1 apple, quartered. It doesn’t matter what kind as it is going to cook inside the turkey and you will not eat it
3/4 oz fresh rosemary
3/4 oz fresh sage
3/4 oz fresh thyme
Herb Butter
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
6 – 8 cloves of garlic, minced
herbs
Directions
If the turkey is frozen, thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours for each 5 pounds of turkey. Ensure that your fridge is between 40 and 32 degrees F.
Take the turkey out of the fridge 1 hour before putting it into the oven to let it come to room temperature. You can factor in the time to prep it.
Preheat oven to 325 F and adjust your oven rack so that the turkey will sit in the center of the oven.
Chop all of the fresh herbs but keep them separated
To make the herb butter, combine the softened butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, one tablespoon chopped rosemary, one tablespoon chopped thyme, and 1/2 tablespoon chopped sage.
Remove the turkey from the packaging and remove the giblets and neck from the cavity. I usually put the neck in the cavity when cooking it. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
Season the cavity with salt and pepper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the onion, orange, and apple and remaining chopped herbs and then stuff the cavity with this mixture and the neck. Use one or two trussing needles to close the cavity. Pull the skin together and then poke the needle through both sides of the skin. Then turn the needle and poke it through the skin going back the other direction, as if you were going to sew it closed, but leave the needle passing through both sides.
Loosen the skin above the breasts and spread a couple of tablespoons of butter between the skin that the breast meat.
Place the turkey in the roasting pan and tuck the wings under the bird or tie them to the bird with kitchen twine.
Use a silicone rubber band to bind the legs together over the now closed cavity so that the legs are held close to the body. If necessary use kitchen twine to ensure that the legs and wings are held close so that they do not over cook. You want what is essentially a single blob of turkey without any bits sticking out.
Spread or brush the herb butter over the outside if the turkey to include the legs and wings
Roast at 325 F for about 12 – 15 minutes per pound, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. Start cooking the turkey covered or tented in foil. Then remove for the last hour or so so that it browns.
Check the turkey half way through the estimated cooking time and then other times as you get closer. Realize that the internal temperature does not rise in a linear fashion, but it more of a gradual exponential curve. It will take less time for it to rise 10 degrees towards the end of cooking than towards the beginning or middle. When testing the turkey with a thermometer check in the deepest part of the breast, and in the thigh between the body, ensuring not to hit a bone.
Once at 160 degrees F, remove the turkey from the oven. Transfer it from the baking pan to a suitably sized cutting board and cover it with tinfoil and then a few layers of kitchen towels. This is the final cooking stage. The meat will continue to cook and cool slowly and as a result maintain its juices and moisture. Save the drippings in the pan to make gravy
Let it sit for about 45 minutes and then carve it.