Roasted Savory & Citrus Turkey is made with a couple of ordinary herbs and common fruit. The finished product is anything but ordinary. This Citrus Turkey has taste and flavor that you won't ever forget.
What is it?
For this Thanksgiving turkey recipe, we used some fresh rosemary, some fresh thyme, and the zest from a couple of oranges and a couple of lemons.
Together with some salt, pepper, and garlic, a dry rub is created. The bird is then allowed to rest, uncovered, overnight in the refrigerator.
What makes this turkey taste so great
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Orange
- Lemon
- Apple
- Love
The usually savory aromatics are added to the pan to flavor the drippings from this easy roast turkey.
Carrots, onions, celery, and some apples are dispersed in the pan, beneath the turkey.
Fresh squeezed orange juice from the zested fruit is added mid-way into the roasting process, along with a quick surface bath of melted butter.
The best turkey recipe
The result of this process gives a rich texture and dynamic flavor to this holiday recipe.
Indeed, several guests proclaimed this the best turkey they've ever tasted. I wasn't a guest but rather the host, and before any of them made that proclamation, I had already thought it. Please give this easy turkey recipe a try.
It's easy to make, and it is incredibly wonderful to experience! -Dan
Be sure and try the Rich Roasted Turkey Gravy that goes with this Turkey Recipe!
For a simpler, scale-down turkey dinner, try our Turkey Tenderloin, it's oven-roasted with a few basic savory herbs!
If y0u are wondering what to do with turkey leftovers, we have an answer for you.
And it's pretty darn tasty!
Try our Turkey Pot Pie with Homemade Crust!
Other delicious turkey recipes
Finally, if you're looking for a butternut squash recipe for Thanksgiving, be sure to try our Hasselback Butternut Squash.
📖 Recipe
Savory and Citrus Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- 10 pound whole turkey
- 4 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 6 cloves garlic grated on a microplane or minced
- Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- Finely grated zest of 2 oranges save the oranges for juicing
- 2 bunches rosemary
- 1 bunch thyme
- 1 white onions peeled, halved and sliced
- 2 inch large carrots peeled and sliced into ½- coins
- 2 inch celery stalks sliced ½- thick
- 1 apples cored and sliced
- Dry white wine as needed
- ¾ cup melted butter or olive oil
Instructions
- Remove giblets from inside the turkey; reserve for stock or gravy. Pat meat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, allspice, garlic and citrus zests. Pat mixture all over turkey and turkey parts (including inside the whole turkey cavity). Stuff one bunch of rosemary in cavity of whole turkey. Strew remaining rosemary and the thyme all over turkey and turkey parts. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
- Remove turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before you plan to cook it so it can come to room temperature. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Distribute onions, carrots, celery and apples into pan, scattering them on the bottom of the large roasting pan under the turkey, and pour ½ cup wine in the bottom of the turkey pan.
- Place turkey (with herb branches clinging to it) on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Transfer whole turkey to the oven and roast for 1 hour.
- Squeeze the juice from the 2 zested oranges. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and place orange juice into the bottom of each of the pan.
- Drizzle the butter or oil all over the whole turkey. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat registers 165 degrees, about 20 to 30 minutes more. (Note: The turkey breasts may cook faster than the dark meat, so keep your eye on them.) If the breast of the whole turkey starts to look too brown before the bird is cooked through, cover it loosely with foil.
- When the whole turkey is cooked through, remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 20 minutes while the parts finish cooking.
Melissa
That is one gorgeous looking bird! I never would've thought to do an overnight brine with citrus and apples, but it looks amazing!
Veena Azmanov
I love how you marinated the turkey overnight. My mom often did that. I barely ever remember to do it a few hours. I must try this. Love the color on that bird.
Marisa Franca
Well it seems like we both have a similar idea. Our bird has a Tex-Mex flavor with the brine. It is super delicious as it looks like yours is too. We really look forward to our turkey meal -- I bet everyone does the same for yours -- the color on it is gorgeous.
Lauren Vavala
I absolutely love fruit paired with turkey, but have never tried oranges and lemons - sounds so delicious!
Mahy Elamin
Your recipe is really unique. This is a great dinner for my family. Very nice presentation. I'm sure it's incredibly delicious! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Michelle
Woah that turkey looks soooo packed full of flavor. I'll have to try this one out for sure!
Camilla Hawkins
Yummy! I bet the oranges and lemons make this turkey really succulent and delicious, must try!
Claudia Lamascolo
oh what an incredible looking bird and the citrus must keep this so juicy and flavorful!
Danielle @ Follow My Gut
OMG I love how juicy and flavorful this turkey sounds. Is there space for me at your table for thanksgiving!?!?
Dan from Platter Talk
Absolutely, we always have room for 1 (or 10) more!
Jennifer
I love the idea of a citrus herb-infused turkey for thanksgiving, looks delicious!