This classic Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe is easy to make and absolutely delicious. Crispy golden brown skin and flavorfulturkey meat, spread homemade garlic herb butter under the skin for a perfectly roasted turkey that will be the star of your Thanksgiving dinner.
We have tried a lot of Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes over the years, and I always go back to a classic roast Thankgiving turkey. It’s fun to experiment with grilling, deep frying and different brines, but nothing beats the smell of a traditional turkey roasting in the oven with butter, garlic and fresh herbs.
Thanksgiving Turkey
The first step is important and needs to be started several days in advance. Let frozen turkey thaw in the refrigerator in a disposable foil container to contain any drips. A 14-16 pound turkey will take 3-4 days to completely thaw. Next, let the turkey sit at room temperature for at least an hour to get the chill off of the bird. This will make it easier to handle and to remove the neck and giblets. It’s not fun trying to clean a partially frozen or ice cold turkey.
No need to wash the turkey before roasting, that will increase the chances of spreading bacteria around your sink and kitchen. Just use paper towels to pat dry inside and out and season inside liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
I like to stuff mine with a mix of orange wedges, lemon wedges, garlic, onion and fresh herbs.
For this Thanksgiving turkey recipe, I use 1/2 a stick of butter to make a garlic herb butter to spread under the skin. The skin protects the fresh garlic and herbs, and the butter, garlic and herbs flavor the turkey meat. Win, win! I used to make a garlic herb butter for under the skin and on top, but didn’t like how burned the fresh herbs and garlic would get.
Then spread the softened butter all over the turkey and season generously with salt and pepper. Tuck the tips of the wings under and tuck the legs together using the extra skin at the tailbone. You can also tie them together with cooking twine if preferred.
Roast the turkey on the rack of a large roasting pan on the lowest oven rack.
Start low and increase the temperature at the end to add color and crispness to the skin. The most important tool you can have when cooking your Thanksgiving turkey is a meat thermometer. The breast meat should be a minimum of 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh should be between 170 and 175.
Once the turkey is cooked to temperature, the next very important step is letting it rest, uncovered, 45 minutes to an hour before carving.
The heat of the oven is not kind to the appearance of fresh herbs, so for presentation purposes I like to tuck a few fresh herbs back into the turkey. It gives the Thanksgiving turkey that wow factor!
1headgarlic sliced in half, plus 2 cloves minced into paste
1 medium onioncut into wedges
1lemoncut into wedges
1orange cut into wedges
fresh sage
fresh rosemary
fresh thyme
fresh parsley
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove turkey neck and giblets. Pat turkey dry, inside and out and season inside liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
Place on roasting rack in a large roasting pan. Fill turkey cavity with onions, whole garlic cut in half, lemons, oranges and a 2-3 stems of each herb.
Combine 4 tablespoons of softened butter with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, 2 cloves of garlic that have been minced into paste, 1 tablespoon of minced sage, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon minced rosemary and 1 teaspoon of minced thyme leaves. Gently loosen skin from turkey breast and turkey legs and spread garlic herb butter under the skin.
Tuck wing tips under and use extra skin at base of backbone to tuck turkey legs together. You can also use cooking twine for this step, if preferred. Spread remaining softened butter all over outside of turkey and season liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Roasted at 325 degrees for two hours, then increase temperature to 425 degrees and roast for another 30 minutes to one hour depending on size of turkey. Begin checking turkey for doneness at the 2 hour mark. Turkey is done when breast meat registers 165 degrees and thigh meat is 170-175 degrees. IMPORTANT - Let turkey rest 45 minutes to one hour before carving.
Impart rich flavor and add moisture to your Thanksgiving turkey by adding a layer of butter under the skin before roasting. Learn how to do this simple (but genius) technique for a delicious Thanksgiving turkey.
Spreading on a spice rub or herbaceous compound butter is a genius way to bring big flavor to a turkey. Either can be applied directly to a turkey. Rub a spice blend all over the skin of the bird, and sprinkle it in the cavity, too, to season the turkey from the inside out.
Cut a 20-inch piece of cheesecloth and fold twice, creating 4 layers. Submerge the cloth in the melted butter, making sure it is completely saturated with it. Gently squeeze the cloth, then re-form so there are 4 layers and place on top of the turkey, covering it completely.
Fat is going to help the skin get brown and crisp, and contrary to what most might think, butter isn't better. Butter does an okay job, but because it contains a lot of water, oil is a better fat to rub on the skin to ensure it gets extra crispy.
Place roast, skin side up, on a flat roasting rack in 2-inch deep roasting pan. Do not add water to pan. Roast uncovered according to Cooking Schedule or until meat thermometer in center of breast roast reaches 170° F and in center of turkey roast reaches 175° F.
Inject the turkey with melted butter seasoned with salt, ground black pepper, and ground rosemary to achieve the moistest meat. Cranberry BBQ Glazed Whole Turkey: This glazed turkey is heavenly, but you can make it even better by injecting it with your cranberry BBQ glaze before cooking.
We recommend starting the turkey in a 425 degree oven for 30-45 minutes before tenting the pan with foil and lowering the temperature to 350 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the bird.
We've found that covering a turkey in foil yields much moister results than roasting it without foil, and we favor simply covering up the breast to even out cooking time. Some people swear that roasting a turkey breast-side down and flipping it halfway through achieves the same results as a foil covered breast.
So, yes, you do want to cover the turkey with foil to give it a chance to roast without getting dry. But then, towards the end of the cook time, remove the foil so the skin—the best part in this writer's opinion—gets a chance to crisp up.
For the most traditional flavored turkey, we recommend the following for a 14- to 16-pound turkey: 3 tablespoons kosher salt (we use Diamond Crystal brand) 1 1/2 combined teaspoons dried herbs: thyme, sage, and rosemary. 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Every piece of poultry and pork, plus thicker cuts of beef and lamb, and even meatier fillets of fish like swordfish and grouper get seasoned at least one day ahead, and sometimes more, with kosher salt.
In fact, there is no actual butter in or on a Butterball turkey. The fresh turkeys are injected with a basting solution made of salt water and “common household spices,” one brand representative told me. Butterball will not share the ingredients of its secret basting formula.
I recommend cooking a turkey uncovered to start. This allows the skin to crisp up. I do like to tent my turkey breast with aluminum foil after about 1 hour to deter overcooking to protect the delicate white meat.
You'll want to plan on about 1.25 pounds of turkey per person. That means if you're expecting 12 guests, plan for a 15-pound bird. To make things simple, we've created a guide to help you pick the perfect-sized turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner menu.
Place chopped onions, celery, and carrots in the bottom of the roasting pan. Pick a few herbs off the stalks and add to the vegetables. Set aside. Pat dry the turkey with paper towels.
4 ½ to 5 hours before dinner: Remove the turkey from the fridge so it has some time to take off the chill. This will help it cook more evenly. This is also when you can rub the bird with the garlic herb butter and tie up the legs with twine if you didn't do that the day before.
How Often to Baste a Turkey. Most recipes will tell you to baste your turkey every thirty minutes. But our rule of thumb is actually every forty minutes, and here's why. You don't want to open the oven too many times, or else the whole bird will take much long to cook, and that's a huge inconvenience.
Is it better to baste a turkey with butter or oil? Nothing beats butter! Olive oil can work great, too, but butter is more flavorful. Plus, it gives the skin a rich, golden color.
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