Tender, juicy, and intensely flavorful, this is the only roasted Thanksgiving turkey recipe you will ever need! Citrus, herbs, and a hearty slathering of garlic butter make for a delectable turkey you will look forward to serving every year!
This turkey recipe is so easy to follow and you’ll have a moist and juicy turkey that is packed with delicious flavors. I’m going to show you step by step how easy it is to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey – from defrosting, preparing, slicing, and styling the turkey.
Roasting a turkey seems intimidating if you have never done it before (or even if you do it every year!), but by following these easy step-by-step instructions on how to cook a turkey, you’re guaranteed to serve the best Thanksgiving turkey on the block. This roasted Thanksgiving turkey recipe is straightforward, with no need for a brine, no frying, and only the simplest, easiest-to-find ingredients.
Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Ingredients
Here’s everything you need to make your roasted turkey – from basic equipment to ingredients!
- Equipment: You’ll need a roasting pan with a rack (large enough to comfortably hold your turkey), baking twine, and a turkey baster (optional) to douse the turkey with those yummy juices every 30 minutes.
- The Meat: I recommend a 12-20 pound whole turkey, but you can also use a turkey breast instead of the whole bird.
- Garlic Butter: Delicious, garlicky butter for slathering over the turkey for the perfect crispy skin. Check out this quick and easy Garlic Butter recipe!
- Citrus: I love citrus flavors with turkey, so I use oranges and lemons for this recipe.
- Onion: You will need one onion, halved.
- Herbs: You’ll need several sprigs of your favorite fresh herbs, like sage, rosemary, and thyme.
- Baking Twine: Available at most grocery stores.
- Gravy Ingredients: You’ll need chicken broth, whole milk, and flour.
How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey
Here’s your handy dandy guide on how to roast a Thanksgiving turkey! You will need to prep the turkey for roasting, season the turkey, cook it and, finally, make the gravy.
How to Prep a Turkey for Roasting
- To begin, you’ll need to preheat the oven to 425°F with the rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Rinse and pat turkey dry with paper towels. Remove neck and giblets, gravy packet, or any packages inside the cavities of the bird. Check large cavity as well as neck cavity.
How to Season a Turkey for Thanksgiving
- For seasoning your bird you will need to make Garlic Butter. It’s just 3 ingredients!
- Carefully lift up the skin, separating from the breast as much as you can (the back of a spoon works well for this), and season underneath with the garlic butter recipe. Rub the outer skin all over with more garlic butter. You don’t have to use it all; the leftover butter is perfect for buttering rolls or on vegetables or potatoes. You can also freeze the extra!
- Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, onion, and herbs.
- Tie the legs with cooking twine and transfer the turkey to a rack set inside a roasting pan. Tuck wings underneath so they don’t burn.
- Pour 2 cups of chicken broth into the roasting pan and transfer to the oven.
How to Cook a Turkey
- Preheat the oven to 425°F with the rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Roast the turkey for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- After the first hour, baste the turkey every 30 minutes. Tent the turkey with foil if the skin becomes a deep golden brown before the turkey is cooked. You can also just cover the parts that are getting too brown.
- Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh joint registers 160°F.
- Remove the turkey from the oven and transfer to a carving board.
- Let the turkey rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.
Turkey Cook Time
- If roasting a 12-pound bird, check the temperature after 1½ hours.
- A 15-pounder should take 2½ to 3 hours
- A 20-pounder 4½ to 5.
How to Defrost a Turkey
How to Thaw a Turkey in the Refrigerator
- Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. This will catch any juices that may leak from the turkey. You can also use a large baking dish.
- Place the turkey in the refrigerator: Make sure there is nothing touching the turkey. Give the bird some space so it has room to thaw.
- Thaw the turkey in the refrigerator: Total thawing time will depend on the size of your turkey.
- Turkey Refrigerator Thawing Times: Allow about 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey.
- 4 to 12-pound turkey: 1 to 3 days.
- 12 to 16 pound turkey: 3 to 4 days.
- 16 to 20-pound turkey: 4 to 5 days.
- 20- to 24-pound turkey: 5 to 6 days.
How to Quick Thaw a Turkey
- Place your turkey in a large plastic bag: This will protect your turkey from the water.
- Place the turkey in a large pot: Make sure the turkey completely fits inside the pot. A large food safe bucket will also work.
- Fill the pot with cold water. Do not use warm water, only cold water.
- Change the water every hour.
- Continue until the turkey is thawed.
- Allow about 30 minutes for every pound of turkey.
- 4 to 12-pound turkey: 2 to 6 hours
- 12 to 16-pound turkey: 6 to 8 hours
- 16- to 20-pound turkey: 8 to 10 hours
- 20- to 24-pound turkey: 10 to 12 hours
How to Make Turkey Gravy
- To make turkey gravy from drippings, place the roasting pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat (or transfer juices to sauce pan if you prefer).
- Add 2 cups of the remaining broth to the pan drippings and bring to a simmer. Skim off all but 1-2 tablespoons of the fat, depending on the size of your bird.
- Combine the milk and flour in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine.
