Recipe: Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey (The Pioneer Woman)

With the price of oil going through the roof the last couple of years, we decided not to deep fry a turkey.  For the last two years, my husband smoked one turkey and I baked a turkey for our Thanksgiving get-together at my sister's home.  This year, I used Ree Drummond's recipe (The Pioneer Woman).

It had wonderful flavor!  

Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey

*I highly suggest you visit the blog post on her page, watch the video and look at all the photos before following this recipe.  I think it makes the directions more clear and easier to follow.  You can find her blog post HERE.

*Set out your butter for several hours to soften before you begin the turkey.  It will be ready to prepare as soon as you get the turkey in the oven.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.

If you brined your turkey, rinse it well under cold water.  Fill the sink with fresh cold water and allow the turkey to soak for 15-20 minutes to remove any saltiness.  Pat the turkey dry and place it on a roasting rack, breast side up.

*If you don't have a roasting rack, you can place it on a bed of vegetables as an alternative.

Cross the legs and tie them together with kitchen twine.  Cover the whole pan with heavy aluminum foil, tucking it underneath the pan.  Roast for the first stage for about 10 minutes per pound.

Using a vegetable peeler, shave off the thick slices of orange peel and slice them very thin.  Combine with butter, rosemary, salt, and pepper.

*I also injected my turkey with a Cajun butter injector for flavor as well as squeezed fresh orange sections over the turkey and left them in the drippings for more flavor as the turkey baked.

After the first stage of cooking, remove the turkey from the oven and remove the foil (the 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 degrees and return 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 are ready to carve.