Description
This orange herb turkey is juicy with perfectly crisp skin! It’s baked using the cheesecloth method which is about to be your new favorite way to roast a turkey.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the herb butter
- 1/2 cup ghee (or butter)
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped sage
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- Juice of one orange
- Zest of half an orange
For the turkey
- 1 whole turkey (I used a 13 lb turkey for this recipe)
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1 shallot
- 3–4 cloves garlic
- 3–4 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup ghee, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and set out a roasting pan with a roasting rack.
- Make the herb butter by combining the herbs with the softened butter or ghee. Add the orange juice, zest, salt, pepper, and garlic and stir until smooth and fully combined.
- Add the turkey to a roasting rack, breast side up, and carefully separate the skin from the breast with your fingers. Add some of the herb butter under the skin and evenly spread. Rub the remainder of the herb butter over the turkey.
- Stuff the turkey with onion, garlic, shallot, lemon, and herbs. Tie the legs together with the butcher’s twine.
- To prep the cheesecloth, melt 1/2 cup of ghee (or butter) in a small saucepan. Add the cheesecloth and carefully toss with tongs to totally saturate the cheesecloth.
- Drape the cheesecloth over the turkey so it is fully covering the turkey. Pour the chicken broth into the base of the roasting pan.
- Transfer the turkey to the oven and baste every 20-30 minutes. The formula for roasting turkey at 350 F is 13 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey and 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey. If using a 13 lb turkey, you’ll roast the turkey for about 3 hours. The turkey is done when the thermometer reads 165 F when inserted in the center of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh.
- Allow the turkey to rest for 15-20 minutes before removing the cheesecloth. Carve the turkey and serve!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 390
- Fat: 14.4g
- Carbohydrates: 6.9g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 57.5g
Keywords: cheesecloth turkey