- Whisk the milk mixture into the gravy and simmer, whisking continuously, until the gravy thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
At this point, you can carve the turkey and serve it. Or, make it the star of the show by placing it in the middle of your table on a platter.
How to Garnish a Turkey
This part is optional! To make your beautiful roasted turkey into the centerpiece of your table, place the whole thing on a turkey platter. You can use a small wire rack underneath if you want it to sit higher up on the plate. You’ll need a few extra of the ingredients you used for the recipe like oranges, lemons, and herbs. Slice up the citrus fruits in different cuts for visual interest. For example, use some whole pieces of fruit but also some halves, some quarters, and some slices. Place these around the turkey alternating fruits and cuts so the same things are not touching. Then stick sprigs of fresh herbs in between the pieces. Remove the oven burned herbs from inside the turkey and replace with some fresh ones, arranging them to your liking.
How to Carve a Turkey
Equipment:
- Cutting board
- Slicing knife
- Paper towels
- Platter
- Cutting board
- Tongs
Directions:
- Remove the string using your knife.
- Remove the turkey legs.
You will cut through the area that connects the breast and the drumstick. Use your knife to slice down until you reach the joint. Using a paper towel, grab the leg and push down. This will separate the leg and thigh from the bird. Use your knife to slice through the joint. - Remove the drumsticks.
Separate the drumstick and the thigh by cutting through the joint area connecting them. Place the drumstick on a platter. Set aside the thigh meat to slice later. Repeat step 2 and step 3 with the other leg. - Remove the wishbone.
Find the wishbone at the front center of the breast. Use your fingers to pull it out. Removing the wishbone makes it easier to carve the breast meat. - Remove turkey breast.
Find the breastbone. Place your knife on one side of it, and slice down close to the bone. As you are slicing, use your other hand to pull the meat from the breastbone. This will help you take the breast in one piece. Set aside the whole breast to slice later. - Remove the wings.
Using your knife, slice through the joint to remove a wing. Place the wings on the platter. Repeat step 5 and step 6 on the other side of the turkey. - Slice the thigh.
Hold the thigh bone with tongs or a paper towel and remove the meat from the bone with your knife. Place the meat on the platter. - Slice the breast.
Use the tongs to hold the breast in place, place the meat on the cutting board so you can cut it at a shorter length.
Recipe Tip: Slice the turkey breast against the grain. - Arrange on a platter and serve.
How long can you keep leftover turkey?
Leftover turkey can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days. Go ahead and put your leftovers in the fridge as soon as possible once you’re finished with your meal to keep them fresh and safe for consumption.
What to Do with Leftover Turkey
Leftover turkey recipes are great and there are so many options! You can use leftover turkey for turkey sliders on Hawaiian rolls, or layer it in a casserole with more leftovers like mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, or even use it on a salad. You can make a tasty casserole like Turkey Tetrazzini or use it for Leftover Turkey Sandwiches.
I hope you love this Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey recipe! I’d love to hear all about your turkey traditions in the comments below!
Roasted Thanksgiving Recipe
Equipment
- Roasting Pan with Rack (large enough for your turkey)
- Baking Twine
- Turkey Baster (optional)
Ingredients
- 12-20 lb turkey
- Garlic butter see notes divided
- 1 Orange halved
- 1 Lemon halved
- 1 Onion halved
- Several sprigs of fresh herbs like sage rosemary, thyme
- Baking twine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F with the rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Rinse and pat turkey dry with paper towels. Remove neck and giblets, gravy packet, or any packages inside the cavities of the bird. Check large cavity as well as neck cavity.
- Carefully lift up skin, separating from breast as much as you can, and season underneath with garlic butter recipe. Rub the outer skin all over with more garlic butter. You don’t have to use it all and the leftover butter can be used to butter rolls or on vegetables or potatoes. You can also freeze the extra.
- Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, onion, and herbs.
- Tie the legs with twine and transfer the turkey to a rack set inside a roasting pan. Tuck wings underneath so they don’t burn.
- Pour 2 cups of chicken broth into the roasting pan and transfer to the oven.
- Roast the turkey for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- After the first hour of roasting, baste the turkey every 30 minutes. Tent the turkey with foil if the skin becomes a deep golden brown before the turkey is cooked. You can also just cover the parts that are getting too brown.
- Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh joint registers 160°F.
- If roasting a 12-pound bird, check the temperature after 1½ hours. A 15-pounder should take 2½ to 3 hours and a 20-pounder 4½ to 5.
- Remove the turkey from the oven and transfer to a carving board.
- Let the turkey rest for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the roasting pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat (or transfer juices to sauce pan if you prefer).
- Add 2 cups of the remaining broth to the pan drippings and bring to a simmer. Skim off all but 1-2 tbsp of the fat, depending on the size of your bird.
- Combine the milk and flour in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine.
- Whisk the milk mixture into the gravy and simmer, whisking continuously, until the gravy thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Carve the turkey and serve with gravy.
Notes
Garlic Butter: This recipe calls for our garlic butter recipe.
Carving Turkey: When carving the turkey, find the wishbone at the front center of the breast. Use your fingers to pull it out.
Slicing Turkey: Slice the turkey breast against the grain.
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