Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

With this Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe at your fingertips, turkey cooking will never be easier! All my 20-plus years of turkey-cooking family secrets are written in this one single post to make Thanksgiving a breeze for you!

From buying the right size Thanksgiving bird to cooking it, carving it, and serving it with many traditional sides and desserts, like the best-ever-sweet-potato-casserole, individual-pumpkin-pies, super-easy-sweet-cornbread, and deconstructed-pumpkin-pie, you can host Thanksgiving dinner like a pro!

Why you'll love this recipe

• Easy Recipe - Easy-to-source ingredients and simple-to-follow steps make this Thanksgiving turkey recipe a keeper!
• Juicy Turkey - I've made this recipe countless times and always have a juicy roast with a crispy exterior on the table.
• No special cooking tools - This Thanksgiving turkey recipe doesn't require any special cooking equipment. A simple foil roaster from the supermarket is all you'll really need.

Ingredient notes

• The turkey - When calculating the size of your Thanksgiving turkey, use a ratio of 1-1.5 lbs of meat per person, depending on whether or not you want leftovers. If serving 12 or more people, never buy a bird larger than 16 lbs. as cooking can become tricky. Cook one small bird and a breast for best results. Similarly, I would suggest one large turkey breast, two small turkey breasts, or a 10 lb bird minimum for eight people or less. Anything smaller than 10 lbs will have too many bones and insufficient meat.
• The broth - I often prepare a large batch of homemade, easy chicken broth for all my holiday cooking. This can be done and frozen a few weeks before Thanksgiving and is much more flavorful than store-bought chicken stock. However, if you're short of time, feel free to use store-bought stock. The broth adds flavor and moisture to the turkey.
• The butter- The fat is essential for both flavor and making the skin crispy. For best results, use a good-quality butter like kerrygoldusa.com.
• The seasoning - I keep it simple since there are so many accompanying sides and condiments to eat with the turkey. Salt, pepper, and paprika are a perfect blend in addition to the other herbs and vegetables used to flavor the turkey.
• The herbs - Sage, thyme, tarragon, and rosemary add a heady aroma and subtle flavor to the roast, drippings, and, as a result, the gravy.
• The vegetables - Onion, garlic, lemon, celery, and carrots add the last layer of flavor to the meat and drippings.

Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions.

Substitutions & variations

• Glaze versus baste - Try brushing on a honey-based glaze instead of a traditional baste for crispier, chewy skin.
• Foil roaster - Forget the fancy roaster and use a disposable foil one instead. Layer the base with vegetables to catch the drippings in place of a rack. Perfect juicy turkey, no roasting pan to store, and easy cleanup!
• Use a dry brine - A dry brine works really well for a whole roast. The poultry will take up much less room in the fridge and will be a lot less messy this way. To dry brine, massage the skin with salt, pepper, and paprika as described in the instructions in the recipe card, and let the turkey sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Then add the butter just before putting it in the oven to roast.
• Herbed butter as seasoning - Using herbed butter as part of the seasoning adds extra flavor and taste. Just make sure to adjust the salt as necessary if using this butter.
• Cook as a spatchcocked bird - Spatchcock your turkey and finish cooking it in half the normal time! Once you get the hang of it, you may never cook it any other way.

Step-by-step instructions

Fifth step - If the skin seems to be getting too brown, place a loosely tented foil over the meat. The turkey is perfectly cooked when its internal temperature at the innermost thigh, wing, and breast has a reading of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

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I hope you decide to try this Thanksgiving turkey recipe! Please don't forget to leave a rating and comment below! If you take a picture, then tag me on Instagram! Thank You

Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

Nosheen Babar

This Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe, with crispy skin on the outside and juicy meat on the inside, will make your Thanksgiving perfect!

5 from 1 vote

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

resting time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 13 people

Calories 631 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 13 lbs turkey (notes)
• ▢ 1½ stick butter
• ▢ 2 tbsp Paprika
• ▢ 2 tbsp salt
• ▢ 2 tbsp black pepper

Vegetables & Cavity Filling

• ▢ 2 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 2 onions
• ▢ 2 sticks celery
• ▢ 2 carrots
• ▢ 1 bulb garlic
• ▢ 1 lemon
• ▢ 1 sprig sage
• ▢ 1 sprig thyme
• ▢ 1 sprig rosemary
• ▢ 1 sprig tarragon

Basting Liquid

• ▢ 1 stick unsalted butter
• ▢ 2 cups broth

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Clean out the cavity of your Turkey and wash and pat it dry.
• Quarter one onion, cut the celery and carrots into half, and place everything at the bottom of your roasting pan.
• Place the roasting rack on top of the vegetables and rest the turkey on top.
• Pour 2 cups of the chicken broth into the pan to create some steam
• Place the remaining onion (quartered), peeled garlic bulb, halved lemon, and all of the herbs in the cavity of the Turkey.
• Melt the 1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter and brush the turkey with it generously {both inside the skin and on top of the skin}.
• Sprinkle all of the seasoning on the turkey, rubbing it in to get it evenly distributed all over the bird.
• Cook the Turkey until the temperature reads 165 degrees when the thermometer is inserted inside the deepest part of the thigh (see notes)

Basting Liquid

• Heat the remaining 2 cups of broth with 1 stick of unsalted butter and set aside to baste the turkey later.
• Start basting with the broth and butter mixture every 30 minutes (see notes)
• Let your Turkey sit for 30 minutes before carving. (see notes)

Notes

Turkey - When calculating the size of your turkey, use a ratio of 1-1.5 lbs of turkey per person, depending on whether or not you want leftovers. If serving 12 or more people, never buy a bird larger than 16 lbs. as cooking can become tricky. Cook one small bird and a breast for best results. Similarly, I would suggest one large turkey breast, two small turkey breasts, or a 10 lb bird minimum for eight people or less. Anything smaller than 10 lbs will have too many bones and insufficient meat.

The broth - I often prepare a large batch of homemade, easy chicken broth for all my holiday cooking. This can be done and frozen a few weeks ahead and is much more flavorful than store-bought chicken stock. However, if you're short of time, feel free to use store-bought stock. The broth adds flavor and moisture to the turkey.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 631kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 71gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 279mgSodium: 1810mgPotassium: 836mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 2459IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 3mg

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