Roasted Turkey

During Thanksgiving I had my family over for dinner.  We made a bunch of different dishes and this Roasted Turkey was one of them.  It came out extremely moist and juicy.  This is a 16 pound turkey that I seasoned a day before and had in the refrigerator ready to roast.

I love turkey and I will be making another one for Christmas this year.  My husband and I love the leftovers to make sandwiches.  Turkey never goes bad in my house. 

I usually roast an 19-20 pound turkey.  But this year I decided to roast a smaller one just because we had so many other meats to eat.  I also made a ham and a pork roast.

I took some of the juices from the turkey and made gravy, I also added some to the stuffing.   Everything turned out delicious.

Ingredients

14-16 pound turkey

1 1/2 stick of butter melted

8 garlic cloves minced

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp dry thyme
1 tsp dry rosemary

3 tbsp sofrito

2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp pepper

1 cup of water

Everyone has their own way of roasting a turkey.  Some people start with high temperature at around 450-500, others with a low temperature around 300-350.  I personally like to bake my turkey at a low temperature then raise it towards the end of roasting.  It takes longer but, I believe this process gives you a moist turkey and not dry.

2 or 3 days before start thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

A day before baking wash and clean the turkey.  Pat dry.  Combine all ingredients except the water to create a paste, Rub the turkey inside and out, and under the skin.  Place in roasting pan. Place in the refrigerator until ready to roast. 

Place rack in the lowest level of oven.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Before roasting add 1 cup of water to the roasting pan.   This will keep the turkey moist through the cooking process.  Cook at 325 degrees for about 3 hours with the cover on, then raise the temperature to 350 and bake for another 2 hour, then lower the temperature to 300 and cook for another hour.

If you only have one oven I suggest doing this the night before, or early in the morning so that you have enough time to cook the turkey.  

If Using a Thermometer:

Roast the turkey until a thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 180 degrees.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!