Ingredients
For Roast Turkey:
1 Whole Turkey (about 5kg)
1 Onion, Peeled & Quartered
1 Lemon, Quartered
1 Apple, Quartered
2 tsp Rosemary
2 tsp Thyme
2 tsp Sage
For Herb Butter:
1 cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
6-8 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Sage
For Cranberry Sauce:
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Water
½ cup Orange Juice
4 cups Fresh/Frozen Cranberries
*Available at your nearest FairPrice store.
Method
- If you are using wild turkey, brine your turkey in salt water for 12hours to ensure that turkey meat remains moist and juicy after roasting.
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius
- Mix all ingredients needed for herb butter and set aside.
- Rinsed the turkey and pat it very dry with paper towels.
- Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with the quartered lemon, onion and apple and leftover herbs.
- Use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin above the breasts (on the top of the turkey) and smooth a few tablespoons of the herb butter underneath.
- Tuck the wings of the turkey underneath the turkey and set the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan.
- Melt the remaining butter in microwave and use a basting brush to brush the remaining herb butter all over the outside of the turkey, legs and wings.
- Send the turkey to roast and ensure that it sits in the middle of the oven.
- In a separate saucepot, combine water, orange juice and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar.
- Add the cranberries to the pot and return it to a boil before lowering the heat and simmering it for 10mins till the cranberries bursts and starts to thicken the mixture, then set aside to let it cool. The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- After roasting the turkey for 2h 15mins, remove from heat and cover with foil to let it rest for 20-30mins before serving.
