Orange Herbed Turkey with Spiced Rub

With savory herbs and spices, this Orange Herbed Turkey with Spiced Rub will result in a mouthwatering tender bird so delicious everyone will want seconds or thirds! Plus this recipe is simple to make with only a little more prep time compared to a basic Thanksgiving turkey.

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For as long as I can remember, we’ve had a basic turkey every Thanksgiving. We didn’t do anything special to it. We washed it, rubbed a little salt on, stuffed it, and cooked it. Nothing interesting. It’s kinda of sad, right? Especially when there are so many amazing things you can do with a turkey.

But that’s how I grew up and when I started hosting Thanksgiving at my house each year (this will be the 10th year), I just continued on with a very basic turkey.

I’ve become a lot more creative with recipes over the past couple of years since I’ve been eating gluten free and mostly Paleo and when Shady Brook Farms asked me to create a turkey recipe, I set to work. My goal was to create something enticing without too much extra work. After all, we’re all busy people, especially this time of year.

That’s how this Orange Herbed Turkey with a Spiced Rub came about. I played around with a few combinations of herbs and even considered doing a lemon herbed version, but orange plays much nicer with sage, rosemary, and thyme.

Other than a few extra minutes with chopping and mixing herbs, there isn’t much more effort required to create this delicious herbed turkey recipe. And let me tell you, this Orange Herbed Turkey with Spiced Rub is melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

The Turkey

I highly recommend that you use a Shady Brook Farms or Honeysuckle White fresh young turkey for your Thanksgiving; they are so good! Plus you can feel good about buying one of these birds.

Why?

Shady Brook Farms / Honeysuckle White turkeys are raised by one of 700 independent family farmers. I visited one of these farms last year and was impressed with how carefully and humanely they treat their birds. You can read more about my visit here.

I raise some pretty pampered chickens (have you read my “Crazy Chicken Lady” post?) and love animals, so I have high standards. So let me tell you that it says a lot about Shady Brook Farms / Honeysuckle White that they left a positive impression with me.

There’s no growth-promoting antibiotics, added hormones, or steroids with Shady Brook Farms / Honeysuckle White turkeys. (Hormones and steroids are not allowed with raising poultry in the United States.)

Shady Brook Farms/ Honeysuckle White turkeys are affordable. Just like many of you, I can’t afford to feed my family all organic food. Instead, I turn to food like Shady Brook Farms that allows me to feed my family good food without breaking the budget.

Plus Shady Brook Farms / Honeysuckle White turkeys are delicious!

I used to buy another common turkey brand every year for Thanksgiving and thought it was pretty good. But then I bought a Shady Brook Farms turkey and it was so much more tasty than the other brand, I’ve never looked back. 

I think most people who try a Shady Brook Farms or Honeysuckle White turkey agree with me because my grocery store has a hard time keeping these turkeys in stock!

How to Make Orange Herbed Turkey with Spiced Rub

I used a large smoker for this turkey. It cooks faster than the typical oven roasted turkey and is so good with a smoked apple wood flavor. If you’re considering a smoker, I highly recommend this one: Char-Broil Big Easy Infrared Smoker. For smoking, I recommend apple wood chips. It’s lighter and results in a tasty spiced smoked turkey.

If you do not have a smoker, you can cook this turkey in your oven following Shady Brook Farm’s cooking instructions.

I also use a meat injector for adding more flavor to the turkey meat. This is the injector I use. It’s optional, but recommended for an even juicier flavorful turkey.

What You’ll Need:

Orange herb marinade for under the skin &/or injector:

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp orange zest (fresh is best, but you can use zest from a spice jar too)

Herb Rub for the turkey skin:

approximately 1/4-1/2 cup peanut oil or other oil
1 Tbsp fresh sage, ribboned
1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced
1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp orange zest

Shady Brook Farms or Honeysuckle White fresh young turkey

Directions:

The night before:

Chop/mince the herbs. You’ll save time and give yourself less work on Thanksgiving morning by doing this ahead of time. Place the herbs meant for the herb/spice rub back in the refrigerator.

