pioneer woman turkey

It seems I try a new turkey recipe every year

This year I adapted one from the Pioneer Woman

{minus the brining}

{photo credit: Pioneer Woman}

Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey

Ingredients

1 15 pound whole Turkey
1/2 cup (1 Stick) Butter, Softened
1 whole Orange zested
1 tsp Rosemary
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 275.

Pat the turkey dry and place it on a roasting rack, breast side up. Place the peeled orange in the cavity. Cross the legs and tie them together with kitchen twine. Pour a cup of water in the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover the whole pan with heavy aluminum foil, tucking it underneath the pan.  Roast for the first stage for about 10 minutes per pound (so, for a 15 pound turkey, about 2 1/2 hours)

Using a zester or vegetable peeler, shave off thin slices of orange peel and dice them very thin. Combine with butter, rosemary, salt and pepper.

After the first stage of cooking, remove the turkey from the oven and remove the foil (turkey will still be pale.) Smear the butter mixture all over the skin, in crevices, etc so that it's totally covered.

Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh, increase the oven temperature to 350, and return the turkey to the oven, basting every 30 minutes. Continue roasting the turkey until the thermometer reads 165 to 168, then remove the turkey from the oven.

Cover loosely with clean aluminum foil until you're ready to carve.

(Save the beautiful juices from the pan to make gravy)