This is a print preview of "The Barefoot Contessa’s Recipe for Perfect Roast Turkey Made Skinny" recipe.

The Barefoot Contessa’s Recipe for Perfect Roast Turkey Made Skinny Recipe
by Skinny Kitchen with Nancy Fox

The Barefoot Contessa’s Recipe for Perfect Roast Turkey Made Skinny

I love Ina Garten’s (Barefoot Contessa) recipe for roasting turkey. I decided to share it because it’s a super simple recipe to make and comes out moist and flavorful. I did change a few things from her original recipe to keep it skinny. First, her recipe coats the turkey with ½ stick of melted butter. I used reduced-fat butter, which cuts the fat in half. Next, after the turkey roasts for 1 hour, she tosses a medley of vegetables with ¼ cup olive oil and adds them to the same pan as the turkey continues to cook. Not only is that quite a lot of oil but in addition, all the fat from the turkey seeps into the vegetables while cooking. It’s best to make some kind of vegetable dish and served it on the side. You’ll just love this recipe anyways. The thyme, lemon, onions and garlic gives it a classic turkey flavor that is just PERFECT!!

Rating: 5/5
Avg. 5/5 1 vote
Prep time: United States American
Cook time: Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 fresh turkey (~12 pounds)
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 1 large bunch of fresh thyme
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
  • ¼ cup reduced-fat butter, melted
  • String (to tie legs together)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers, if it has any, and pat the outside dry.
  3. Place the turkey, breast side up, in a large roasting pan. Sprinkle inside the turkey cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with thyme, lemon, onions and garlic.
  4. Brush the outside of the turkey with the melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.
  5. Roast the turkey for about 2½ hours until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest 20 minutes.
  6. To keep the turkey skinny, remove the skin before or after craving.