Recipe

October 3, 2019

Upside-Down Roast Turkey

Recipe: Kristen Eppich

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 5 1/2 hours

It’s important to use a roasting rack when cooking a turkey upside down, as the meat becomes very tender and can be harder to remove from the pan. This is a large turkey, as we tend to serve a crowd at my house, so be sure to reduce the cook time if roasting a smaller bird (about 15 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey).

Ingredients

  • 1 20 lb. whole turkey, preferably fresh
  • 1⁄4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Yield: Serves 10

Prepare Turkey

  1. Rinse turkey thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. Let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
  2. Arrange oven rack in lower third of oven, then preheat to 350°F. Place turkey breast-side down on roasting rack in heavy-bottomed roasting pan. Rub with butter and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Cover turkey with pan lid or foil and transfer to oven.

Roast Turkey

  1. Roast turkey, covered, for 2 hours. Remove lid or foil and baste with pan juices. Continue roasting uncovered for 1 1⁄2 hours, basting every 30 minutes.
  2. Insert instant-read thermometer into thickest part of thigh. Continue roasting and basting until temperature reaches 165°F, then remove from oven. Let turkey rest, loosely covered, for
    30 minutes before serving.
Photographer:

Donna Griffith

Source:

House & Home October 2018