A Herb Butter Turkey Recipe that’s perfect for Thanksgiving! An easy butter herb rub for turkey that will result in a perfectly cooked meal! This post is sponsored by our friends at ButcherBox.
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This Herb Butter Turkey is the ultimate Thanksgiving turkey recipe. Say good bye to dry turkey and hello to juicy, moist turkey with a rich herby flavor!
If you think you’re not a turkey fan, this recipe might just change your mind. We coat turkey in a mix of butter, sage, thyme and rosemary, then roast it in the oven to golden brown perfection.
Serve it up with some mashed potatoes & green beans and you’ve got the best dinner!
Herb Butter Rub for Turkey
If you’re skeptical about cooking a turkey, I promise it’s easier than you think! Here’s why we love this recipe
Why We Love Butter Herb Rub for Turkey
This herb butter turkey recipe is our go to for the holidays. Here’s why we love it:
- Easy to make: Sure, you can spend hours brining your turkey and making fancy spice mixes- but we like to keep it simple. Butter and fresh herbs are easy to mix together for the ultimate turkey dinner!
- Full of flavor: Fresh rosemary, thyme and simple spices come together to make the best dinner!
- Super juicy turkey: Coating a turkey in butter gives you ridiculously moist and juicy turkey. Say bye to dry, flavorless Thanksgiving dinners!
Herb Butter Turkey Recipe Ingredients
To make this delicious Herb Butter Turkey you’ll need:
- ButcherBox turkey
- butter
- fresh sage, rosemary & thyme
- salt, pepper, onion power, garlic powder
- thermometer
- our favorite roasting pan
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
Our Favorite Turkey
Our favorite turkeys come from ButcherBox. They’re free range, humanely raised and raised right here in the United States!
Quality matters when it comes to the meat you’re eating, which is why we love ButcherBox. You truly can taste the difference!
Want free ground beef? Right Now when you join ButcherBox you can get free ground beef for a year and $10 off! That’s up to 24 lbs of ground beef for free!
How to make Herb Butter Turkey
- Make sure the turkey is thoroughly thawed.
- Remove turkey from packaging and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a bowl mix together softened butter, herbs and spices until combined.
- Using the handle of a butter knife and/or your fingers, gently separate the turkey skin from the turkey breast.
- First, coat the bottom of the turkey in the butter mixture. Then flip the turkey breast side up and place butter under the skin and on top of the skin.
- Put the turkey in a roasting pan breast side up. (Use a pan that can catch the drippings)
- Cover the turkey and bake for 13-15 minutes for each pound that the turkey is.
- Slice & enjoy! Use the carcass to make turkey broth!
Herb Butter for Turkey Substitutions
Turkey: You can follow this same method with a whole chicken. I’d probably cut the recipe in 1/2 because chickens are much smaller than turkeys!
Butter: Don’t skimp on the butter here. It adds so much flavor! I haven’t tried this with dairy free butter so I don’t know how that would work.
Fresh Herbs: Fresh herbs add so much flavor. If you don’t like a certain herb, simply replace it with more of another. You can sub dried herbs, but it will not be as flavorful. If subbing dried herbs, use 1/2 tablespoon dried herbs in place of 2 tablespoons fresh herbs.
Spices: It will seem like a lot of spices when you’re mixing this together, I promise you’ll want 1/2 tablespoon! You could use a little bit less salt if you’re using salted butter.
What Compliments Herb Butter Turkey
This Herb Butter Turkey pairs well with all of your favorite Thanksgiving sides! Here are some of our favorite things to serve with turkey:
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad
- Easy Butternut Squash Soup
- Healthier Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Maple Sweet Potatoes
Pro Tips:
Use your own thermometer: Don’t trust the thermometer that comes with the turkey, grab a cooking thermometer to make sure your turkey is cooked perfectly!
Defrost your turkey: We’ve included a list below of when you need to take your turkey out of the freezer!
Make sure your turkey is room temp & patted dry before covering with butter and putting in the oven
Prep your turkey the night before! You can coat your turkey in butter and leave in the fridge over night so that Thanksgiving morning you can just take it out and put it in the oven! One less thing to do.
