How to make
The turkey is washed and cleaned from its feathers, if any.
If you have enough time, you can dip it in the turkey marinade and leave it in the fridge or marinate it in a cold place for 24 hours.
It is good to leave the turkey at room temperature for at least two hours before roasting.
Carefully peel off the skin of the turkey, by starting from the breast to the thighs, then turn the turkey over and peel the skin from the back.
The butter should be soft, left at room temperature.
The soft butter is mixed with paprika, thyme, salt and black pepper. Stir well until the mixture is homogeneous.
The turkey is smeared inside and out with the aromatic butter and placed mostly under the skin. The onions and carrots are cut into large pieces and placed on the bottom of the baking dish.
Place the turkey on its back on the vegetables and in the opening and place the rosemary stalks, sage leaves, whole heads of garlic and halved tangerines or a halved lemon.
The turkey's legs are tied tightly.
Pour the beer on the side of the turkey and cover the baking pan with two sheets of aluminum foil.
Place it at the bottom of a preheated oven at 300°F (150 degrees) and bake it until it's done.
The roasting time depends on the weight of the turkey - the rule is 35 minutes per kilogram of meat. My turkey is about 10 lb (4.5 kg) and it was ready in about 3 hours.
During the roasting, periodically take out the baking pan and with the help of a spoon the turkey is covered with the sauce it has released.
At the end of roasting, remove the foil and place the turkey back into the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the meat forms an appetizing color.
After removing the juicy roasted turkey from the oven, cover it again with foil, put two cotton towels on top and leave the meat rest for at least an hour or two before serving.
Serve the turkey with the sauce released during roasting and with a garnish of your choice.
Enjoy this Roasted Christmas Turkey!
Idea: You can prepare a sauce by transferring the vegetables and sauce from the baking pan into a deep saucepan, add 1 cup of red wine and a little chicken broth. Once the liquid is reduced, strain it and the sauce is ready.
