Finally a fool proof way to cook an unbelievably moist, no fuss, turkey.  The key is cooking it upside down first, all of the drippings cook into the breast.  I haven't had to baste the turkey every 30 minutes like I have in the past, but it definitely won't hurt if you want to.  The lemon adds just enough freshness to it. The seasoned salt replaces any need to brine a turkey.  Make sure the turkey is taken out enough time prior to roasting and let it rest for 1 hour.  I promise it will stay hot for serving but is critical for a moist turkey. 

You will never cook a turkey any other way.

Yield:10 to 12 servings

Ingredients:

Turkey:

• One 12- to 14-pound fresh turkey
• Kosher salt* and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon ground sumac (optional)
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon finely minced shallots
• Grated zest of 3 lemons (save lemons for next day roasting)
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Roasting:

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 sprigs fresh parsley
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 5 sprigs fresh sage
• 3 lemons, halved or cut into thick slices
• 1 shallot, halved
• 1 garlic bulb
• 3 carrots, roughly chopped
• 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• Water or stock, for the roasting pan
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or olive oil

* You can use sea salt too, but it's a bit more expensive so using kosher salt is a less expensive.

Instructions:

For the turkey: 24 hours before 

Take out the gravy bag, giblets and neck from both sides of the turkey. If you want to simmer the giblets in a bit of water and cut them up for your stuffing or feed them to your cat/dog, go for it.  I don't use the gravy packet but you certainly can add the drippings from the turkey to the grave packet and follow the instructions on the packet to make it. My first turkey, I didn't know they were in there and cooked it - it was fine, but I am telling you, they are in there - so don't forget  (-:  

Rinse the turkey in the sink inside and out and make sure that there aren't any missed feathers.  Dry the turkey with paper towels well to ensure that the rub stick to it.

Twenty-four hours before cooking your turkey, liberally season the inside and outside of the turkey with salt and pepper. Using a mini chopper or mortar and pestle, grind the oregano, parsley, tarragon, sumac, thyme, shallots and lemon zest together with some salt and pepper; the salt will help draw the moisture and flavor from the mixture. Add the olive oil to form a paste. 

Spread the herb mixture all around the inside and outside of the turkey. (If you want to also rub in between the skin and the turkey for extra flavor, go ahead! Place 2 fingers just under the skin of the turkey and the breast and loosen up the skin without tearing it.  Rub more butter/olive oil in between the layer of skin and the turkey.)

Place fresh sage leaves between the layers.

Refrigerate the turkey, uncovered to dry the skin, for 24 hours.

For the roasting: Remove the turkey from the fridge 90 minutes before roasting and allow it to come to room temperature. (IMPORTANT! this ensures even cooking)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut the garlic bulb in half and place half of it in the cavity of the turkey and the other half on the wire rack. Put the parsley and thyme sprigs in the cavity with the 2 lemons and shallot halves.

Put the remaining 1 lemon slices under the turkey along with the carrots, celery and onions in the bottom of a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack. Add a cup of water or stock to the bottom of the pan. 

Add the turkey (UPSIDE DOWN, BREAST SIDE DOWN) to the rack and roast, adding a little more water or stock to the pan if necessary to prevent the drippings from burning, for 30 minutes. 

Take turkey out of the oven, turn down the temperature to 350 degrees.  Flip the turkey breast side up and drizzle with a little more olive oil.  

Note:  Flipping the turkey might be a bit tricky since the turkey is heavy, maybe ask for some help.  You can use a couple of tongs to help, I just kind of roll it over but be careful!!

Put turkey back into oven and continue to roast.  (You can bast the turkey with the pan drippings every 30 minutes but I haven't had to do this and it's incredibly moist.)  

Cook until the thickest part of the leg registers an internal temperature of 155 degrees F, another 2 1/2 to 3 hours. 

Allow the bird to rest, tented with foil, for at least 1 hour before carving. The temperature will rise to about 165 degrees F during resting.

Pour the pan drippings into a saucepan, set the pan over medium-high heat and cook until reduced by one-half, about 10 minutes. Stir in the butter until melted. Pour the reduced turkey drippings over the carved turkey just before serving.

Recipe adapted from FoodNetwork, TheKitchen:  Geoffrey Zakarian (I have altered this recipe to use tips from Martha Stewart's upside down turkey recipe and of course my own changes.)