The Best Roast Turkey with Fresh Herbs

An Amazing recipe for roast turkey with fresh herbs a thanksgiving must-have. A juicy, tender turkey slowly roasted with fresh bright herbs straight from the garden. This recipe combines the freshest, straight from the garden herbs with the best complimentary flavors to make your turkey mouth-wateringly delectable.

The recipe that I’m sharing today is one in a series of fresh herb inspired holiday recipes so you can use your winter garden to freshen your winter meals. Ready for your fresh herb roasted turkey this holiday?

How to Grow Herbs in the Winter

There are many different methods to overwintering your garden herbs which we discuss in our post, “Protect Your Herbs This Winter“. One of my very favorite ways to save my herbs from the devouring frost is to replant them in to large pots and bring them in to the house. I place them in the sunniest room in the house as close to a window as possible. This light grower from Aerogarden is the perfect little countertop herb grower for year round herbs.

I water each large pot with 2-3 gallons of water every week. and trim the blossoms so they do not go to seed. Because the herbs have grown throughout the summer in the garden they tend to be quite large plants that can be trimmed from and used every few days. I used to use fertilizer sticks in my pots, thinking that this was giving them constant nutrition that they need but then I noticed that the plants that had the sticks were dying at a faster rate than any of my other plants. I realized that the sticks were too concentrated for my pots and it was burning the plants. So now I just fertilize with a watered down liquid fertilizer every few weeks so the plants don’t get more than they can use.

Fresh vs. Dry Herbs

Have you ever tried fresh herbs compared next to dried herbs? Some herbs are better used dry such as oregano. Some have different flavors once dried down such as basil. I like to use dried basil in my Marinara recipe then serve it toped with fresh basil. They each have their place but I don’t use them interchangeably. Fresh herbs pair so beautifully with meats.

Choosing the Herbs

Medieval folklore say that the four herbs, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, are actually ingredients for a love potion used by witches.

Parsley was a symbol of evil and sorcery. Sage is thought to bring the blessings of a long life and possible immortality. There is also a reference to it warding off the effects of the Evil Eye. Rosemary is a great element of love and relationships. As such, it is the primary ingredient of love potions and eliminates love problems. Thyme, the final herb, is of an ethereal significance, believed to get you in touch with fantastic creatures and apparitions. A solid bringer of luck and exuding good vibes, it would also assist in searching for one’s true love.

The reason I love to use these herbs is that they all can last through a winter if protected. So when the snow is on the ground and I am getting ready for my holiday meals I know I can have these herbs for any meal I want to prepare. These herbs compliment each other nicely. The smells of these herbs emanating from the kitchen fill the house with holiday cheer.

First Steps

So, the first thing you want to do to prepare the turkey is to thaw it the day before. You will need plenty of time for a large turkey to thaw outside of the fridge. So don’t wait until the last minute to get your turkey out.

For this recipe it is unnecessary for you to wash or brine your turkey. Because this turkey will be cooked in a bag it will be very juicy.

Save the Juices

Whenever I cook my turkey in a bag there are lots of flavorful juices. You will definitely want to save these juices to make a scrumdidilyumptious gravy so you can drizzle that amazing flavor over your juicy roasted meat.

Fresh Herb Roasted Turkey

sweetolivefarms

Use garden fresh herbs for this tender juicy Thanksgiving Turkey dinner to make the flavors pop

Print Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 14 people

Equipment

• Deep roaster pan such as a 9×13 cake pan
• Large Turkey Roasting Bag

Ingredients

  

• 1 15-20lb Turkey thawed
• 1 onion quartered
• 2 lemons zested
• 2 oranges zested
• 4 4 inch sprigs rosemary
• 8 4 inch springs thyme
• 1 buch parsley
• 1 bunch sage
• 1 cup butter softened (but not melted)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Instructions

 

• 1. Remove the neck and giblets from inside the cavity of the turkey. Make sure the turkey skin is patted dry.

  2. Zest the oranges and lemon then slice them into circles

  3. Chop 1/3 of each fresh herb and mix with lemon and orange zest and the softened butter in a small bowl

  4. lift the skin from the breast of the turkey by placing your palm between the meat and the skin. Rub the butter, zest, herb mixture on the breast of the turkey under the skin making sure to get down by the thighs and the wings. lay the skin back on the breast and salt all over. Place the lemon and orange slices on top of the turkey.

  5. Place the remaining herb bunches and quartered onions in the turkey bag and place the turkey in the bag. Place it in the pan then in the oven.

  6. Cook at 325 until the internal temperature reaches 160 F about 15 minutes per pound.

  7 Once the turkey has reached 160 remove from the oven and bag and place tin foil over the turkey and let rest for 20 minutes. Letting the turkey rest allows the juices to soak back into the meat.

Keyword best turkey recipe, How to cook a turkey, Thanksgiving Turkey