You have had so many roasted turkeys in the past but this easy thanksgiving turkey recipe is the only one you would ever need again. It is simply, the best perfectly roasted bird, it is delicious, juicy and this recipe is foolproof.
Leave your family and guest wowed with this dish, let me show you how to cook the best turkey for all occasions in this easy step by step guide.
Thanksgiving turkey recipe
Did you know you can achieve the best and perfectly cooked turkey using only the basic ingredients in your pantry? I am sharing with you my all-time and best turkey marinade ever.
This recipe is not only great on your Thanksgiving turkey, but it is also great for Christmas, Easter or any other occasion.
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 times the stuffing does not cook all the way through and that poses a huge health and safety issue. also, if you wait until the stuffing cooks through, you run the risk of overcooking the turkey.
Most times, if I am serving some, I make it separately using either store-bought or making a simple one at home myself. I love to serve the stuffing alongside my homemade cranberry sauce and 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 need not need to worry about 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 of roasting.
- No need to baste the turkey, it means once you cook this turkey under the right temperature, you would have your hands free for the next 2 to 3hours. There would not be need to for you to keep opening the oven door checking and basting every 30 minutes. In actual fact, doing this would only make the oven lose heat during the cooking process and also increases the cooking time.
That said, you can always adjust the time accordingly if you do decide 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 recipe with great tasting bird.
Quick guide to buying a turkey
The first question is if you want a whole turkey or turkey crown. Picture your thanksgiving or Christmas table. What do you see? Once that is decided, now ask yourself how many people would you be serving the turkey?
Most turkey packaging would have a number of serving suggestions on it and they are mostly accurate.
Another thing to decide is if you want fresh or frozen turkey. While you can buy frozen turkey some few weeks or months before thanksgiving or Christmas, fresh ones are only sold a few days to the time.
You might need to give a notice in advance for fresh turkey depending on where you are purchasing it from.
Lastly, do you want to buy ready brined or basted turkey or would you rather do this process yourself? These questions are not exhaustive but it is important to always plan ahead for the big day.
How to thaw frozen turkey
The best and practical way to know how to thaw a frozen turkey is to follow the instructions on the package of the bird.
Alternatively, another safe way is to do a slow thaw in the fridge letting the size of the turkey guide you. This method is the easiest and safest way of doing it provided you do not forget to put it in the fridge at the right time. A general rule of thumb is to allow 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey.
My turkey was just a little bit over 8 pounds (3.8kg) so I left it in the fridge for up to 48hours. Although, it did thaw completely before then, in fact, the instruction on the back did say 39 hours in the fridge
It is important that you have the fridge at the correct temperature
You can also do a quick thaw under cold running water or by submerging the turkey in water like you would if you were brining it. Make sure the turkey remains in its packaging throughout this process.
The DO’s of thawing frozen turkey in the fridge
- Keep it in its packaging
- Place it in a shallow pan, that way the melted ice/water drips into the pan
Don’ts
- Do not remove the packaging on the bird
- Don’t cook the turkey unless it is completely thawed.
How to know that the turkey is completely thawed
The breast side would spring back when pressed into it. Also, the leg would wriggle freely when moved.
How much turkey per one person?
Most turkey packaging gives you the idea on how many people the bird can feed depending on its size. The general rule of the thumb is to allow one pound of meat per person. My 3.8kg (8.3lb) says it would feed between 4 – 7 people which is accurate and you are also guaranteed some leftovers as well.
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 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 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 rests under the foil.
Rest the turkey for about 30 to 45 minutes before carving.
Tips to making the best thanksgiving turkey
Take out the turkey from the oven once the internal temperature reaches 160 – 164F because the turkey continues to cook as its rest.
Make sure you pat dry the turkey before seasoning. This is important in other to achieve crispy yet tender skin and moist turkey
You do not need to truss the legs of this bird as doing so might not let it cook evenly. I was able to put the turkey legs together after roasting it to make it aesthetically pleasing for presentation but it is not needed for perfect roasting.
Don’t forget to rub the butter mixture under the skin of the bird before roasting as it adds tons of flavours and also helps crisp up the skin as it cooks.
The best meat thermometer for turkey is the probe, that way, you can stop cooking the turkey once it registers the right temperature. In this case 165F/73C for turkey or any other type of poultry.
If you don’t own a roasting pan, simply use disposable foil roasting pan
Perfect sides for your thanksgiving 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 teaspoon Rosemary
- ½ tablespoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon sage
- ½ tablespoon smoked paprika
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 tablespoon salt You wouldn’t be using all
- 1 tablespoon 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
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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