Turkey For Christmas?

Our tradition growing up was having turkey for Thanksgiving and then ham for Christmas.  I actually made this turkey the day after Thanksgiving but have been waiting to share it closer to another holiday where someone might be excited to see.

I have a secret - I love roasting turkeys.  Love it.  When they are on sale before Thanksgiving, I try to get one to make close to the holiday and then a couple to have on hand for when I'm in the mood to make a turkey.  I was only able to grab the one this year, but I think that will make next year's extra turkeys even more fun.

Let's Get Crafty!
Preheat the oven to 325.

Herb butter:
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I take help from the store here and use the jarred garlic)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped rosemary (I was soooo happy to still have some from my herb garden)
Mix all together well and cover the skin of the turkey.  I like to lift the skin from the breasts and put some under the skin between the meat and the skin.

I also took a page from my Brother-In-Law's book and put foil on the wings and ends of the drumsticks.

Now it's time to stuff that bad boy with some chopped onion, celery and carrots.  We used up the last of the carrots from our garden here.

Bake at 325 for about 15 minutes for every pound.  Ours was 12 pounds and took just under 3 hours to cook.  The picture below is about half way through.  I like to cook it covered for the first 1/2 of the time and then pull it out - butter the top and put it back in the oven.  Once the color is browned and roasted just like you like it - but the foil back on to finish the cooking process.

It's turkey time!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day.