how to cook a thanksgiving turkey recipe
EASY THANKSGIVING TURKEY | how to cook and carve the BEST turkey recipe- Hi, friends.,Today, I'm gon
Updated on Jan 18,2023
EASY THANKSGIVING TURKEY | how to cook and carve the BEST turkey recipe
- Hi, friends.,Today, I'm gonna show you how to make,the best Thanksgiving turkey.,If you've never roasted a turkey before,,trust me, it is easier than you think.,This recipe is my no-fail, full-proof turkey recipe.,And the good news is that you don't need to brine the turkey,and you don't need to baste it.,There's just a few simple steps to make a perfectly golden,,juicy, and insanely flavorful turkey.,I do have a bunch of tips in today's video,,and I'm gonna show you how to carve it.,So let's dive right in.,The biggest mistake that people make,is buying a turkey the day before Thanksgiving.,So don't do that.,Remember that a big turkey is gonna take,a while to defrost in the fridge.,It takes about 24 hours per five pounds of turkey,to thaw properly.,So I recommend you buy your turkey,at least a week before Thanksgiving,,store it in the freezer,,then let it thaw in the fridge,two to four days before the big feast.,In terms of how big of a turkey to buy,,the general rule of thumb is one pound of turkey per person,,or a pound and a half if you want leftovers.,And I think we all want leftovers, don't we?,It's always better to have a little too much turkey,than not enough as well.,Today, I've got a turkey that's about 13 1/2 pounds,,but the great thing about this recipe,is that it's adaptable to most turkey sizes.,You may just need a little more or less herb butter.,The first thing you're gonna wanna do,is remove the packet of giblets that you'll most often find,in the neck cavity of the turkey.,Then if there's any excess skin around this area,,you can trim that off.,At the other end, in the large body cavity,,you'll find the neck.,So remove that and you can then trim off the tail.,It's always best to double-check,both cavities of the turkey,,just to make sure you got everything out.,And you can save the giblets and turkey neck for gravy,,or you can discard them, it's up to you.,The plastic thing you see is heat resistant,and used for trusting the legs together.,But since we're not trusting the legs for this recipe,,you can remove it.,When it comes to the equipment,you'll need to roast a turkey,,it's just three basic kitchen items.,A sharp knife, a thermometer, and a roasting tray.,You can buy an expensive roasting tray,that comes with a rack, a mid-range priced roasting tray,,or a cheapy, disposable roasting tray.,They all work perfectly fine.,And while a rack is handy,,it's definitely not required for today's recipe.,In terms of a knife, I'm using an eight-inch carving knife,,which I'll link to below,,but if you have a chef's knife,or really any other sharp knife, that's all you need.,And lastly, let's talk thermometers.,You can use a probe thermometer,that you insert into the turkey,and keep track of the temperature without opening the oven.,Or you can use an instant-read thermometer,which I use most often in my kitchen.,Or you can use a leave-in meat thermometer,,that's the most economical option.,As long as you have something,to tell the internal temperature of the turkey,,you're good to go.,All right, let's get to prepping and cooking our turkey.,Once your turkey is thawed,,let it rest at room temperature for an hour.,While it's resting, you can slice up one onion,and one lemon into wedges.,Season the inside of the turkey,with a generous amount of salt and pepper,,then place the onion and lemon wedges inside the cavity.,If your turkey is on the smaller side,and you can't fit all of the onion, that's fine,,as you can always place it on the roasting tray.,(gentle upbeat music),The last thing you'll place inside the turkey,is a few sprigs of fresh aromatic herbs,,like rosemary, sage, and thyme.,The herbs, along with the onion and lemon,,give the meat flavor and moisture.,You don't wanna cook stuffing in the turkey,,as overfilling the cavity of the turkey,actually slows down the cook time.,So always cook stuffing in a casserole dish instead.,Now it's time to move on to the herb butter.,You'll need one tablespoon of chopped rosemary,,and I do recommend trying to make it finely chopped,,and add that to 3/4 cup of softened room temperature butter.,You'll also finally chop one tablespoon of thyme,and add that to the butter,and then peel and mince six to seven garlic cloves.,Now, while I added sage inside the turkey,,I prefer not to add it to the herb butter,,as it's a strong flavor,that can be a little overpowering sometimes.,So I prefer to just stick with,rosemary and thyme on the outside.,And then the last component of the herb butter,is a little salt and pepper.,Once all of those ingredients are in your mixing bowl,use a spoon or fork to mash them all up,and make sure it's well combined.,At this point, your turkey might have,little beads of moisture on the outside,,going from the fridge to room temperature.,So it's really important,that you use a few paper towels and dry it off.,The key to beautifully golden and crispy skin,is making sure it's completely dry,before adding the herb butter.,So to add the herb bu
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