Thanksgiving is one of those meals you look forward to all year—if it’s good. If your Thanksgiving tradition includes dry, flavorless turkey and mushy bland stuffing, you probably only look forward to the “Black Friday” sales after Thanksgiving. There is a simple remedy to this culinary challenge; it’s butter—herb butter to be exact. As Julia Child is famous for saying, “With enough butter, anything is good”. Turkey is a lean bird, so don’t be afraid to add fat to the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table.

This compound butter is a combination of classic poultry seasonings that always deliver the savory, herby flavor we expect from our roast turkey this time of year. As a bonus, it also results in the best pan drippings for gravy and perfectly flavors stuffing/dressing.

Even though this herb butter will result in the best tasting turkey, there are a couple of things to take into consideration for best results.  First: This recipe contains no salt. This is to compensate for the fact that you should be brining your turkey in a salt solution or at least dry brining with salt to ensure a moist and properly seasoned bird.  Second: Don’t just apply this herb butter to the outside of the turkey; get it under the skin for best results.  Finally: Skip the Norman Rockwell moment and roast your turkey in parts. Have the butcher remove the legs and wings and roast those on a separate tray from the breast meat. Dark meat cooks to a higher temperature than the breast. Baking them on separate trays allows you to pull each part of the turkey as it hits its ideal temperature. This way you don’t end up sacrificing safety or succulence in the name of presenting an intact bird. Make this herb butter a couple of weeks in advance and freeze to take some of the stress out of preparing your Thanksgiving meal. This year, give your family a meal to be truly thankful for!

Watch the video version of this recipe here!