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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Say goodbye to Thanksgiving turkey anxiety! This foolproof recipe guarantees juicy meat, perfectly crispy skin, and amazing flavour: all with minimal effort and no stress! Whether this is your first turkey or you’re a seasoned veteran, you’ll get amazing holiday-worthy results every time!
No need to fear the Thanksgiving turkey! This easy recipe takes the guesswork out, leaving you with tender, juicy meat, crispy skin, and bold flavour in every bite, without the stress.
Why not make your own Turkey Gravy for this recipe? Or use your own Poultry Seasoning as well?
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This simple and easy-to-follow guide for making a turkey for Thanksgiving should produce a delicate, tender turkey that isn’t overcooked.
- Total Time: Cooking time will vary based on the size of your turkey, but it is approximately 4 hours. Always rely on a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches a safe level and follow the USDA standards for safe cooking.
- Tools For This Recipe: You’ll need a few essentials, such as a large roasting pan, a meat thermometer, aluminum foil to create a double-layered foil bag, and a small bowl to mix the butter and herb mixture. If needed, you may require kitchen twine to tie the turkey drumsticks together.
What You’ll Need for Ingredients
Fresh Whole Turkey: Choose a turkey between 12 and 15 pounds, the perfect size for a family gathering. It’s big enough to feed a crowd but still manageable to cook evenly and enjoy juicy, tender meat.
Unsalted Butter, Shallots, Poultry Seasoning, Garlic Cloves: These ingredients help create a buttery herb mixture that adds a flavorful boost to the turkey. When spread under and over the skin, it helps keep the meat moist.
Carrots, Celery, Yellow Onion, Garlic Cloves, Dry White Wine, and Turkey Stock: These help give the meat a deep, savoury flavour. As the turkey roasts, these keep the turkey juicy and enhance the drippings for an even richer gravy. Karlynn’s Tip: Although the recipe calls for turkey stock for its rich, hearty flavour, chicken stock is a perfect substitute as they can be interchanged in poultry recipes.
How To Make An Easy Thanksgiving Turkey
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Line a turkey roaster with long sheets of aluminum foil to wrap over the turkey.
- Remove the giblets and pat the inside dry with paper towels. Season the cavity with salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, mix the softened butter, minced shallots, poultry seasoning, and garlic. Rub the mixture over the turkey.
- Place half of the cavity ingredients inside the turkey and scatter the remaining ingredients around it in the roasting pan. Tie the drumsticks with kitchen twine if necessary and tuck the wing tips under the turkey.
- Mix your chosen broth and wine, and pour it into the turkey cavity.
- Bring the foil over the turkey and seal the ends together. Bake at 350ºF for 2 hours.
- Open the foil and continue baking until the skin is golden and the internal temperature at the thigh reaches 185ºF (about one more hour).
- Remove from oven. Take out as much of the drippings as possible, then loosely cover the turkey with foil. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Use the drippings to make gravy while the turkey rests. Carve and serve with gravy.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey
- How To Get Perfectly Crispy Turkey Skin Without The Flop:
Crispy turkey skin can be tricky, but here’s the secret: remove the foil for the last hour to let the skin brown and crisp up. For extra flavour and crunch, gently loosen the skin by using a spoon or spatula to loosen the membrane—be careful to avoid tearing the skin—and spread the butter mixture. - How To Avoid Overcooking Your Turkey: One of the biggest challenges when cooking turkey at home is that it can dry out easily when overcooked, as turkey isn’t quite as forgiving as chicken. This recipe solves that problem with a double-layered aluminum foil bag. It traps steam to cook the turkey faster while keeping it tender and juicy!
Storage Instructions
Turkey is best served fresh, when the meat is at its juiciest and the skin is still crisp! If you do find yourself with leftovers, follow the instructions below for the most optimal results
Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Store sliced meat separately from the bones for easier reheating.
Freezer: For extended storage, freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag, removing as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. It is best used within 2-3 months for optimal flavour and texture.
More Delicious Turkey Recipes
- How to Cook the Juiciest, Most Tender Oven Roast Turkey. This will change the way you cook your turkey from now on!
- How to Make Turkey Stock: Make a large batch of stock using the bones from your roast turkey dinner!
- How to Make Turkey Carcass Soup is one of the best ways to use up your holiday leftovers!
That’s all there is to it! One of the easiest ways to make your Thanksgiving turkey!
Let me know in the comments how it turns out! You know I always love hearing about your cooking adventures!
Happy Thanksgiving and happy cooking!
Karlynn
Easy Thanksgiving Turkey
Ingredients
- one 12-15 pound fresh whole turkey
Butter Herb Mixture
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Cavity Ingredients
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces
- 4 stalks celery, cut into large chunks
- 2 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into wedges
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed flat
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 cups turkey or chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and move the rack in your oven down to the second from the bottom slot. Line a turkey roaster with long sheets of aluminum foil that are long enough to wrap up and over the turkey, without touching it!
- Remove any giblets from the turkey cavity. Dry the turkey thoroughly with paper towels. Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper if desired.
- Place the turkey in the middle of the prepared roasting pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, minced shallot, poultry seasoning and minced garlic. Spread the butter herb mixture over the turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place HALF of the carrots, celery, onion and garlic inside the cavity. Place the OTHER half around the turkey in the roasting pan for flavor in the drippings!
- If needed, tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine, and make sure to tuck the wing tips under the turkey.
- Mix the turkey broth and the wine together, then pour into the CAVITY of the turkey, letting the excess run out into the bottom of the pan.
- Bring the excess aluminum foil up and over the top of the turkey, and seal the ends together, making sure that the foil doesn’t touch the turkey at all.
- Bake the turkey in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Uncover the turkey, and continue baking until the skin turns golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh near the bone reads 185° F, another hour or hour and a half, depending on the size of your turkey.
- Remove the turkey from the oven. Remove as much of the drippings as you can from the pan then cover the turkey with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
- Make the turkey gravy while the turkey rests and get your other side dishes finished.
- Carve and serve with the gravy.
Notes
- The aluminum foil acts like an oven bag and keeps the turkey tender and moist, but it also can cook it faster than an uncovered turkey. Luckily because you have steamed moisture into the turkey for 2 hours, it helps with accidental overcooking!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Karen says
This is a good and easy recipe. Any tips or thoughts on making it ahead and re-heating to save some oven space on the day?
Karlynn Johnston says
Oh I wouldn’t reheat it however what I do to save oven space for the turkey is make everything else in the Crock-Pot if I can even stuffing or mashed potatoes!