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1
Crush garlic with mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt.
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2
Remove the leaves of thyme from the stalk, add thyme and sage and lemon zest and crush it all together.
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3
In small mixing bowl, add the softened butter and garlic and herb mixture mix together.
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4
If you are going to insert the turkey right away, don't refrigerate -- if not, roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before you add to the turkey.
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5
WARNING!! If you use a graniteware pan the turkey cooks very quickly. Depending on the size of the bird you should start checking for doneness after a couple of hours. My 19.25 lb turkey was completely done at 3.5 hours. If you use a roasting pan and foil the cooking time is a bit more. My big bird was ready to brown and crisp at 3 hours. All of this depends on individual ovens as temps vary and the size of the bird.
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6
Preheat oven to 325u00b0F.
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7
Put turkey on work surface and make sure it's clean and dry. Insert fingers under skin to loosen the skin from the breast meat. Work slowly so you don't tear the skin.
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8
Spread a generous amount of the compound butter under the skin on both sides of the breast. (Reserve a small amount of the compound butter to baste the turkey when you brown the skin.)
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9
Using butchers twine, bind the legs together and place the turkey on a rack in your roasting pan.
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10
Rub the turkey with some olive oil and generously salt and pepper the entire turkey. (I like to do this the night before baking refrigerating overnight, if you do this let sit at room temperature for an hour before placing in the oven). Place lid on pan and put into the oven. No basting required!
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11
After 3 hours, check the internal temperature of your turkey by inserting a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. When it has reached an internal temperature of 150u00b0F, remove from the oven, and brush the turkey with the remaining compound butter. Crank up the oven to 450u00b0F. Put back in the oven without the lid and let it roast until the skin is a nice golden brown. The internal temperature should be 160u00b0F when you remove from the oven. Total cooking time for an 18-20 pound turkey is 4-4 1/2 hours approximately. Let turkey rest for at least 30 minutes tented with foil and final temperature should be 165u00b0F-170u00b0F.
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12
Note: If you don't have a roaster with a lid just tent with aluminum foil, making sure its sealed well around the pan.
