This recipe was developed in partnership with Butterball Canada.
It’s the most beautiful time of year, which means it’s time to start thinking about what you’re going to serve at your holiday feasts!
We always have a ton of people around the table at our house, and I love that. I want our place to be where people feel welcome and comfortable, where they congregate, and where they celebrate. When we get together to eat during the holidays, turkey is always on the menu. Not optional.
For this Christmas’ dinner, I’m making my Herb Roasted Turkey with Pan Gravy, and the turkey will be a Butterball. Butterball’s turkeys are always high-quality and easy to prepare, so if you’re someone who’s not exactly comfortable cooking a huge turkey, don’t even worry about it. Butterball has you covered with its turkey calculator, which tells you what size bird to buy for your guests, how long to cook it for and towhat internal temperature.
The calculator guided me to get a 30lb turkey for my size party. Maybe it’s time to uninvite some people, OMG!
Don’t forget about Butterball’s famous Turkey Talk Line at 1-800-Butterball, which is there to answer all your last minute turkey doubts.
2019 Talk-Line hours (EST):
o November 29 – December 23 (weekdays): 9AM-7PM
o December 21 – December 22 (weekend): 9AM-3PM
o December 24: 9AM-3PM
Anyhow, when I was developing this recipe, I had a few taste testers. Of course, there was my family, but my neighbour and her daughter also had some, as well as my mom.
My mom came by unexpectedly (hmmm I’m sure…she knew I was doing a recipe and turkey is her favorite) and started eating the turkey after I had taken the photos you see in this post.
Now, my mom is the queen of turkey, having cooked many of them in last 77 years. But when she tried this recipe, I heard her call out from the kitchen, ‘tell the people at Butterball their turkey is delicious!!’ Ha ha ha! Oh, mom.
I’d like to think that my recipe would take some of the credit, but she’s right. The turkey was scrumptious. She and my family devoured it, and when my neighbour texted me and asked for more, there wasn’t any!
Butterball turkeys are failproof, and so is this recipe!
Happy Holidays!
This is the only turkey recipe you'll ever need, for holidays and anytime!
- 1 15 lb Butterball unstuffed turkey fresh or thawed
- 3 onions chopped
- 3-4 carrots scrubbed and halved or quartered
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- Salt and pepper
- Drippings from the turkey
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 cup water
Make the turkey:
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Preheat oven to 325° F/165°C.
Remove fresh turkey from bag.
Remove neck from body cavity and giblets from neck cavity.
Drain juices from cavity and blot with paper towels.
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In a small bowl, mash the butter with the fresh herbs.
Place the carrots and onions in the bottom of a shallow roasting pan. Lay the turkey breast side up on them.
Rub the turkey all over with the herb butter, including inside the cavity. If your turkey is cold, this is going to be challenging, because the butter will stiffen as it will come in contact with the skin. Don’t worry, just do your best.
Sprinkle salt and pepper all over.
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Cook the turkey at 350° F until meat thermometer reads 180°F/82°C in the thigh.
Make the gravy:
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Remove the turkey and carrots from the roasting pan and set on a carving board to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Leave the onions in the pan for the gravy.
Place the roasting pan on top of the stove at medium heat.
Deglaze pan drippings by adding the broth and wine, and simmering, whisking and scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
Dissolve the flour in the water and slowly add to the pan, bringing up the heat and whisking until the gravy boils and starts to thicken.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with the turkey.
Show me how you’ve made your Butterball turkey this holiday season! Share your holiday dinner photos on Instagram with the hashtag #ButterballEasy, and tag @butterball_ca.
For more turkey recipes, go to www.butterball.ca.