Place on several sheets of aluminum foil to season. Discard the paper towels and wash the area you were just working in with disinfectant soap to prevent cross-contamination of the work area.

Bush the turkey with oil, margarine or melted butter and season with salt, pepper or your favorite seasonings inside and out. Cut off the tips of the wings and save for a stock. Truss the turkey (tie with string) or use the plastic or metal clamps supplied with the turkey. Place the turkey breast side down on a wire rack in a shallow, uncovered roasting pan. Discard the aluminum foil you seasoned it on and once again wash the area you were just working in with disinfectant soap to prevent cross-contamination of the work surface.

Roast back-side-up for 1 ½ hours, remove from the oven. Turn over and add 2 each thinly sliced onions, stalks of celery, carrots and cloves of garlic to the pan. Cover loosely with foil and baste every 45 minutes with the pan juices. Remove the foil during the last 45 minutes of cooking and baste one more time. To check for doneness: internal temperature should reach 170-175° F. when a thermometer is inserted in to the turkey's thigh at the thickest part, or the turkey's timer should pop up. Remove the turkey and let stand 20 minutes before carving.

Oven temperatures vary greatly from oven to oven so it is highly recommended to buy a good quality oven thermometer to check you oven and become familiar with how to adjust the oven's dial to correspond with the desired temperature. You may also call a service technician from your stove's manufacturing service center to calibrate the oven's controls.

Good Cooking's Turkey Roasting Time Table
Weight in pounds
Cooking time in hours (Unstuffed)
10 -12 2 ¾ - 3 hours
12-14 3 ¾ - 4 ¼ hours

14-18 4 - ¼ hours
18-20 4 ¼ - 4 ½ hours
20-24 4 ½ - 5 hours

Basic Turkey Gravy
Two factors help make good deep-brown gravy: the drippings on the bottom of the roasting pan and the slow browning of the flour in the fat.
Recipe by: Chef John Vyhnanek

Yield: about 2 cups

Preparation time: about 30 minutes

Amount/Measure/Ingredient

4 tablespoons fat from poultry
4 tablespoons flour pan drippings, including the mirepoix that was used when roasting the turkey
2 cups (1/2 litre) hot turkey or chicken stock
2 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
½ teaspoon white pepper, ground or to taste

Preparation:

When the bird has been removed from the roasting pan, skim off all but 4 tablespoons of fat in the pan. If there is not enough fat in the drippings, add butter. Place the pan over a burner and heat it, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all the browned bits.
(If the roasting pan is hard to handle, scrape and pour the drippings into a saucepan.)
Stir in the flour and blend well over medium heat for 4 minutes or more, until lightly browned. Slowly pour in the hot stock , stirring constantly, until smooth. Simmer for 10 minutes to develop the flavor. Adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper. You may strain the gravy at this time or use it as is.

Stuffing from Butterball

Add taste to your Butterball Stuffing. Here are some popular additions: chopped and sautéed onion and/or celery, chopped nuts, green chilies, sliced mushrooms, sliced water chestnuts.
Substitute Butterball Chicken Broth for water in your stuffing for added flavor!
Add fruit to personalize your Butterball stuffing. Here are some of our favorites: chopped fresh cranberries, chopped apples, raisins, chopped dried fruit.
Use Butterball Stuffing instead of breadcrumbs for better tasting meatloaf, hamburgers, coated chicken or stuffed pork chops.
Butterball Stuffing is great for stuffing vegetables!
Add cooked and drained sausage or oysters to Butterball Stuffing for extra savory flavor.
No croutons? No problem when you have Butterball Seasoned Stuffing. Just sprinkle the stuffing over your favorite soup or salad and everyone will love it!
Broth

To cut out fat you can make mashed potatoes with Butterball Chicken Broth vs. butter or heavy cream.
Add extra flavor without extra calories to steamed vegetables simply by using Butterball Chicken Broth for water. Taste the difference!
Gravy

Next time you make Butterball Gravy, use half the water and replace the other half with wine for a richer, robust flavor.
Make gravy just before serving to avoid re-heating and scorching.
When making Butterball Turkey or Chicken Gravy, substitute the water with Butterball Chicken Broth.
Make great hot dipped sandwiches with Butterball Gravy. Heat Butterball Deli Sliced Turkey or Beef with prepared Butterball Turkey or Brown Gravy. Generously stuff a hoagie bun with the juicy meat mixture and add your favorite toppings. The family will love it!
Next time you make baked potatoes top it with Butterball Gravy. It's fast, simple and has fewer calories than butter and sour cream!