Turkey. Butter. Herbs. Need We Say More?

You’ve got butter, turkey, and a craving for a delicious holiday entrée. Let’s put it all together to make butter-coated turkey!

Go beyond just rubbing oil and spices onto the skin of your turkey. With a butter coating, you’ll add moisture and flavor to every layer by creating a barrier between the meat and skin.!

Ingredients and Supplies

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks of butter
  • Optional add-ons
    • 1 onion
    • 1 lemon wedge
    • your choice of fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, etc.)
    • salt & pepper to taste

Supplies

How to make a butter-coated turkey

1 Season the Turkey

Pat your turkey dry with paper towels and remove the turkey neck and giblets. Stuff the cavity with your desired ingredients, like thyme, rosemary, lemon wedges, garlic and onion.

2 Coat with Butter

In a bowl, mix 4 tbsp. softened (room temperature) butter with your choice of herbs and spices. Loosely separate the skin from the breast, without removing it, and coat the turkey with your butter mixture under the skin.

Rub any butter remaining on your hands on the outside of the turkey.

PRO TIP FROM ACE
Make it your own! This is your chance to get creative, flavoring your butter with ingredients like garlic, rosemary, thyme, Cajun seasoning, or whatever you like.

3 Butter During and After Cooking

During cooking, regularly baste the turkey with butter using a baster. Once cooking is complete, apply an additional layer of butter for enhanced flavor.

PRO TIP FROM ACE
Usually the formula is one stick of butter for basting and half a stick of butter for finishing, but you can do as much or as little as you want to fit your preferences.

Take Your Turkey to the Grill

Now it’s time to finish your turkey on the grill. Whether you want to smoke it on a wood pellet grill, or do a quick and easy cook on the gas grill, Ace can help!

See our Tips & Advice page to read one of our articles on how to grill a turkey.