We had a great Thanksgiving with our family this year, I hope you did too! We had a lot of shenanigans going on, games, fun, laughter, crafts, puzzles and more.
Here’s Grandma and Lena snuggling after some crazy fun beadwork. Doesn’t Grandma look beautiful in her newly beaded crown. Lena says she’s a Queen.
Oh, and of course we had food for thanksgiving! Check out the recipe below to see how I roast my 20 pound turkey every year. It’s not exact measurements on anything because oven temps vary, turkey size varies and tastes vary. That’s why I love it so much! This recipe doesn’t need to be exact to be delicious!
You learned in my #MotherFunny post that I don’t have a picture of my fully roasted turkey. Okay, at least, I didn’t. After making that post I realized I probably should get one, so I quickly snapped the one up there before the family devoured it.
Trust me, my husband was behind me with the carving knife and fork anxiously waiting for me to move. I’m lucky things didn’t get ugly!
The recipe I use is inspired by techniques I learned from America’s Test Kitchen. ATK didn’t sponsor this post, I just love them so much I have to give a shout out every now and then. Seriously, I’ve learned more from ATK than any other TV show, cook book or tutorial.
This is a great Thanksgiving turkey recipe, but it’s also great for any holiday or just a day you want to have a big feast for family and friends (I never need an excuse to cook for the people I love, lol. Cooking is one of my favorite past times….I just don’t need to eat everything I make).
Sage Butter Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- approximately a 20 pound turkey, fully thawed
- 1/2 to full stick of butter, softened but not melted
- dried sage
- salt & pepper
- onion, carrot, celery rough cut for stuffing the bird (this is for flavor only, and discarded after roasting)
Instructions This looks like a lot of steps, but it’s actually really easy.
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Mix butter and sage with a fork to create a sage butter.
- Work your fingers between the skin and the breast meat of the turkey to separate them. Next, take some of the sage butter and rub it on the breast meat under the skin. Make sure to reach as much meat as possible, moving down the sides near the thighs and the wings.
- Put remaining sage butter on the skin on all sides of the bird. Get under the the legs and all over the wings. Try not to miss a spot.
- Sprinkle the bird with salt and pepper to taste (salt can dry the meat so try not to use a lot)
- Stuff bird with rough cut veggies. (don’t forget to remove the giblet pack if you haven’t already).
- You can use a V-rack or line the bottom of the roasting pan with rough cut carrots, celery and onions. Place the bird breast side down and roast at 400 degrees for an hour.
- Pull turkey out of the oven, reduce heat to 325 degrees F. This is the tricky part: using dish towels, flip the bird back to breast side up. I usually have my husband do this part.
- Baste the bird with some of the pan juices, add about a cup of water if there are none (with all the butter, there should be some juices). Return turkey to the oven and continue roasting at 325 degrees F for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours until internal temp reaches 165 degrees F.
- Let turkey rest for about 30 to 45 minutes, then enjoy!
Do you roast turkey for Thanksgiving or do you let someone else handle that task?
That turkey looks amazing! I love sage and can only image how yummy Sage Butter is!
Unfortunately, I didn’t take part in making the turkey this year, but this is a great recipe for the next time.
This looks so good! YUM!
Great tip! This year I was a guest at my cousin’s lovely home but we plan on making turkey again this winter, just so we can have an excuse for making some of those great side dishes that go along perfectly. I’ll pass this recipe along to my husband because he is the turkey cooker!
This looks so yummy!