Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
You have had so many roasted turkeys in the past, but this easy Thanksgiving turkey recipe is the only one you will ever need again. It is simply the best, perfectly roasted bird; it is delicious and juicy, and this recipe is foolproof.
Leave your family and guests wowed with this dish. Let me show you how to cook the best turkey for all occasions with this easy step-by-step guide.
Thanksgiving turkey recipe
This recipe is great not only for your Thanksgiving turkey but also for Christmas, Easter, or any other occasion or holiday celebration.
Trust me, it would all be worth it in the end, as your guests and families would love this one. There would be no meat left at the end of the day.
I don’t like stuffing the turkey for health and safety reasons. Most of the time, the stuffing does not cook all the way through, which poses a huge health and safety issue. Also, if you wait until the stuffing cooks through, you risk overcooking the turkey.
Most of the time, if I am serving some stuffing, I make it separately using either store-bought or homemade. I love to serve the stuffing alongside my homemade giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, brown sugar glazed carrots and other delicious sides.
Why you will love this Thanksgiving turkey recipe
- You do not need to brine the turkey; this saves you an extra step of work to do. More importantly, you do not need to worry about the safe handling of turkey during brining. That said, with this recipe, you are guaranteed moist, tender and delicious turkey.
- There is no need to marinade the bird overnight as it can be done on the day you cook it.
- There’s no need to baste the turkey. Once it’s cooking at the right temperature, your hands will be free for 2 to 3 hours. You won’t have to keep opening the oven to check and baste every 30 minutes or so. In fact, doing this only makes the oven lose heat and increases cooking time. However, you can adjust the time accordingly if you choose to baste the turkey.
- You do not need to truss the turkey. This is just the process of tying the turkey legs together. It is beautiful, but doing this might also increase the cooking time.
- Above all, this is an extremely easy Thanksgiving turkey recipe you will use every time.
A Quick guide to buying a turkey
The first decision is whether you want a whole turkey or a turkey crown. Picture your Thanksgiving or Christmas table. What do you see? Next, consider how many people you’ll be serving. Most turkey packaging includes serving suggestions that are generally accurate.
Decide if you want fresh or frozen turkey. You can buy frozen turkey weeks or months before the holiday, but fresh ones are only available a few days in advance. Depending on where you buy it, you may need to order fresh turkey ahead of time.
Finally, choose between ready-brined or basted turkey or handling that yourself. These aren’t all the considerations, but planning ahead is key.
How to thaw frozen turkey
The best way to thaw is to follow package instructions, which will most likely be a slow thaw in the fridge, using the turkey’s size as a guide. A general rule of thumb is to allow 24 hours for every 5 pounds. My 8-pound turkey took about 48 hours in the fridge, though it thawed faster than the packaging suggested.
Ensure your fridge is at the correct temperature. You can also quickly thaw under cold running water or by submerging the turkey in water, keeping it in its packaging and changing the water often (say every 30 minutes).
The DO’s of thawing in the fridge:
- Keep it in the packaging.
- Place it in a shallow pan to catch any melting ice/water.
Don’ts:
- Don’t remove the packaging.
- Don’t cook the turkey unless it is fully thawed.
To check if it’s completely thawed, press the breast side; it should spring back. The leg should move freely.
How much turkey per one person?
Most packaging suggests how many people it can feed. A general rule is one pound of meat per person. My 8.7lb (3.8kg) turkey feeds 4–7 people with some leftovers.
Ingredients
Completely thawed whole turkey
Rosemary
Thyme
Smoked paprika
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Parsley
Salt
Fresh black pepper
Butter
Fresh spring of rosemary
Fresh spring of thyme
Water/wine/stock: this stops the vegetables from burning and also intensify the flavours for the gravy.
Vegetables: This will enhance the flavour of the gravy if you do decide to make one. More importantly, elevating the turkey over these vegetables during the cooking process would allow air to circulate uniformly and cook the bird perfectly.
Celery
Carrots
Onions
Fresh garlic
Lemon
Orange
How to cook a turkey
Remove the giblets and turkey neck from the bird cavity. You do not need to wash your bird. Think about it: whatever bacteria lurking around it will definitely die after passing through the heat from the oven. Check the cavity and be sure to have removed any unwanted bits in it.
Pat the turkey dry with a kitchen towel, including the cavity then generously season with salt and black pepper. Make sure you rub it in and all around the bird, including the cavity. Set the turkey aside for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can return it into the fridge but make sure to bring it out 30 minutes before cooking so it comes to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F for a conventional oven or 170C/350F for fan oven pr Gas mark 5
In a small bowl, mix together the smoked paprika, sage, thyme, garlic granules, onion powder, parsley and softened butter. Also, while you wait, prep the veggies; cut the carrot, onions, and celery into large chunks, then the lemon and orange into segments, and lastly, cut the garlic bulb into two.
Arrange the chopped vegetables in the roasting pan, place turkey breast side down on the bed of vegetables and rub the butter mixture all over it. Carefully flip the bird so it is breastside up and tuck the wing tips under the back. Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin on the breast by sliding your fingers in between the skin and the turkey breast. You can also do this using the back of a spoon.
