Easy Oven Roasted Citrus Turkey
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5.0
6 reviews
Excellent
Easy Oven Roasted Citrus Turkey
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🍋🍊🦃 This EASY turkey recipe makes the JUICIEST and most FLAVORFUL roast turkey that everyone loves! The cavity is stuffed with aromatics including a lemon, an orange, fresh herbs, and the skin is coated in a citrus herb butter so it's moist AND bursting with FLAVOR! This is a SIMPLE recipe that uses basic ingredients to create a PERFECT Thanksgiving or holiday turkey that your family and friends will rave about for years to come!
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Ingredients
Turkey
- 10 to 12 pound whole turkey thawed from frozen or a fresh turkey (read the blog post for thawing tips, start 3-5 days prior to Thanksgiving in your fridge)
- 1 whole white onion peeled and quartered
- 1 medium lemon quartered (zest it for the butter below before you quarter it)
- 1 medium orange quartered (zest it for the butter below before you quarter it)
- 2 Fresh rosemary sprigs
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 sprigs fresh sage
- 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 2 cups water or chicken broth
Herb Butter
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- Zest of 1 medium lemon
- zest of 1 medium orange
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped (or about 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or about 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped (or about 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)
- 4 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- Garnishing
- Extra fresh herb sprigs (or lemon/orange slices, cranberries, etc; optional and as desired for garnishing)
Instructions
- Thawing - Read the blog post for more complete info about thawing a turkey from frozen, but the general rule of thumb in the refrigerator is 24 hours for each 5 pounds of turkey. Meaning a 10-pound turkey = 48 hours and a 15-pound turkey = 72 hours. I like to also add ~24 hours of cushion time in case things are going a bit slower than anticipated. Meaning, no later than Monday morning of Thanksgiving week I have my frozen turkey in my fridge, with a drip pan underneath it to catch the turkey water that's coming out as it thaws.
- Turkey - Preheat your oven to 350F and place the turkey on a large roasting pan (with a rack is preferrable) with the breast side up. Pat the turkey skin with paper towels to dry. Remove the neck and giblets from the inside of the cavity.
- Place the quartered onion, lemon, orange and fresh herb sprigs inside of the cavity of the turkey and season the outside of the turkey with salt and pepper.
- Herb Butter - To a small bowl, add the softened butter, lemon zest, orange zest chopped herbs, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and stir to combine. Tip - This is much easier with softened butter so make sure to set it out at least 30-45 minutes beforehand.
- Using clean hands (wear kitchen gloves if you'd like), rub the butter mixture both underneath the turkey skin and all over the outside of the turkey evenly. Tip - Use caution when lifting up the turkey skin to rub butter underneath it so you don't rip the skin. The butter does not have to coat or reach every single inch but the more you can spread it, the better.
- Tressing - Using cooking string or twine, tie the turkey legs together; called tressing or to tress the turkey. Alternatively, use a piece of the turkey skin pulled over the legs to hold together if you don't have twine.
- Roasting - Pour the water or broth into the bottom of your roasting pan. Roast the turkey uncovered for 13 minutes per pound, basting occasionally with the pan juices if desired. Roast until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the turkey meat is 160 to 165F.
- Resting - Remove the roasting pan from the oven and place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the turkey to seal in the heat, during which time the internal temp will come up to 165F (the safe temp to eat dark meat) to 170F. juices. Allow the turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.
- Carving and Garnishing - Discard the herbs in the turkey cavity. Slice the turkey and serve warm, or garnish on a serving platter with additional herbs and citrus slices, and enjoy!
Equipments used:
Notes
- Gravy - If you want to make gravy with the pan juices, go for it. My Easy 15-Minute Perfect Gravy recipe is my go to. You can make the gravy while the turkey is resting.
- Storage - Leftover turkey will keep airtight for up to 5 days in the fridge and for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Leftover Turkey Recipes - Please see the recipes directly below this recipe card section for a variety of ways and recipes to use leftover turkey.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Serving
1serving
Calories
694kcal
(35%)
Carbohydrates
6g
(2%)
Protein
88g
(176%)
Fat
34g
(52%)
Saturated Fat
13g
(65%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
6g
Monounsaturated Fat
10g
Trans Fat
1g
Cholesterol
320mg
(107%)
Sodium
1329mg
(55%)
Potassium
1004mg
(29%)
Fiber
2g
(8%)
Sugar
3g
(6%)
Vitamin A
693IU
(14%)
Vitamin C
19mg
(21%)
Calcium
81mg
(8%)
Iron
4mg
(22%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 694 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1serving | |
| Calories | 694kcal | 35% |
| Carbohydrates | 6g | 2% |
| Protein | 88g | 176% |
| Fat | 34g | 52% |
| Saturated Fat | 13g | 65% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 6g | 35% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 10g | 50% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 320mg | 107% |
| Sodium | 1329mg | 55% |
| Potassium | 1004mg | 21% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 3g | 6% |
| Vitamin A | 693IU | 14% |
| Vitamin C | 19mg | 21% |
| Calcium | 81mg | 8% |
| Iron | 4mg | 22% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
6 reviews
Excellent
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