Cup of Yum
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Position your oven rack in the bottom third of your oven.
2. Prepare your roasting pan and rack. Spray the rack with cooking spray to help the turkey not stick to it. If you are not using a rack just spray the inside of your pan but I highly recommend using a rack underneath your turkey for the best results.
3. Rinse thawed turkey inside and out with water. If you see some turkey feathers pull them out! Use paper towels to pat the entire turkey dry. Coat the inside of the large and smaller cavity with sprinkles of salt and pepper and rub it in. Place in a roasting dish or shallow baking dish. Tie the legs together with butcher twine (optional) and tuck the wings underneath the bird for roasting.
4. In the large empty bird cavity, place in the celery sticks with leaves, garlic cloves and quartered onion. Sometimes I add a few sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary, parsley or sage into the large or small cavity and cover the opening with the extra turkey skin. If you are using dried spices add a tablespoon or so of your favorite. Use a metal skewer to close it up completely.
5. In a small bowl, mix the butter, garlic powder and dried rosemary together. Mix until well combined.
6. Rub the herbed butter evenly over the turkey skin. You can use olive oil instead of butter to coat your turkey but I prefer using butter. Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for roughly 15 minutes per pound or until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
8. Baste outside of turkey every 45 minutes using a brush with juices from the pan. Basting is not required but it helps make the skin crispier.
9. When your turkey close to done, check the turkey's temperature in a few places where the meat is thickest. The meat should be at least 160 degrees in all places you check before you remove it from the oven. If not cook another 20 minutes and check again. If you don't have a meat thermometer pierce the breast with a knife. Our bird was done roughly around 2 hours. If your bird is browning too fast, please tent with a piece of foil.
10. Once the turkey is cooked and you remove it from your oven, place it on a large, suitably sized cutting board and loosely cover or tent it with foil. Let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. Make sure the turkey is breast side up before you carve it. Carving a turkey is just like carving a big chicken. Remove the wings first, then thighs, legs and breast meat. Slice, starting from the top of the turkey downwards, on an angle, through the breast. Keep slicing until you get to the bones. This will get a bit messy.
11. Serve with our favorite turkey gravy recipe. The drippings in the pan, left behind after you remove the turkey, is perfect to make homemade gravy! Make the gravy while the turkey is resting, covered in tinfoil, on your cutting board.

Homemade Turkey Gravy

Cup of Yum
1. Remove drippings from the bottom of your turkey roasting plan. Let it rest for 10 minutes to allow the fat to rise to the top. Using a spoon, gently spoon off the fat from the top.
2. In a medium saucepan, add the butter. Stir until melted. Add the flour to the melted butter. Stir constantly to make a roux. Cook for about 1 minute until lightly brown, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the turkey drippings and broth to the roux. Turn the temperature to high and bring to a boil.
4. Once the gravy reaches a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until thickened. Serve warm.
5. Serve your turkey with mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and any other side dish you desire!