Roasted Turkey with Garlic & Butter
This recipe is inspired by Ben Barker at the Magnolia Grill in Durham, NC

Ingredients:
Turkey, fresh- 1 (21-25#) preferably free-range, brined
Sage, fresh- 8 large sprigs, washed and dry
Thyme, fresh- 8 large sprigs, washed and dry
Bay leaves- 6-8
Parsley, fresh- 1 bunch, washed, dry and chopped fine
Garlic, fresh and peeled- as many as you can stuff into the cavity of the bird (or at least 7 heads)
Butter- 1 1/2#, 1# melted-2 sticks room temperature
Salt and pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:
1. The day/night before, remove the turkey from its wrapper. Remove the giblets and neck and set them aside. Wash the turkey inside and out.
2. Place the turkey into the brine for 8-10 hours, turning once during the process. See the special instructions for brining a bird further down the page.
3. Approx. 4 hours before you begin to cook the turkey, remove it from the brine and dry it thoroughly, both inside and out. Put it, uncovered, into the refrigerator for 3 hours to dry the skin and cavity. Pull the turkey out of the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking to bring up to room temperature.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the chopped parsley and the room-temperature butter. Spread the parsley-butter mix between the breast meat and the skin of the bird. Divide the sage, thyme, and bay leaves between the body cavity and the neck cavity. Shove as many of the peeled garlic cloves into each cavity as possible; tie the ends of the legs together with twine.
5. Using a silicone brush, coat the entire skin of the bird with the melted butter. Season liberally with salt and pepper and position the bird in a roasting pan, breast side down.
6. Roast the turkey, breast side down, for 45 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven. Remove from the oven and, with an assistant, turn the bird breast side up. Using the silicone pastry brush, baste all the surfaces of the melted butter/turkey juices from the bottom of the roasting pan.
7. Return the turkey to the oven and continue to roast for 10 minutes more per pound. Be careful not to overcook. A thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh meat should read 155 degrees. The juices should be barely “pinkish” or clear.
8. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably 40.
9. Carve the turkey and transfer meat to a platter.
Serves: 14 hungry family and friends