A Simply Perfect Roast Turkey
Description
This simply perfect roast turkey recipe is all you need for the holidays — it's seasoned with just salt and pepper and basted with rich turkey stock.
Ingredients
•
1 (18 pound) whole turkey
•
8 cups prepared stuffing
•
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
•
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
•
1 1/2 quarts turkey stock, divided
Directions
1
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place a rack in the lowest position of the oven.
2
Remove turkey neck and giblets; pat dry with paper towels. Place breast-side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan.
3
Loosely fill cavity with stuffing. Rub skin with butter; season with salt and pepper.
4
Pour 2 cups of turkey stock into the roasting pan.
5
Loosely tent turkey with aluminum foil; roast for 2 ½ hours, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes. When drippings evaporate, add remaining stock to the pan, 1 to 2 cups at a time.
6
Remove foil and continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 1 ½ hours more.
7
Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes before carving.