Turkey gets a Southwestern treatment in this creative recipe. Use an injector, available at gourmet shops or online through Amazon.com (click to order) to inject the turkey with orange chili butter. The result will be one of the moistest, most flavorful turkeys ever. The amounts given are for about an 18 pound turkey. Make less if your turkey is a lot smaller.

You can also cook this turkey on the grill, click here for grilling instructions.

Remove giblets and neck from turkey, reserve for gravy. Rinse turkey with cold running water and drain well. Blot dry with paper towels inside and out.

Preheat oven to 325° degrees. Reduce orange juice down to 1 cup. Melt butter with chili powder and garlic powder. Mix in Reduced orange juice. Cool slightly.

Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a large shallow (about 2 1/2" deep) roasting pan. Use an injector to inject the mixture into the turkey, especially in the meaty parts of the breast and thighs (see photo at left). Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Insert an oven safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful the pointed end of the thermometer does not touch the bone.

Roast turkey in a preheated, 325°F oven.  Click here for our turkey Roasting Chart. Loosely cover with aluminum foil to prevent over browning, remove foil during last hour and a half of cooking time. Continue to roast until thermometer registers 180 degrees F in the thigh, or 170 degrees F. in the breast.

Remove turkey from the oven and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.