Citrus Sage Thanksgiving Turkey

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  Here is my mother-in-law's juicy recipe for you.  I plan on making it for my family on Turkey Day!

{What you need}

1, 15-20 lb turkey, thawed

3 oranges, cut into quarters

3 apples, cored & cut into quarters

5 stalks celery

1 medium onion, peeled & cut into wedges

2 sprigs fresh sage

1 cup butter, softened and divided

Salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 450.  Wash bird inside out and dry gently with paper towels.  Remove neck and giblets and set them aside for the gravy.  Rub softened butter all over the outside of the bird.  Place on a rack in a large roasting pan.  Put the sage, 4 tablespoons butter  and as many of the oranges, apples, celery stalks, and onion as you can fit inside the bird, saving some to put around the bird in the pan. Tress the bird (skewer and tie legs and together) and salt and pepper the outside as desired.  Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, making sure to not touch the bone!  Put the bird in the heated oven, then immediately turn it down to 350.  Bake according to the weight of the bird, basting with melted butter every 20 minutes, then with the turkey drippings for the last 2 hours.  Tent the bird with tinfoil for the last 1 ½ hours.  Bake until the meat thermometer reads 180 degrees.

*If it gets done early, let it cool for about 10 minutes, then wrap in tinfoil securely and then bundle in a beach towel until ready to carve.