Rub the remaining compound butter on the rest of turkey and under the loosened skin. Finally, stuff the cavity with 2 oranges and lemon segments and the fresh rosemary and thyme.
Place the turkey in the center of the oven and roast for 12 – 15 minutes per pound. When the turkey is cooked halfway through, check that the skin is not browning too quickly, if so, tent the bird with a foil and continue to cook until fully cooked and skin is golden brown.
To ensure that the turkey is fully cooked, insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. If the juice runs clear and not pink, then it is done. Also, the internal temperature should read 165F/73C.
PS: the turkey can be removed from the oven once the internal temperature reaches 160F/ as it continues to cook as it rests under the foil.
Rest the turkey for about 30 to 45 minutes before carving.
Watch how to make it
Tips
- Remove the turkey from the oven when its internal temperature of the thickest part reaches 160-164F, as it will continue to cook while resting.
- Pat the turkey dry before seasoning to ensure crispy skin and moist meat.
- You don’t need to truss the turkey legs since it might prevent even cooking. After roasting, I put the legs together for a nicer presentation, but it’s unnecessary for a perfect roast.
- Remember to apply the butter mixture beneath the bird’s skin before roasting. This technique infuses the meat with rich flavors and ensures the skin becomes perfectly crispy as it cooks.
- The best meat thermometer for turkey is a probe, allowing you to stop cooking once it reaches the correct temperature of 165F/73C for turkey or any poultry.
- If you don’t have a roasting pan, use a disposable turkey foil pan instead.
Perfect sides for your Holiday turkey
Roasted broccoli and cauliflower
Roasted Cauliflower steaks
You honestly don’t want to miss these Scalloped potatoes or garlic butter smashed potatoes on your Thanksgiving table this year. It is an absolute delight!
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Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 8 – 12 pound whole turkey
- 1 tsp Rosemary
- ½ tbsp thyme
- ½ tsp sage
- ½ tbsp smoked paprika
- ½ tbsp onion powder
- ½ tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tbsp salt You wouldn’t be using all
- 1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper You wouldn’t be needing all
- 125 g butter softened
- 2 Fresh spring of rosemary
- 2 Fresh spring of thyme
- Water/wine/stock: this stops the vegetables from burning.
Vegetable bed ingredients
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 1 large Onion chopped I used a mixture of red and yellow onions
- 1 garlic bulb halved
- 1 Lemon quartered divided
- 1 Orange quartered divided
Instructions
- Remove the giblets and turkey neck from the bird cavity. You do not need to wash your bird. Think about it, whatever bacteria lurking around it would definitely be dead after passing through the heat from the oven. Check the cavity and be sure to have removed any unwanted bits in it.
- Pat the turkey dry with a kitchen towel, including the cavity then generously season with salt and black pepper. Make sure you rub it in and all around the bird, including the cavity. Set the turkey aside for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can return it into the fridge but make sure to bring it out 30 minutes before cooking so it comes to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F for a conventional oven or 170C/350F for fan oven pr Gas mark 5
- In a small bowl, mix together the smoked paprika, sage, thyme, garlic granules, onion powder, parsley and softened butter. Also while you wait, prep the veggies, cut carrot, onions, celery into large chunks, then the lemon and orange into segments, lastly cut the garlic bulb into two.
- Arrange the chopped vegetables in the roasting pan, place turkey breast side down on the bed of vegetables and rub the butter mixture all over it. carefully flip the bird so it is breast side up and truck the wing tips under the back. Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin on the breast by sliding your fingers in between the skin and the turkey breast.
- Rub the remaining compound butter on the rest of turkey and under the loosened skin. Finally, stuff the cavity with 2 wedges oranges and lemon segments and the fresh rosemary and thyme.
- Place the turkey in the centre of the oven and roast for 12 – 15 minutes per pound. When the turkey is cooked halfway through, check that the skin is not browning too quickly, if so, tent the bird with a foil and continue to cook until fully cooked and skin is golden brown. To ensure that the turkey is fully cooked, insert meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, if the juice runs clear and not pink then it is done, also the internal temperature should read 165F/73C
- PS: the turkey can be taken out of the oven once the internal temperature reaches 160F/ as it continues to cook as it rest under the foil.
- Rest the turkey for about 30 to 45 minutes before carving.
Video
Notes
Tips
- Remove the turkey from the oven when its internal temperature of the thickest part reaches 160-164F, as it will continue to cook while resting.
- Pat the turkey dry before seasoning to ensure crispy skin and moist meat.
- You don’t need to truss the turkey legs since it might prevent even cooking. After roasting, I put the legs together for a nicer presentation, but it’s unnecessary for a perfect roast.
- Remember to apply the butter mixture beneath the bird’s skin before roasting. This technique infuses the meat with rich flavors and ensures the skin becomes perfectly crispy as it cooks.
- The best meat thermometer for turkey is a probe, allowing you to stop cooking once it reaches the correct temperature of 165F/73C for turkey or any poultry.
- If you don’t have a roasting pan, use a disposable foil instead.
Nutrition
Nutritional data: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients and brands you use. Under no circumstances will thedinnerbite.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.
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