Oven Roasted Turkey

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Remove the giblets from the body cavity along with anything that has been tucked into the neck skin. Reserve the giblets or discard.

Rinse turkey under cold, running water, inside and out. Pat dry with a paper towel, inside and out. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside the body cavity of the turkey.

Coat the outside of the turkey with canola oil and lightly sprinkle salt and pepper to cover. Place onion, celery, garlic cloves, and fresh parsley inside the body cavity. Place the turkey in a roasting pan and put the pan in the preheated oven.

Bake for approximately 3 hours. Prevent over-browning by covering the turkey with a tin foil tent. To allow for some browning, remove the tent during the last 45 minutes of baking. To ensure that the turkey is done, insert a meat thermometer into thickest part of the breast. Once the turkey has reached an internal temperature of 180° F, remove it from the oven and let it rest approximately 15 minutes before carving. *The weight of the turkey will determine the length of time it needs to bake. Baking time is typically 20 minutes per pound for an un-stuffed turkey.

Turkey meat will be safely cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F; however, the meat may still be slightly pink. Some people prefer cooking turkey to a higher temperature (whole turkey to 180°F in the innermost part of the thigh; turkey breasts to 170 degrees F in the thickest part) for meat that is better done