A super simple, super easy recipe for roasting a beautiful turkey this Thanksgiving with a flavorful sweet and spicy fig preserve with bold flavors that remind me of autumn.
Locate and set aside neck and giblets package from inside the turkey cavity.
Rinse turkey with cold water and completely pat dry with paper towels.
Place the turkey on a rack set in a large roasting pan. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey body. Place the giblets and half of the onions in the pan.
Fill turkey cavity with remaining onion, apple, jalapeño, garlic, carrots, celery, and herbs.
In a bowl combine fig preserves, butter, oregano, and paprika.
Rub half of the fig mixture all over the turkey working some of it between the breast and the skin. Season the turkey generously with salt and pepper.
Add broth to the roasting pan and roast turkey, basting every 30 minutes with broth and drippings, for 1 hour (rotating the pan every 30 minutes).
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Continue roasting the turkey until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours longer.
Cover the turkey loosely with foil if it begins to brown.
Transfer to platter and brush remaining fig mixture. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
Notes
If I could give you one piece of advice when it comes to roasting a turkey it would be to remove the neck and the package of giblets before cooking it. Dig deep, sometimes those items might be a tad hidden.