Christmas turkey with herb butter and roasted vegetables

A festive turkey with a rich herb butter, roasted on a bed of winter vegetables. This is the recipe everyone asks for.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 turkey about 4–5 kg (at room temperature)
• 150 g softened butter
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed (for the butter)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 lemon, halved (for the cavity)
• 1 head of garlic, halved (for the cavity)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 carrots, roughly chopped
• 3 parsnips, roughly chopped
• 2 red onions, quartered
• 3 celery stalks, cut into pieces
• 300 ml chicken stock
• Splash of dry white wine or sherry (for the gravy)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking so it comes to room temperature. Pat it dry with kitchen paper both on the outside and inside.Make the herb butter: mix softened butter with finely chopped thyme, rosemary, sage, pressed garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper until smooth.Carefully slip your hand between the skin and the breast meat of the turkey. Rub half of the herb butter directly onto the meat under the skin. Brush the outside with the rest of the butter.Loosely fill the cavity of the turkey with the halved lemon, the halved head of garlic and a few sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary.Preheat the oven to 180°C. Arrange the carrots, parsnips, onion and celery in large pieces over the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour in the chicken stock.Place the turkey breast-side up on the vegetables. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil and put it in the oven.Roast the turkey covered at 180°C for about 2.5 hours (allow about 40 minutes per kilogram). Baste it every 45 minutes with the roasting juices.After 2.5 hours remove the aluminum foil. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C and let the turkey roast uncovered for another 30 minutes until the skin is nicely crisp and golden-brown.Check that the turkey is cooked with a meat thermometer: the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh (without touching bone) should be at least 75°C.Take the turkey out of the oven and place it on a cutting board. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes so the juices can redistribute.Strain the roasting juices from the pan into a saucepan. Reduce briefly and season with salt, pepper and a splash of dry white wine or sherry. This is your gravy.Carve the turkey at the table or in the kitchen and serve with the roasted vegetables and the gravy. Happy holidays!