Follow these tried and true, step by step directions to cook a beautifully browned, juicy turkey with crispy skin.
You only need to pre-read all of the instructions and make sure you have everything ready before you start. There is nothing complicated or secret to get succulent white meat you will be proud of.
If you are new to cooking turkeys, resist the urge to buy a gigantic turkey. Get one just big enough to feed your number of guests. Estimate 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per person. The larger size will have some leftovers. Avoid turkeys with pop-up thermometers and that have been injected. You may have to read the fine print to see if it has been injected or not.
Brining is optional. It adds an extra layer of flavor, but it’s an additional time-consuming step, so consider your own experience as well as how many other tasks you have to complete for your meal. You can always do it next time. The only brine I use on turkey is Apple Brine.
Make sure the turkey is fully defrosted. Wear food preparation gloves and place on plastic cutting board. DO NOT WASH IT, that only spreads salmonella.
Don’t stuff the turkey. Make the dressing separately. This will ensure that the meat cooks more evenly.
This and every ‘meat’ recipe requires a high quality instant read thermometer. The thermometer of choice is the calibrated ThermaPen One. Other traditionally used thermometers can be off by as much as 10°. That’s the difference between juicy white meat and raw or dry white meat. If you don’t have one, this is the single most important item the splurge on.
Enjoy your success! The cook always gets the oysters. Google it!
The Perfect Oven Roasted Turkey that Even Beginners Can Get Right.
Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium8
servings20
minutes3
hours30
Ingredients
12 lb turkey, giblets included
1 yellow onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed and skins removed
4 tablespoons organic unsalted butter
2 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken bone broth, preferably homemade
Directions
- Brine the turkey (optional)
- Brine for 24 hours, then air-dry overnight in the refrigerator.
- Roast the turkey
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Remove giblets from cavity AND neck. Cook them separately and use in dressing and/or gravy.
- Dry the turkey with paper towels.
- Add onion, garlic, butter cut into individual tablespoons, and thyme into the cavity.
- Rub turkey with vegetable oil and then salt and pepper all over, including the inside. Go very easy on the salt. The gravy will have salt as well.
- Truss the turkey. Watch a video on how to bend the wings behind the back. Tie the legs together near the tail using kitchen string.
- Place breast down on a rack in a roasting pan so juices can drip through. Don’t worry about cooking bags or anything else, if you cook it to the proper temperature it will be juicy.
- Place into oven. Carefully pour chicken broth into the pan. You’re doing this now so you don’t have to carry a heavy turkey in a pan full of liquid from the table to the oven.
- Roast for 1 hour, then reduce heat to 350°F. At 90 minutes into cooking, carefully remove the pan from the oven and turn the turkey over so it is breast side up. Place back into the oven.
- TOTAL cook time should be about 13 minutes per pound. Start checking the internal meat temperature with 45 minutes to go. You want to cook it until the breast reaches 160°F. You don’t want to check it a lot because you lose heat from the oven and you’ll stab it too many times, but you want to be absolutely sure you don’t overcook the breast.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, carve and serve.
- Meanwhile, you can use the juices in the roasting pan along with the giblets to make gravy or add to the dressing.
- Get a VERY sharp, long knife and fork and watch a video on how to properly carve the turkey.
Notes
- I both brine and air dry in a cooler with lots of ice on the bottom. The ice is double sealed in strong garbage bags so there is no risk of getting the turkey wet.
