Roasted Citrus Herb and Honey Turkey

Our roasted turkey is a flavorful melody of citrus, herb, and honey that is lightly sweet and subtle. That is to say, the combination of citrus, herb, and honey do not overpower the natural taste of the meat.

Roasted Citrus Herb and Honey Turkey
Roasted Citrus Herb and Honey Turkey

Roasted Citrus Herb and Honey Turkey

While it seems like a strange mixture of flavors, the combination of citrus and honey play well off each other.

The use of orange, lemon and lime create a delightful yet mild citrus flavor that seems to make the meat even more moist.

Prepping the Turkey with citrus stuffing
Prepping the Turkey with citrus stuffing

The herbal part of our recipe is a combination of butter and dry Italian seasonings mixed together. We rub part of our Herb butter just under the skin of the turkey then use the rest later for the top layer of skin.

The Italian herbs are mellow and savory without overpowering the rest of the flavors.

We use honey combined with the remaining butter, lime, and herbs to baste the turkey. The honey adds a delicate sweetness to the bird while it enhances the crispness of the skin.

Tanya and Rochelle prepping the bird
Tanya and Rochelle prepping the bird

Cooking tips for Roasting your Turkey

We use a roasting rack as it allows for better air circulation around the bird. This is important if you want really crispy skin!

We also cover the bird with foil as this acts as a roaster lid and helps trap steam so the turkey doesn’t turn to jerky. In other words, it keeps the meat from drying out too much.

Now there are many ways to cook a turkey and just as many ideas on the how to aspect of it.

We always cover the bird with the tinfoil and make a foil tent for the first three hours (depending on size of turkey). Then we remove the foil tent for the last thirty odd minutes to bring out the lovely brown crispy skin of the Turkey.

Crispy brown skin of our turkey
Crispy brown skin of our turkey

We like to baste the turkey throughout the cooking process to make sure it absorbs as much as the wonderful flavors as it can!

Safety tip: Always use a meat thermometer to ensure the meat is done!

The turkey is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

For more information of food handling safety then go here: https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/safe-minimum-cooking-temperature.

Wrap up on our Roasted Citrus Herb and Honey Turkey

Roasted Citrus Herb and Honey Turkey
Roasted Citrus, Herb, and Honey Turkey

We like the combination of the citrus, Italian herbs, and honey and how well they play together. The turkey came out moist with a lightly sweet and savory taste with just a hint of citrus to the mix.

The Turkey fit right in with our chosen sides of Crockpot Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Vegetables with Pecans.

The gravy made from the turkey drippings paired well with our Creamy Mashed Potatoes.

We love our Thanksgiving menu and hope it gives you some ideas for your own Thanksgiving dinner!

Hang on to the Turkey carcass because we will be posting our bone broth recipe coming up very soon!!!

We would love to hear from you so drop us a line!

Love

The Morgan Sisters

Roasted Citrus Herb and Honey Turkey

Recipe by Tanya MorganCourse: recipe, dinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: intermediate
Servingsservings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

4

hours 
Resting time

20

minutes
Total time

4

hours 

50

minutes

Roasted Citrus Herb and Honey Turkey for your holiday dinner. The combination of citrus and honey flavors add a mild flavor to moist tender turkey

Ingredients

  • 1 turkey, with neck and giblets removed (ours was 12 to 14 pounds)

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened

  • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 2 teaspoons pepper

  • 1 large onion, quartered

  • 1 medium orange, quartered

  • 1 medium lemon, quartered

  • 2 limes, 1 quartered

  • 2 tbsp of honey

  • 2 cups chicken broth

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 325°. Mix butter and Italian seasoning.
    Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up; pat dry. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub half of the butter mixture under the skin. Secure skin together with toothpicks. Rub cavity with salt and pepper; fill with onion, orange, lemon and lime. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together.
  • Melt remaining butter mixture and stir in the honey. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lime into the butter mixture. Brush over outside of turkey. Add 2 cups broth to roasting pan.
  • Cover the turkey with tin foil, and roast for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours, basting occasionally with pan drippings. At this point, remove the tin foil and let the turkey brown.
  • Remove turkey from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.
  • To make Gravy: Pour pan drippings into a small saucepan; skim fat. Mix flour, remaining broth until smooth; whisk into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Serve with turkey.

Notes

  • Cooking time will vary depending on size of Turkey. Cook at 325 degrees F for about 13-15 minutes per pound or until internal temperatures reach 165 degrees F.
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