Thanksgiving is just around the corner! This Garlic and Herb Roasted Turkey will wow you guests with its taste and presentation. Another side bonus is, your house will smell wonderful while this is turkey is roasting. The broth from roasting the turkey makes the best gravy.

According to statistics, 51.6 millions turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving Day. 77% of all whole turkeys are sold in November. Minnesota produced the most turkeys among all the other states in the US. Americans are expected to spend $968.8 million on Thanksgiving Dinner. My turkey is like a drop of sand in bucket compared to these figures.

I was gifted some locally grown German Red Garlic which I used with this recipe. It has a wonderful aroma and taste.

Garlic and Herb Roasted Turkey THM S, SF, GF, DF, Keto

• Brine:
• 1 gallon cold water
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 12-16 pound turkey
• 1 garlic bulb
• 1 small onion
• 2 ribs celery
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon ground sage
• 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley
• 2 teaspoons rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil or Butter Flavored Coconut Oil
• 2 cups water
• Remove the giblets from the turkey. Set giblets aside. Mix brine ingredients-water, salt and white vinegar. Place turkey in a large container–(I use a food grade 5 gallon bucket). Pour brine over the turkey adding additional water if needed to completely cover the turkey. Allow to brine for 24 hours. Remove turkey from the brine. Rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Insert garlic bulb, onions, and celery rib inside the body cavity. Combine garlic cloves, spices, salt, and pepper in a small dish. Gently loosen the skin across the breast. Rub 1/3 of the spices under the skin onto the breast meat. Brush the entire turkey with olive oil. Rub the remaining spices over the turkey. Place turkey into a roasting pan. Add water to the roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer in thickest part of the thigh. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place roaster on the bottom oven rack. Roast 2 hours. Tent the turkey with foil. Roast until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove turkey from the oven. Allow turkey to rest for 15 minutes. Place turkey on a serving platter for carving.
• Allow 1 pound per serving: 12 pound turkey–12 servings.

When buying a frozen turkey — here are the thawing times by weight using either the refrigerator or cold water methods. If you are using the refrigerator method, keep the turkey in the original packaging. Your fridge will need to be 40 degrees or colder. Be sure to place your turkey on the lowest shelf with a drip pan to catch any leakage. Allow 24 hours for each 4 pounds of turkey.

When you use the water method, you will need to change the water every 30 minutes. The turkey needs to stay at 40 degrees throughout the thawing. It will take approximately 1/2 hour for every pound of turkey to cold water thaw. The downside of this method is that it will take time….you don’t want the water warmer than 40 degrees–so you may need to use ice to keep a correct temp. Most people do not have a large enough sink to thaw a turkey and keep it fully submerged.

Turkey Weight	Thawing Time (Refrigerator)	Thawing Time (Cold Water)
Up to 12 lbs	1 to 3 days	2 to 6 hours
12 to 16 lbs	3 to 4 days	6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 lbs	4 to 5 days	8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 lbs	5 to 6 days	10 to 12 hours

The spice have been rubbed over the turkey. It is ready to be placed in a roasting pan and roasted. This turkey was a little over 12 pounds. Here are some roasting times for turkeys.

WEIGHT OF BIRD	ROASTING TIME (UNSTUFFED)	ROASTING TIME (STUFFED)
Weight of Bird	Roasting Time (Unstuffed)	Roasting Time (Stuffed)
10 to 18 pounds	3 to 3-1/2 hours	3-3/4 to 4-1/2 hours
18 to 22 pounds	3-1/2 to 4 hours	4-1/2 to 5 hours
22 to 24 pounds	4 to 4-1/2 hours	5 to 5-1/2 hours
24 to 29 pounds	4-1/2 to 5 hours	5-1/2 to 6-1/4 hours

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