Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

5 from 1 vote

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

Prep Time30

Cook Time3

resting time30

Total Time4

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy recipes, holiday recipes, oven roasted turkey, thanksgiving recipes

Servings: people

Calories: 631kcal

Author: Nosheen Babar

Ingredients

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