turkey sliced on a cutting board

No-Nonsense Orange & Sage Roasted Turkey

Ready in 1 hr

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 30 mins

:

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Servings

Servings 8

Ingredients  

Orange and Sage Citrus Butter

  • 8 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh sage finely chopped
  • 1 shallot finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp orange zest
  • ¼ cup orange juice or juice from half an orange
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • freshly cracked black pepper  

For the Roast Turkey

  • 1 whole turkey about 12 lbs
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 onion halved
  • 1 orange halved
  • ¼ cup fresh sage
  • 1 head garlic about 8 cloves, broken apart
  • 2 cups turkey stock
  • 2 stalks celery roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots roughly chopped
  • turkey neck if included, for flavor in pan juices or gravy

Instructions

For the Orange and Sage Citrus Butter

  • Preheat oven to 325°F
  • In a medium sized bowl combine butter, garlic, shallot, sage, orange zest, juice, salt and pepper. Mix well.

For the Roast Turkey

  • Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Using your fingers or a spoon, carefully create a pocket under the skin of the breasts starting at the cavity side of the turkey. Fill the two pockets with the butter. Try as best you can to spread the butter out evenly over top of the breast meat. I find all this easiest to do inside the roasting pan.
  • Any remaining butter on hands or in bowl can be used to massage all over the outside of the turkey. Season the outside with salt and pepper.
  • Salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity and stuff with onion, orange, sage, and garlic cloves. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
  • Add broth, celery, carrots, and turkey neck (if using) to bottom on roasting pan.
  • Transfer to oven and roast until internal temperature is 170°F. Make sure to baste turkey with pan juices 3-4 times during roasting time. You may need to add more broth or water if bottom of pan looks dry.
  • Rest turkey for 20 minutes before carving and strain out all pan juices for gravy.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories: 445kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 61gFat: 18gSodium: 1087mg

Credit:

Christine Tizzard (@zerowastekitchen)