Try Our Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe for an Effortless Holiday
Refer to these tips for cooking your Thanksgiving turkey and enjoy a perfectly cooked bird.
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There are an overwhelming number of ways to cook a Thanksgiving turkey—from a range of techniques to a plethora of ways to season the turkey. But what if you want to keep it simple? If you're looking for an easy Thanksgiving turkey recipe, look no further. Whether it's your first time hosting Thanksgiving or your 10th (but you prefer to take it easy), this fuss-free method guarantees a juicy, perfectly cooked turkey with crispy skin.
Thanksgiving Turkey Basics
Cooking a turkey is not difficult, but you do need a few essential tools for the best results. It's also good to know some general information before starting, like how to prep your turkey and check its temperature so you know when the turkey is done and fully cooked.
Consider These Kitchen Tools
Make sure you have a large roasting pan (a sturdy one to hold the drippings) and an instant-read meat thermometer. For a neater-looking bird, tie the drumsticks together using kitchen twine. Optional: Keep an oven thermometer inside the oven to ensure you're roasting at the right temperature.
Prep the Turkey
You'll need a defrosted turkey (see chart above for a guideline on how long to thaw a turkey), a handful of aromatics (onions, carrots, and lemons), a generous amount of softened butter, and, of course, salt and pepper. The aromatics will be placed in the roasting pan, and the softened butter will be rubbed all over the bird before roasting.
Check the Temperature
To check the turkey's temperature, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. The safe temperature to aim for is 165 degrees, but because the temperature will climb as the turkey rests, you can pull it from the oven at 160 degrees. The turkey will reach its safe temperature while you arrange the eye-catching platter, and maybe even make gravy with the flavorful pan juices.
How to Buy a Turkey
The number of guests you'll be hosting for Thanksgiving will help determine what size turkey to buy. But a good rule of thumb is to shop for a turkey that weighs between 12 and 14 pounds. It's a big enough bird to feed about eight guests, yielding about 1½ pounds of turkey per person, plus leftovers.
Remember that size matters, and so does the turkey's temperature before it goes in the oven. It's always best to let the turkey come up to room temperature for up to one hour to ensure it's not still cold when it goes in the oven, which will take longer to cook.
If you're roasting a smaller bird, start checking the internal temperature about an hour before the estimated cooking time. If you're planning on cooking a larger bird for a bigger gathering, don't go above 15 pounds—in this case, it's better to roast two smaller birds, which will guarantee evenly cooked and succulent perfection.
Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
1 12-14 pound turkey
3 large carrots, cut lengthwise into quarters
2-3 yellow onions
2-3 lemons
1 tsp salt
Black pepper
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 cups water
Steps
Remove and discard giblets from the turkey. Reserve the neck, if desired.
Rinse the already-thawed turkey inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Let stand on a work surface for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Cut two of the onions and two lemons into quarters. Place carrot, onion, and lemon quarters on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Add the turkey neck if using.
Season the produce mixture and turkey neck with ½ teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper.
Rub butter all over the turkey skin. Season the turkey inside and out with ½ teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. If desired, cut one onion and one lemon into halves and place in the cavity.
Place turkey, breast side up, on top of vegetables and lemons in the roasting pan. Tuck wing tips underneath the body, and (if desired) tie legs together using kitchen twine.
Roast turkey until golden brown on top, about 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Pour 2 cups of water into the roasting pan and continue to roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees, about 1 hour and 30 minutes for a 12-pound turkey.
Transfer the bird to a carving board and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before carving the turkey.
Turkey Gravy Recipe
If you wish to make turkey gravy to serve with your Thanksgiving dinner (worth it since it can be done while the turkey rests), follow this easy gravy recipe that uses up the pan juices from the roasting pan.
Ingredients
Turkey juices (from roasting pan)
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups turkey or chicken stock
Salt and pepper
Steps
Pour pan juices through a wire-mesh strainer over a bowl or fat separator, discarding solids. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Skim and discard fat from the surface. Set aside the strained pan juices (about 1½ cups).
Place the empty roasting pan over two stovetop burners on medium-high. Add white wine and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan, about three minutes.
Add unsalted butter and whisk until melted. Gradually add flour and cook, whisking all around the pan, until lightly golden, about three minutes.
Slowly add chicken or turkey stock and whisk in the strained pan juices. Bring to a boil and cook, gently whisking occasionally, until gravy has thickened, about eight to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, and whisk in salt and several grinds of pepper, to taste. Serve gravy with turkey.
Should You Stuff the Turkey?
Whether or not you should stuff your turkey is a bit of a controversial topic. Cooking a Thanksgiving turkey with stuffing (or dressing, as some people call it) inside the cavity used to be a classic way to serve up turkey on the big day. However, it's rarely seen this way anymore as it increases the cooking time while unevenly cooking the turkey.
But that's not all: Thanksgiving stuffing also needs to reach 165 degrees to kill off any traces of salmonella because of all the turkey juices that drip and soak the stuffing. By the time that temperature is achieved, the turkey meat is overcooked. Plus, the texture of the stuffing might be off-putting, and that's a shame because it's one of the best parts of Thanksgiving.
Stuffed Turkey Alternative
Instead of cooking stuffing inside the turkey, pack the cavity with fragrant aromatics like onion, herbs, lemon, or celery. Then, try this easy stuffed turkey hack. Come serving time, if you love the idea of a stuffed turkey and you absolutely must serve it this way, remove any aromatics from the cavity and transfer separately cooked stuffing into the cavity. You'll get the look of a stuffed turkey without the risk of salmonella.
Related: How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey 5 Different Ways—Including Roasted, Deep-Fried, and More
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