Davis Family Turkey

This turkey is guaranteed to be crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It is packed with flavor and your guests will love it! This is my absolute go to thanksgiving turkey recipe that I started in 2010.

Ingredients:

• 1 (20 pound) whole turkey 
• 12 Tb butter, divided
• 8 cups warm water
• 6 Tb chicken bouillon
• 4 Tb fresh parsley
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 4 Tb minced onion
• 1 whole onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 Tb seasoning salt 
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 whole lemon, quartered
• Bay leaf

Preheat oven to 375*. Rinse and wash turkey throughly.  Discard inner organs.

 Place turkey in roasting pan. Use your hands and get in there and separate the skin from the breasts as well as over the legs to make pockets. Be careful not to tear. Put 4 Tb butter on each breast between the skin and meat. Put 1 Tb butter inside each of the legs too. While you're going at it with the butter, rub the entire outside of the bird down too. This makes it super juicy.

In a large bowl,  combine water with bouillon. Sprinkle in the parsley and minced onion. Pour over the turkey. Liberally sprinkle seasoning salt all over it. 

Place 2 garlic cloves, 1 sprig rosemary, half halved onion and quartered lemon inside turkey cavity.  Tie off or sew turkey closed. This step is assuming you are not stuffing it. If you are then ignore this part entirely. 

Put 4 stalks chopped celery,  1/2 cup chopped carrots, 3 cloves garlic, 2 sprigs rosemary, bay leaf and remaining half of onion in the roasting pan to flavor gravy for later. 

Cover turkey with foil and bake for one hour at 375*. After that reduce the heat to 350* and continue to cook 5 hours more until it has reached 180* internally.  The last hour of cooking remove foil so it browns and make sure to let turkey rest before carving for 30 minutes.