Poultry Recipes

Butter Ball Bacon Roasted Turkey

Ingredients

11 fresh, thawed young turkey however big you feel like
4 sticks of butter (if you want it healthy … you don’t want it juicy)
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch of fresh sage
1 bunch of fresh thyme
1 bunch of fresh marjoram
3 bunch of fresh rosemary
1 bunch of fresh basil
4 ounces or so of olive oil (you just need some olive oil)
1 pound of bacon
2 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon coarse ground pepper
1 onion
1 orange

Directions

Step 1

Set out the butter and then wash the turkey very well and be sure to remove any feathery mess. Remove the bag of mess that is often inside of the turkey. You can use this junk to make gravy if you grew up in the Great Depression or you can just throw it away. To be fair though the gravy you make from this mess is absolutely fantastic but we’re going for easy stuff here. Then and this is essential dry the bird with paper towels and make sure it is very dry.

Step 2

Hopefully the butter is nice and soft but not melted. Set 2 bunches of rosemary aside and take 1 bunch of rosemary and the rest of the herbs and chop them up being careful to remove all of the stems. From the bulb of garlic take 4 cloves and mince it or press it or throw it in a food processor or beat it with a hammer if you really need anger management. Then mix all of the herbs, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper with the softened butter and try and roll it into 3 balls.

Step 3

Very gently lift up the skin and work 1 of the butter balls under the skin being very careful to not tear the skin. You can work the butter under the skin as far as you can from the back and then repeat the process from the front with the second butterball. Then with the third butter ball rub the outside of the skin being sure to hit the legs.

Step 4

Take the Onion and the Orange and cut them in half and cram them inside the turkey along with the rest of the bulb of garlic.

Step 5

Preheat the oven to 455 F Place the Turkey into a roasting pan being careful to tuck the wings underneath the bird so they don’t burn. Cook the bird at 455 for 10 minutes then remove from heat.

Step 6

Drop the heat to 350 F and take the bacon and cover just the breast. Cook the turkey at 350 for 15 minutes per pound. You’ll want to check on the bird and baste it every 30-45 minutes.