Thanksgiving Turkey with Cannabutter

Ingredients & directions

Oven-roasted turkey

Ingredients

Equipment Use a shallow roasting pan with a rack, a clean carving board, and an instant-read thermometer. Allow 3–4 days to thaw a 12–14 lb bird in the refrigerator. If the label says the turkey was salted or injected with brine, use less salt.

Directions

  1. A hand patting a thawed turkey dry on a rack in a shallow roasting pan

    Prepare the thawed turkey

    Heat the oven to 325°F. Take the neck and giblet bag out of the cavities. Pat the skin dry with paper towels and place the bird breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Wash your hands after handling the raw turkey.

  2. A pastry brush applying plain oil to the turkey skin before roasting

    Season and roast

    Rub the skin lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the turkey unstuffed. A 12–14 lb bird usually takes 3 to 3¾ hours. If the skin is browning early, loosely tent the breast with foil.

  3. An instant-read probe checking the temperature of a golden roast turkey

    Check three spots

    Take a reading in the thickest part of the breast and the innermost parts of the thigh and wing without touching bone. All three need to reach at least 165°F. Keep roasting if any reading is lower. Rest the finished turkey for 20 minutes.

  4. Carved turkey slices on a platter next to a separate ramekin of butter

    Carve and serve the butter separately

    While the bird rests, gently cook the garlic in a little plain butter until fragrant. Off the heat, stir in lemon zest. Carve the turkey and keep the platter plain. Offer lemon-garlic butter, with measured cannabutter stirred into individual portions only when requested.

Storage Refrigerate leftover turkey in shallow containers within two hours. Use it within 3–4 days or freeze it. Refrigerate labeled infused butter separately and keep it secured.

Kitchen notes

Plan the roast and the serving table

When should I start checking?

For a fully thawed 12–14 lb turkey, start checking near the three-hour mark. Oven behavior and bird shape change the timing, so use the three thermometer readings to decide when to stop.

How do I handle the infused butter?

Keep plain butter and the turkey platter separate. Identify any infused butter clearly, use a separate utensil, and measure each requested amount with a known strength. Edibles can take up to four hours to reach full effect.

Recipe and safety references