Mix together all the marinade ingredients, cover, and leave out overnight. This will allow the herbs to infuse into the oil resulting in greater flavor.

The morning of:

Preheat your smoker or oven. (Follow package directions for your oven.)

If you have a smoker, soak the apple wood chips in water about 30 minutes prior. Turn your smoker on high.

Next prepare your Shady Brook Farms or Honeysuckle White turkey. Take the turkey from the package and remove the giblets and neck. Rinse off the juices and pat the turkey dry with a paper towel.

Place the turkey on a baking sheet, roasting pan, or platter. Gently use your fingers to open the area between the breast and the skin, being careful not to tear the skin.

Have someone help you hold the turkey upright and spoon 1/4 of the marinade liquid into this small area between the skin and breast. Spoon another 1/4 marinade mixture into the other breast area. Lay the turkey back down and massage gently to distribute the marinade.

Strain the herbs from the remaining liquid and inject the remaining marinade into the things, drumstick, and breast. (Typically the herbs are too large and will clog the injector.)

For the herb and spice rub:

Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and orange zest together.

Brush the turkey with peanut oil (recommended for smoking) or your favorite oil.

Sprinkle the remaining herbs over the oil and skin. Next, sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over the entire turkey, including the underside.

Cook as directed.

Our smoker requires about 10 minutes of cook time per pound. Be sure to check with a meat thermometer.
Here are the cooking temperatures according to Shady Brook Farms: cooking a turkey

When your Orange Herbed Turkey with Spiced Rub is finished, remove from the smoker or oven and let it sit for about 20 minutes before serving. This allows you time to finish preparing other dishes and allows the delicious juices to seep into the meat further.

Garnish with additional herbs, slices of orange, cranberries, or as desired.

Serve your Orange Herbed Turkey and be prepared for everyone to ask for seconds or thirds!

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Orange Herbed Turkey with Spiced Rub

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With savory herbs and spices, this Orange Herbed Turkey with Spiced Rub recipe will result in a mouthwatering tender bird so delicious everyone will want seconds or thirds!

• Author: Erika Bragdon with Living Well Mom
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

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Orange herb marinade for under the skin &/or injector:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp sage, finely chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp thyme, finely chopped
• 1 tsp orange zest

Herb Rub for the turkey skin:

• peanut oil or other oil
• 1 Tbsp sage, ribboned
• 1/2 Tbsp thyme, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp rosemary, minced
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp orange zest
• fresh young turkey

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Instructions

1. The night before, chop up the herbs. Place the herbs meant for the herb/spice rub back in the refrigerator.
2. Mix together all the marinade ingredients, cover, and leave out overnight. This will allow the herbs to infuse into the oil resulting in greater flavor.
3. The morning of:
4. Preheat your smoker or oven. For a smoker, soak apple wood chips in water about 30 minutes prior to cooking and turn your smoker on high.
5. Next prepare your turkey. Take the turkey from the package and remove the giblets and neck. Rinse off the juices and pat the turkey dry with a paper towel.
6. Place the turkey on a baking sheet, roasting pan, or platter. Gently use your fingers to open the area between the breast and the skin, being careful not to tear the skin. Have someone help you hold the turkey upright and spoon 1/4 of the marinade liquid into this small area between the skin and breast. Spoon another 1/4 marinade mixture into the other breast area. Lay the turkey back down and massage gently to distribute the marinade.
7. Strain the herbs from the remaining liquid and inject the remaining marinade into the things, drumstick, and breast.
8. For the herb and spice rub:
9. Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and orange zest together.
10. Brush the turkey with peanut oil or your favorite oil. Sprinkle the remaining herbs over the oil and skin. Next, sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over the entire turkey, including the underside.
11. Cook as directed. Your turkey is done when the breast meat is 165˚ F and dark meat is 175˚ F.
12. When your Orange Herbed Turkey with Spiced Rub is finished, remove from the smoker or oven and let it sit for about 20 minutes before serving.

Notes

Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your turkey; it can be anywhere from 2-5 or more hours.
Serving size also varies.