Adapted from recipe by Ina Garten
Prep time: 1 hr 50 min
Cook: 45 min and based on weight
With nearly 100 basic preparations for roast turkey available online (and thousands more probably in recipe books and family histories), we were hard-pressed to come up with one singular recipe. We settled on the go-to recipe for mother of Saratoga Farmers’ Market director Julia Howard, the Accidental Turkey Recipe by Ina Garten:
Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced*
• Grated zest of one lemon
• 1 fresh turkey (12-14 pounds)*
• 1 large yellow onion, unpeeled and cut into eighths*
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 10 sprigs thyme*
• ½ stick unsalted butter, melted
• Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Two or three days before you plan to roast the turkey, combine salt, rosemary and lemon zest.
2. Wash turkey inside and out. Drain well and pat dry.
3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt mixture into turkey’s cavity and rub the rest on the skin, including under the wings and legs.
4. Place turkey in a shallow dish to catch drips and wrap the whole dish tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate.
5. The day before you plan to roast the turkey, remove plastic wrap and leave turkey in fridge, uncovered, so skin can dry out.
6. On the day of roasting, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
7. Place onions, lemon and thyme in cavity. Using kitchen string, tie together legs and tie wings close to body. Brush turkey with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
8. Roast turkey for 45 minutes after placing in oven, legs first
9. Brush turkey with fat. After doing so, return turkey to pan.
10. Then, lower temperature to 325 degrees F. Roast for another hour or so, until it is 160 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh area.
11. Remove from oven, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
12. Carve and serve with pan juices.
