Calling all lemon lovers!!! This lemon herb roast turkey is for you! Infused with tangy lemon butter inside and rubbed with mixture of lemon pepper, garlic & herb seasonings and lemon zest, this roast turkey will surprise your taste buds (in a pleasant way!) this Thanksgiving.
My goodness, Thanksgiving snuck up on me this year! I was planning to share this recipe with you next week, but then I realized Thanksgiving is next week!!! Whaat?!
This whole year went by in a blink of an eye. I shared on Instagram stories yesterday that I still have last year’s Thanksgiving greeting up in my kitchen with our announcement of our pregnancy.
Anyway, this year has been a blur, but full of amazing events! And I apologize for bringing you this amazing turkey recipe a little late. If you already chose your turkey recipe for Thanksgiving, hope you’ll give it a try for Christmas. 😉
Because this deliciously tangy juicy lemon herb turkey is worth a try!
My last year’s juicy no-brine roast turkey with champagne was a huge hit with many of you! And that tells me 2 things: 1. you love a good tang, and 2. you’re happy to skip the brining!
Who needs brining the turkey, when you can infuse the meat with butter! And in today’s case, it’s lemon juice + butter!!!
Juicy turkey guaranteed, and plus more fabulous flavor! Grab your marinade injector now and let’s get to work.
Yeah, I can’t say enough good things about this turkey! Love the zesty bright lemon flavors in every bite, along with aromatic herbs infused throughout the juicy meat.
If you love lemon, I know you’ll love this turkey as well.
Lemon Herb Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 turkey Note 1
- 2 large lemons
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon salt-free lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt-free garlic and herb seasoning
- 2 cups chicken stock
Instructions
- Begin to thaw the turkey in the refrigerator 2-3 days before roasting.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Pull the neck and giblets out of the cavity. Wash and dry the turkey with paper towels. Carefully run your hand under the breast skin to create a pocket.
- Cut one lemon into quarters and put it in the cavity.
- Zest and juice the second lemon. (You should have about 4-5 tablespoons of lemon juice.)
- In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, salt and seasonings.
- Smear the oil and seasoning mixture evenly all over the turkey and under the breast skin.
- Place the turkey, breast side up, on a V rack in a large roasting pan.
- If desired, tie the legs of the bird with twine. (I prefer this method over whole trussing, because it’s easier. But mine usually comes with already tied legs.)
- In a small bowl, combine melted butter and remaining 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Using a marinade injector, slowly inject each thigh and breast halves with about 1.5 tablespoons of melted butter/lemon juice mixture.
- Place the chicken neck and giblets in the bottom of roasting pan and pour in chicken stock.
- Roast the turkey until it’s golden brown, about 3.5 hours for 14lbs turkey, basting it every hour using a turkey baster. (Check on turkey after 2 hours. If skin isn’t browning fast enough, increase oven temperature by 50°F/10°C. If the skin is browning too much, cover with a foil.)
- The turkey is cooked, when the deepest part of breast and legs registers 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove the turkey from oven, cover with foil and let rest at least 30 minutes before carving.
- Reserve pan juices to make gravy. I got about 3 cups of liquid and used the whole thing for gravy without additional chicken stock.
Tips & Notes:
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