It seems like a daunting task if you've never done it before, but it's really quite easy. You don't even have to get up at 3 am to stick it in the oven. I used to believe that my grandmothers got up in the middle of the night to put the turkey in to roast all day, but when I found out I didn't have to do that, all was well with the world.
What to do.... Most people buy a frozen turkey. You need to let it thaw in the refrigerator for about 3 days. Any other way could be unsafe. Once it's thawed, take it out of the covering. Remove any packaging or giblets, which are stuffed into the turkey's backside and/or neck cavity.
Rub the turkey, inside and out, with a couple of sticks of butter at room temperature. Put the turkey in a roasting pan. Put in 2-4 cups of chicken broth in the pan. Sprinkle on some fresh rosemary, thyme, and cracked pepper. If you want, put some sliced lemon and a couple of cloves of garlic in the body cavity.
Cover the turkey with an aluminum foil tent, loosely. In a 350 degree oven, place the turkey inside. The rule of thumb for cooking a turkey is 13 minutes per pound. So our 16-pound turkey should have taken about 3 1/2 hours to cook. Take the foil tent off about an hour before you take the bird out of the oven.
Every 45 minutes, baste the turkey with it's own juices.
To make sure that turkey is fully cooked through and through, we like to check its temperature in three places: the breast, the outer thigh, and the inside thigh. In every case, the meat should be at least 165°F. If any place is under that temperature, put the turkey back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Shield the breast meat with foil if needed to keep it from overcooking.
Then, lift the whole turkey and transfer it to a cutting board. Tent the turkey with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. This gives time for the meat to firm up and the juices to be re-absorbed into the muscle tissue, making the turkey easier to slice and taste juicier.
Carve and enjoy!
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