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.
Part of it is rubbed under the skin and over the meat of the bird for a major boost in flavor. The rest is melted and brushed over the skin to ensure that gorgeous golden brown exterior.
Salt and pepper the outside of the turkey GENEROUSLY (including inside the cavity). Mash a stick of softened butter together with chopped fresh herbs, lemon zest, garlic, and salt and rub the garlic butter under the turkey skin. Brush the turkey with more melted butter prior to roasting.
Place your turkey on a wire rack and then place the rack in a roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of the roasting pan. This will prevent the drippings from burning on the bottom of the pan. If using a flat rack (use a V-rack if you have one), you will notice the turkey will tilt to one side or the other.
To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.
Why isn't the butter sticking to the turkey? The bird may be condensating or your butter may be too cold and firm. Make sure the turkey comes to room temperature for an hour and pat it with paper towels to remove moisture before you butter it.
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.
What Temperature to Cook the Turkey? Cook your turkey at 325 degrees F for most of the cook time; in the final 45 minutes, remove the cover or foil tent from the turkey, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and baste the bird with butter. The initial lower oven temperature cooks the turkey through evenly.
After the turkey is defrosted, remove any giblets, check that there are no ice crystals inside the cavity and pat dry with kitchen paper both outside and in. Before it goes in the oven, the turkey should be at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge (1 hr for a whole turkey, or 30 mins for a cut) 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.
The Right Way to Take the Temperature of Your Turkey
The government recommends cooking turkey breast to 165°F (74°C). I prefer my turkey breast at 150°F (66°F), at which point it is far, far juicier (especially if you dry brine it!).
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.
By using a V-rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, not only do you fully expose the legs, you also leave plenty of room for hot air to travel around the entire surface of the turkey, maximizing the amount of crisp skin you can get out of it.
As the roast turkey rests (30–60 minutes is ideal), the residual heat will continue to push the internal temperature up to the goal temperature, without going over. Rest your bird on a cutting board with a trough, or on a platter, to collect any runoff juices (save them for gravy).
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.
In a nutshell, the butter melts into the breast meat, keeping it moist and adding extra flavor. Of course, back in the day, we also placed paper-thin slices of fresh truffle under the skin.
2. Rub the skin with fat. Once you've carefully dried off the skin, the next step you can take to guarantee perfectly crispy turkey skin is to rub it with a fat, like butter or oil.
Add a combination of water and wine, turkey stock, or chicken stock to the bottom of the pan to add moisture to the cooking environment and flavor the drippings for gravy later.
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