To make the compound butter:

In a bowl, combine the softened butter, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, thyme, garlic, parsley, rosemary and sale (optional).

Defrost turkey in the fridge.

Remove turkey from the package. Remove the neck and bag of giblets. Rinse and pat dry.

Optional: Salt the turkey on the inside with about 1-2 tsp of salt.

Using a spoon, gently separate the skin from the meat around the breast .

Use your fingers to spread some of the butter between the breast and the skin. It is important that the turkey is very dry, otherwise the butter won’t stick.

Make sure you reserve about 3 tablespoons of the compound butter.

Evenly spread the remaining mixture over the whole turkey.

Stuff the turkey with the apple, onion, orange, rosemary, thyme and parsley.

Tie the legs together so the cavity is closed, using a baker's twine or dental floss. Tuck the wings under the turkey.

Optional: Inject the turkey legs and breast with melted butter.
Preheat oven to 425 F.

Bake turkey for 30 minutes.

Melt the reserved compound butter. Soak a double cheesecloth with it. Open the oven and cover the turkey with the cheesecloth. This will prevent browning too quickly.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.

Roast for another 2-3 hours, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the turkey (both breast and legs) reads 165 F.

Baste the turkey with the drippings of the pan every 30 minutes.

You may add about 1 cup of chicken stock to the bottom of the pan, when you start cooking the turkey, this way the drippings won’t burn quickly.

Take out of the oven and let it cool for 25-30 minutes, covered with foil. Check the temperature again, art should not be less than 165 F. If it is, cook it for 20-30 minutes longer.

Slice and serve. Use leftovers for soup.