Best Roasted Turkey

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1. 1Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and adjust the oven racks so the turkey fits.
2. 2Step 2: Make the butter. Pulse all the turkey butter ingredients in a food processor until chopped. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then pulse a few more times until smooth.
3. 3Step 3: Add a quarter of the turkey butter to a small saucepan over low heat. Melt the butter, and then remove from the heat. Set both the melted and unmelted butter to the side.
4. 4Step 4: Place the onion, carrot, celery, garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, sage leaves, and chicken stock in the bottom of the roasting pan. Set a roasting rack into the pan, suspended above the ingredients.
5. 5Step 5: Set the turkey on the roasting rack. Use your hands to create a pocket between the skin and breast meat. Use a knife or scissors to make a hole where the drums meet the thighs.
6. 6Step 6: Rub the unmelted turkey butter into the pockets under the skin and the holes near the thighs. Massage the butter to create an even layer underneath the skin — this is a messy job, but well worth it for the flavor! I use almost all of the butter. Depending on the size of your turkey, you may need only a portion. Alternatively, if you have a disposable piping bag, pipe the butter under the skin and into the holes in the legs, then massage the butter around.
7. 7Step 7: Flip the turkey over so that it is breast-side-down on the roasting rack. Brush some of the melted butter over the back of the turkey. Flip it back so the breast side faces up, then brush the remaining melted butter all over the top (this butter will make the turkey incredible). Lightly season with salt and pepper.
8. 8Step 8: Roast the turkey for 14 minutes per pound, checking and basting with the fat on top of the broth in the pan every half hour. If the liquid level drops too low in the pan, add some water to replace it. I rotate the pan every hour for even browning. For a 15-pound bird, it will take 3 ½ hours.
9. 9Step 9: When the turkey is about two shades lighter than you want in color, tent it with foil and roast until an internal thermometer inserted into a few areas (breast and thighs) reads 160°F (71°C). Check both sides of the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone. As a visual cue, you want to roast until the juices run clear from the thigh after piercing it with a knife.
10. 10Step 10: Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour before carving. To keep warm after resting, place it in an oven set to 200°F (90°C). To prevent it from drying out, loosely cover it with foil.