When to defrost a turkey
You need to defrost your turkey in advance of Thanksgiving! Allow one day of thawing for every 4 lbs of turkey.
- 10 lb turkey- about 2.5 days – Put your turkey in the fridge Monday night
- 15 lb turkey- about 4 days- Put your turkey in the fridge on Sunday morning
- 20 lb turkey- about 5 days – Put your turkey in the fridge on Saturday morning
How long do you cook a turkey?
A general rule for cooking turkey is about 13-15 minutes for each pound the turkey is.
- 10 lb turkey- about 2.5 hours
- 15 lb turkey- about 3.5 hours
- 20 lb turkey – about 5 hours
What temperature should turkey be cooked to?
Turkey should be cooked to 165 degrees internal temp. Don’t trust the thermometer that comes with the turkey, get a cooking thermometer. They’re super affordable online and make all the difference when cooking!
Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast to check for internal temp.
How much turkey per person?
Wondering what size turkey to buy? You’ll need about 1- 1.5 lbs of turkey per person.
- 10 lb turkey- serves 7-9 people
- 15 lb turkey- serves 10-12 people
- 20 lb turkey – serves 14-16 people
Herb Butter Rub for Turkey FAQ
The best way to rub herb butter under turkey skin is to use your hands and the handle of a butter knife. Gently peel up the turkey skin at the bottom of the breast. Using your fingers and the handle of the butter knife (use the dull side so you don’t rip the skin!) gently peel up the skin.
Rubbing butter under the skin of the turkey helps add moisture and flavor to the turkey!
Sage, rosemary and thyme pair very well with turkey.
Yes, you can put butter on the turkey the night before. It will give it time to marinate and add a lot of flavor!
Storing Herb Butter Rub
Storing: Cooked turkey will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze cooked turkey for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing – code CLEANEATINGCOUPLE works to save $$ on our favorite silicone molds!
Reheating: You can reheat turkey in the microwave, toaster oven, oven or on the stove.
Ways to use up leftover turkey
Rather than freezing cooked turkey, we prefer to use it up in a recipe. Here are some of our favorite leftover turkey recipes.
You can get free ground beef & $10 off when you try ButcherBox today!
Herb Butter Turkey
Ingredients
- 10-14 lb turkey
- ¾ cup butter 1 ½ sticks
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage chopped
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ½ tablespoon pepper
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- Optional: ¼ cup vegetable broth for the bottom of the pan
Optional Gravy
- 1 cup broth/drippings from the bottom of the pan
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Pro Tip: Prep your turkey the night before you plan to bake it. You can completely coat the turkey in butter and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
- Make sure the turkey is thoroughly thawed (see above for when to thaw your turkey).
- Remove turkey from packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Remove any giblets from the center of the turkey.
- In a bowl mix together softened butter, herbs and spices until combined. It’s easiest to use your hands or a food processor.
- Using the handle of a butter knife and/or your fingers, gently separate the turkey skin from the turkey breast.
- First, coat the bottom of the turkey. Flip the turkey breast side down. Gently rub ⅓ of the butter mixture into the skin of the turkey. Make sure it is thoroughly coated.
- Flip the turkey breast side up. Place ½ the remaining butter mixture under the skin of the turkey as best you can and coat the turkey with the remaining butter. Make sure to coat the wings and legs in addition to the turkey breast.
- Put the turkey in a roasting pan breast side up. (Use a pan that can catch the drippings, linked above)
- Cover the turkey and bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes for each pound that the turkey is (see above for how long to cook the turkey). You can remove the cover from the turkey for the last 30-40 minutes to achieve a nice golden brown skin.
- Turkey should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 in the breast.
- Slice & enjoy! Save the carcass to make Turkey Bone Broth.
- Optional Gravy: Take 1 cup of broth from the base of the crockpot and add it to a small sauce pot. Bring to a boil, whisking in flour and spices. Reduce heat and simmer. It should thicken almost immediately.
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