Oven-Roasted Turkey

It's kind of extra-season for this turkey recipe, but you should know that I didn't rush to post it just for the sake of it. I kept trying other turkey recipes which weren't very good until I got a delicious and spectacular result. This is the only way I will cook the turkey whole in the oven from now on. It's worth all the effort and it's very impressive at festive meals. All you need is a beautiful turkey and good time management - with the marinating, the baking, the resting, the process takes up to over 8 hours, but with minimal effort on your part. I will explain all the details in the steps, the video recipe will help you with certain aspects that might not appear clearly in the pictures. 

And a remark about this roasted turkey recipe - besides the fact that it's delicious, beautiful, eye-catching etc., you do get plenty of meat. We are 4 members in the family and we ate the turkey in 5 days, with various garnishes!

Ingredients
Whole turkey
6 kg
I had a 5-6kg turkey
Butter
100 g
cold, from the fridge
Salt
1 tbsp
Onions
2 pieces
Garlic
7 pieces
Oranges
1 piece
Laurel leaves
2 pieces
Cloves
5 pieces
White dry wine
100 ml
Carrots
1 piece
Celery root
0.5 pieces
Cinnamon powder
1 tsp
Rosemary
1 tsp
Paprika
1 tsp
Garlic powder
1 tsp
Thyme
1 tsp
I had fresh green thyme
Step by step
Step 1

Make sure, of course, you properly clean and wash the turkey. I recommend cutting off the tips of the wings, I bought it without.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 1
Step 2

In a bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of salt with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, rosemary, paprika, garlic powder and thyme.

These spices are optional. I really liked how they matched with the turkey, next time I won't change anything.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 2
Step 3

With this spice mix, grease and rub the turkey well on the inside and the outside, without mercy.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 3
Step 4

I recommend keeping in the fridge for 2-3 hours to marinate or, even better, overnight.

Ideally, you should organize your time in such a way to marinate the turkey in the evening and cook it the next morning.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 4
Step 5

In the morning, before roasting, prepare the ingredients you see in the picture - 1 onion, 1 large garlic head, 1 orange, 5 whole cloves and 2 bay leaves. Wash the onion, orange and garlic with the peel on.

Also, peel 1 carrot, celery and 1 onion.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 5
Step 6

Stick the cloves in the orange or in the onion to prevent them from getting lost inside the turkey. This way, you won't have to look for them in the food :)

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 6
Step 7

Cut the onion and the garlic head into halves.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 7
Step 8

Cut the orange into quarters, but make sure that the cloves won't come out.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 8
Step 9

Cut the cold butter into 6 uniform pieces and keep it in the fridge for the time being.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 9
Step 10

Take a large oven sheet and place in it 1 carrot, 1 onion and celery, cut into larger pieces.

Pour over 100ml of white wine.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 10
Step 11

Arrange the turkey in the middle of the sheet, over the vegetables and the wine.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 11
Step 12

Slip the 6 pieces of butter under the turkey breast, arrange evenly.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 12
Step 13

In the belly, place the orange, the cloves and the rest of the ingredients - garlic, onion, bay leaf.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 13
Step 14

I recommend tying the legs with kitchen twine, so the turkey doesn't lose its shape when baking.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 14
Step 15

That's about it, our turkey is all set and ready to go in the oven.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 15
Step 16

Now cover its chest with a small piece of foil.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 16
Step 17

Then wrap the whole turkey in 2 larger pieces of foil.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 17
Step 18

Place in the preheated oven at 200C and cook for 3 hours.

Usually, the cooking time is calculated according to the weight of the turkey. Add 30 minutes in the oven for each kilogram. If you have a smaller turkey, cook it according to the calculations.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 18
Step 19

After 3 hours, remove from the oven and remove the foil.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 19
Step 20

Brush the top with cooking juice from the pan and place back in the oven for another 1 hour, allowing to brown nicely.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 20
Step 21

Every 20 minutes, brush the turkey with juice and fat from the sheet, for a uniform and reddish crust.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 21
Step 22

If you did everything right, in the end, you should have a beautiful turkey such as this - well browned and very tender.

Remove from the oven, brush with juice from the pan.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 22
Step 23

Wrap again completely in foil and leave for another 2 hours at room temperature, allowing the flavours to blend.

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 23
Step 24

Then arrange it nicely on the festive table. Carefully turn the turkey out onto a large platter - if you can't do it, just put the pan with the turkey in it on the table. Use a good knife to cut into slices and arrange them on each plate.

Collect the sauce from the pan into a sauce boat and pour over the meat on the plates, I assure you it will be won-der-ful! Of course, served with any favorite garnish or salad.

Enjoy!

Oven-Roasted Turkey - Step 24
Quantity: 6 kg (a big turkey of 5-6 kg)
Prep time:
360 min
Difficulty: intermediate
Ready in: 180 min