White House Thyme Roasted Turkey Recipes

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.
• 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 bunch of thyme, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture 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 about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
• Slice the turkey and serve.

JUICY HERB-ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Chop 8 sage leaves and leaves from 2 thyme sprigs. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup oil, garlic, salt and pepper with chopped herbs. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub mixture under skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks., Cut onions into wedges and the celery, carrots and parsnips into 2-in. pieces. Place about a fifth of the onions, celery and carrots in the turkey cavity; add 4 sage sprigs and remaining 4 thyme sprigs to cavity. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly in a roasting pan. Place turkey, breast side up, over vegetables. Brush with remaining 1/4 cup oil., Bake, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 170°-175°, 3 to 3-1/2 hours. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly. Cover and let stand 20 minutes before carving. Discard vegetables. If desired, use drippings to make gravy.

THYME ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the butter, thyme, salt and pepper. Place turkey on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, breast side up. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub half of the butter mixture under the skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks. Rub outside of turkey with remaining butter mixture. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together., Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 3 to 3-3/4 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thigh reads 180°, basting occasionally with pan drippings. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly., Discard toothpicks. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before carving.

THYME-ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. On rack in large shallow roasting pan, place turkey breast, skin side up. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of breast and does not touch bone.
• Roast uncovered 30 minutes.
• In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Brush one-third of apple juice mixture over turkey.
• Roast 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes longer, brushing generously with apple juice mixture every 30 minutes, until thermometer reads at least 165°F. Cover with foil; let stand 15 minutes for easiest carving.

SHALLOT AND THYME-RUBBED ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Position oven rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350F. Place shallots, garlic and thyme sprigs in a small ovenproof baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Cover dish with foil and bake until shallots are very tender but not brown, about one hour. Uncover and cool 30 minutes.
• Place garlic, half of shallots and oil in work bowl of a food processor. Add chopped thyme, mustard, salt and pepper. Process until almost smooth. Transfer paste to a small bowl. Shallot paste can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to four days.
• Rinse turkey inside and out with cold running water and pat dry. Starting at the neck end, carefully slide your hand between the turkey's skin and breast to loosen skin. Spread a half cup of shallot paste under skin and over breast meat. Tuck wings underneath the body of the turkey and tie legs together loosely with kitchen twine or dental floss so the turkey will hold its shape. Place turkey on a small wire rack set inside a large roasting pan. Spread a half cup of shallot paste all over the outside of the turkey neck, gizzard and heart and place onion, celery and thyme sprigs in the pan around turkey.
• Bring a cup of the wine and two cups of the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Pour boiling liquid into bottom of roasting pan. Cover breast loosely with foil and place turkey in oven. Roast for one and a half hours. Add a cup of the broth and a cup of wine to the pan and roast turkey another 30 minutes. Remove foil and add a cup broth to pan.
• Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 175 degrees F, another one to one and a half hours. During roasting, cover exposed parts of turkey with foil as needed to prevent over-browning and add more broth if pan juices evaporate.
• Remove turkey from oven and transfer to a platter. Tent turkey loosely with foil and let rest 30 minutes - its internal temperature will rise another 5-10 degrees. Reserving drippings and discard neck, gizzard and heart. Place turkey on a serving platter, carve and serve with gravy.

ROSEMARY ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove papery outer skin from garlic (do not peel or separate cloves). Cut tops off of garlic bulbs. Place the garlic, onions and rosemary sprigs in a shallow roasting pan. Pat turkey dry. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together. Place breast side up over onion mixture. Pour wine into pan., Brush turkey with oil and sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 325° until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, 3-1/2 to 4 hours, basting occasionally with pan drippings. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before slicing., For gravy, strain drippings into a small bowl. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add drippings. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 2 minutes. Serve with turkey.

SAVORY TURKEY BREAST WITH HERBS AND WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place turkey breast, skin side-up, on a rack in a large, shallow roasting pan. Insert an ovenproof meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, being certain that the tip does not touch the bone.
• Roast, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, mix melted butter, wine, garlic, rosemary, basil, parsley, thyme, olive oil, salt, and paprika together in a bowl. Brush 1/2 of the mixture over the turkey and roast for 30 minutes. Brush remaining butter mixture over turkey, and roast until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour more. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove turkey from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, pour pan drippings into a 2-cup liquid measure. Skim fat from the surface, then add enough chicken broth to measure 2 cups liquid. Transfer to a small saucepan.
• Bring broth mixture to a boil. Stir cold water and cornstarch together in a small bowl; pour into the broth mixture and bring to a boil. Cook and stir until gravy thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve gravy with turkey.

SPLAYED TURKEY WITH HERBS

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, cut through the skin that connects legs to the breast on both sides of the turkey. Press down on thighs until they pop out of the sockets and the legs lie flat.
• In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper and lemon zest. Smear mixture all over turkey, including inside the cavity. Pat herb sprigs and garlic all over bird. Stuff bay leaves into cavity. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight or for up to 2 nights.
• Remove turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before you want to roast it. Remove all but the top rack from the oven. (You can remove that, too, but if you leave it in, you'll be able to roast something else at the same time as the turkey.)
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Take all the herb sprigs and garlic cloves off the surface of the turkey and stuff them into the cavity.
• Place a large, empty heavy-duty roasting pan on top of the stove, across two burners if possible. Heat up the pan for a minute or so, until the pan is quite hot. Add the oil, let it heat up for a few seconds, then add the turkey, breast side up, so the legs are parallel to the short sides of the pan and have room to flop open. Press down on the splayed legs so they touch the bottom of the pan. Let turkey sear for 5 minutes, pressing down on the legs occasionally.
• Pour enough wine into the bottom of the pan to reach a depth of 1/8 inch. Scatter onions around turkey and sprinkle them lightly with salt. Drizzle turkey and onions with a little oil.
• 7. Transfer pan to oven, setting it directly on the oven floor (not on a rack). If you have an electric oven, position the rack at the lowest possible position. Top with a pizza stone, if you have one. Place turkey in its roasting pan on the rack and cook as directed. Roast for 30 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350 degrees, give the onions a stir, and if the bottom of the pan is dry, add a splash of wine to moisten the onions. (As the turkey continues to cook, occasionally check the onions to make sure they don't dry out or they may burn, adding wine as needed.) Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (but not touching the bone) reads 165 degrees and the breast meat reaches at least 160 degrees, about another 40 to 65 minutes depending upon your oven and the pan you use. Transfer turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.