The above photo is of one of our favorite methods of making our holiday turkey. Unfortunately there is no “written” recipe, so every year it can be a little different but every year it is outstanding. We start with a fresh or thawed frozen turkey. If your turkey is frozen place it in the refrigerator to thaw. This is the safest way of thawing out your frozen turkey, just allow enough time for the thawing process. It can take 3-4 days for your turkey to thaw out completely. Start by taking butter and letting it soften up. Then mix in some herbs and spices that you like. We enjoy garlic, rosemary, thyme along with salt and pepper. You can add any other herb or spice that you like.
Mix the herbs and spices into the soft butter. Lift the skin of the bird and spread the butter mixture between the skin and the meat of the turkey. (It helps to remove any rings or other items on your hands to keep from damaging the skin.) This will help get flavor down into the meat, not just sitting on top of the skin. Coat the skin with the same mixture of butter. Stuff your bird with your favorite stuffing recipe loosely. Do not pack the stuffing in to tight or the turkey will cook unevenly.
The flavor you want for your turkey will depend on what bacon you use. Many times we just use a cheap fatty bacon to cover the turkey with. The bacon will render as it cooks, keeping the turkey moist. If you want to add a little flavor, you can use a smoked bacon, like a maple or apple-wood smoked bacon. Be warned though, that this bacon flavor will also be in your gravy, since gravy is made from the turkey drippings. Cook until the temperature reads 165 in the thigh with an instant read thermometer.
When the turkey is almost done, remove the bacon and place your oven on roast to give the skin a nice golden brown. You will want to make sure the bacon is removed before it gets well done. Keep an eye on it through the window of the oven. It is easy to keep an eye on the bacon as you baste your turkey. It can get difficult to remove if the bacon is cooked too long on the turkey. This needs to be at the very end of the cooking process so you do not over/under cook the turkey. The skin should only take a little while to brown.
Remove from the pan and cover with foil for 20-30 minutes to rest.
Our turkey dinner is never complete until we have some Mashed Potatoes on the plate too.