The ONLY Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe You Need
Thanksgiving is all about gathering around a table filled with loved ones and delicious food, with the turkey taking center stage. But cooking the perfect Thanksgiving turkey can feel like an intimidating task, especially with the pressure of pleasing a crowd. Here’s a straightforward guide that will help you cook a golden, juicy turkey that’s bound to impress—and be the highlight of the feast. Follow this guide to make your Thanksgiving 2024 turkey the best one yet!
First, you need to choose the right turkey, and personally… I don’t think you need to go out and buy the most expensive turkey there is. I’ve used Honeysuckle Whites for most of my life, In and out of restaurants. If you’re looking for something a little more impressive, D’artagnan has some really nice turkeys… or perhaps you know a local poultry farmer that can get you a fresh turkey. A general rule of thumb for sizing is about 1.5 pounds per person. But whatever your turkey of choice is, or the size, our approach is going to be the same.
You’re going to want to have your turkey thawed out by Monday at the latest. The best way to thaw your turkey is by running it under trickling cold water in a sink until its fully thawed, (If your sink has an overflow and you wont flood your kitchen) or changing the water about every 30 minutes. Or alternatively you can just let it hang out in the refrigerator for about 4 days for a 16# turkey.
Brining: The Key to a Moist Turkey
Brining is essential for adding flavor and moisture, keeping your turkey juicy through the roasting process. You can choose between a wet brine or dry brine.
- Wet Brine: A wet brine is just a mixture of water, or another liquid, salt and sugar. You can then add other aromatics to further flavor your brine however you’d like. Check out my recipe for this Brown Sugar and Herb Brine!
- Dry Brine: Rub salt (and any other spices) directly onto the turkey, both inside and out, and let it rest in the fridge, uncovered, for 12-24 hours. This helps crisp up the skin and retains moisture. (I prefer this method more for smoking a turkey. I’m working on a recipe for that now, so stay tuned!)
After your turkey comes out of the brine on Wednesday, you’ll want to air dry the skin. This helps it get nice and crispy while roasting. That’s one of my favorite parts. But if you’re crunched for time, air drying your skin isn’t a necessity.
I don’t like to stuff my turkey. To me, the stuffing gets gummy and your turkey takes far too long to cook before it reaches a safe internal temperature. To see my stuffing recipe, click here!
The ONLY Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe You Need
Equipment
- 1 Large Brining Bag
- 1 Roasting Pan
- 1 Roasting Rack
- 1 Boning Knife
- 1 Slicing Knife
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Baster (This is all up to you. I just use a large spoon to baste my turkey.)
Ingredients
- 1 Turkey
- 2 Gallons Brown Sugar and Herb Brine
- 3 tbsp Whole Butter
Instructions
Preparations leading to Turkey Day
- Have your turkey thawed out by the Monday leading to thanksgiving.
- Remove from bag and drain well. Make sure to remove the neck, giblets and any chunks of ice that may be stuck inside.
- Place the turkey breast side down in your brine bag, add about 2 gallons of your prepared brine to your bag and seal up well. You can place this into a large pot, clean bucket or even one of the drawers in your refrigerator.
- For a turkey under 20#, brine for about 36 hours. Anything larger you can go up to 48 hours.
- By Wednesday your turkey should be ready to come out of the brine. Remove it from the bag, rise it off gently and pat dry.
- Make sure the legs are secured in the plastic holder that comes with your turkey, and I like to tuck the wings under the body. It just gives a better presentation and helps the turkey sit up better.
- Place your turkey into a roasting pan on a roasting rack, put back into your refrigerator and allow to air dry until Thursday.
Cooking your Turkey
- Preheat oven to 325℉, fan on if you have that feature. If not id do 350℉
- Rub your turkey down with some whole butter, you don't need a lot. This just helps the skin start browning.
- Place your wired thermometer between the thigh and breast, into the thickest part of the turkey.
- Put your turkey into the oven and baste about every 45 minutes. If your skin is getting a little darker than you'd like, you can tent it with some foil. Make sure to rotate occasionally so the skin browns evenly.
- When your turkey reaches around 145℉ internal, I bump the oven up to 350℉ just to help the skin brown more and get nice and crispy. Finish cooking until it reaches an internal of 165℉. At this point you can remove from the oven and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Your welcome to carve it up anyway you'd like, but I like to remove the breasts and slice them individually, and the shred the dark meat from the legs.