Recipes : Perfect Roast Turkey : Food Network

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Perfect Roast Turkey
, 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, All rights reserved

Ingredients
1 (12 pound) fresh turkey
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
1 lemon, halved
1 Spanish onion, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
4 tablespoons unsalted (1/2 stick) melted butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and
leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally
salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, lemon, onion,

quartered, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter and sprinkle with salt
and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.
Roast the turkey for 2 1/2 hours, basting from time to time with pan juices, until the juices run
clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover
with foil; let it rest for 20 minutes. Slice the turkey and serve hot.