Thanksgiving isn’t the only time a perfectly roasted turkey can be the star of the show, it’s perfect for any holiday gathering.  It’s time to start thinking about how you want to prepare your next holiday meal. Luckily, Epicurious has tons of tried-and-true recipes that everyone will enjoy, such as this recipe for Classic Roast Turkey With Herbed Stuffing and Old-fashioned Gravy. The herbed stuffing used in this recipe is the perfect complement to a roast turkey. It’s savory and flavorful, with a hint of rosemary and thyme. The stuffing can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until you’re ready to stuff the turkey.

Ingredients for roasted turkey:

• 1 12-pound turkey
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) of unsalted butter, softened
• 1¾ teaspoons of salt
• 6 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• Warm Farmhouse Herbed Stuffing
• Approximately 8 cups of warm Homemade Turkey Stock

Equipment:

• 1 Large flameproof roasting pan with a flat or V-shaped rack
• 1 small metal skewer
• Bulb baster
• Instant-read thermometer
• 2-quart glass measuring cup
• Gravy-separator
• Kitchen twine
• Aluminum foil

Directions for roasted turkey:

1. You’ll want to begin this recipe by placing your oven rack in the lowest position and preheating your oven to 325°F. Then, butter an 8-inch square baking dish or a 2-quart casserole dish and lightly brush your roasting rack with vegetable oil, and place your roasting pan into it.
2. The next step is to prepare your turkey for stuffing. First, you’ll want to remove the plastic or paper packet of giblets from your 12-pound turkey; these are usually located within a small cavity. Remove the giblets from the packaging and rinse them with water. Reserve the gizzard and heart and discard the floppy, dark purple liver.Remove the neck from the turkey’s large cavity. Remove the packaging from the neck, rinse them with water, and reserve. Then, using tweezers or needle nose pliers, remove any remaining excess such as feathers and quills still attached to the skin, though this is usually only required of kosher turkeys. Pull off and reserve any visible pale yellow knobs of fat from either side of the tail.
3. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water and pat it dry. Loosely fill the small neck cavity with your warmed farmhouse herbed stuffing. Fold the neck skin under the body and fasten it with a metal skewer. Then, loosely fill the large body cavity with more warmed farmhouse herbed stuffing, and then transfer your remaining stuffing to your buttered dish from earlier and drizzle with ¼ cup of homemade turkey stock. Cover your turkey with aluminum foil, and refrigerate it until it’s ready to bake.
4. Transfer your turkey with the breast side facing up to the rack in your roasting pan. Tuck wing tips underneath the breast and tie drumsticks loosely together with kitchen twine. Rub turkey all over with softened butter and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Then, tightly cover the breast area with foil, leaving wings, thighs, and drumsticks exposed. Transfer gizzard, heart, neck, and reserved turkey fat to a roasting pan around the rack, pour 2 cups of turkey stock into the pan, and roast the turkey for 45 minutes.
5. Throughout the roasting, baste with pan juices every 45 minutes, 1½ hours more (2¼ hours total). Baste again and, if pan juices have evaporated into a glaze, you’ll want to add 1 cup stock to the pan. Roast for another 45 minutes (3 hours total). Remove foil from breast area, baste, and add stock if necessary, until your instant-read thermometer inserted into the fleshy part of thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 180°F, about 1 hour more (4 hours total).
6. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the center of the stuffing in the body cavity, ensuring that it reads a minimum of 165°F. Cover the turkey and keep it warm. When you’re ready to serve, use turkey holders to transfer turkey to a large serving platter. Let the stand for 30 minutes before carving.

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