Does roasting a turkey stress you out? This is a simple, fuss free way that comes out juicy and beautiful with minimal work.
Get a free range, preferably organic turkey. You don’t want something pumped with hormones, water or saline. The ket to keeping things simple when cooking is using the best quality ingredients you can find. See above chart to figure out what size bird you’ll need.
Brining will give you a juicier, more flavorful turkey. I do a dry brine because there’s no messing with gallons of water and all that fridge real estate. For a 8-10 lb turkey, rub 2 Tbs kosher salt all over and sprinkle some in the cavity. You can also mix in dried herbs like thyme and rosemary, or spices like black pepper. Then leave it uncovered in the fridge for 12-48 hours.
If you prefer a wet brine, Alton Brown has a good recipe here .
If you want to read more about dry brining and why I prefer it, there’s a good article here.
If you can’t brine, don’t fret!
Bring turkey to temp before cooking by taking it out of the fridge 2 to 3 hours before roasting. Putting an ice cold turkey in the oven will mess with your cooking time.
Use a large roasting pan with a rack. The pan should be big enough that there will be plenty of airflow around the turkey - this is what will make it brown evenly.
Remove packaging if you haven’t yet to let the skin dry out before you butter it, which will give you crispier skin. If you brined, pat dry with paper towels. Drier skin results in a crispier bird.
Melt a stick (or two) of unsalted butter and add a couple tablespoons minced fresh rosemary and/or thyme, a couple cloves grated garlic and pepper.
I like to tuck half an apple into the neck cavity to protect the breast from drying out. The cut side goes against the meat, round side against the skin.
Rub the melted butter over your turkey. Gently put your fingers under the skin by the large cavity and rub butter on the breast. If you didn’t brine it, sprinkle 2 Tbs of kosher salt all over the turkey (the butter will help it stick.) If it’s more than 14 lbs, use more salt. Throw a big pinch of salt into the main cavity if you didn’t brine, and add a few aromatics like carrot, celery, onion, herbs.
Heat oven to 350 F. I keep it simple and roast at the same temp the whole time. If it gets too brown, tent it with tin foil, but I usually don’t have to.
Add 2 cups water a half an onion, a stalk of celery and a carrot or 2 to the pan. This will add moisture and help your pan sauce along.
Roast! An unstuffed bird will take about 13 min a pound at 350. So 8-10 lbs will take about 2+ hours. See chart below 👇🏼
I HIGHLY suggest investing in a $10 instant read digital thermometer. When you think you’re close, stick it in the thigh, near the bone but not touching. When you hit 155-160 F, take it out and it will continue cooking (food safe temp for poultry is 165.)
You can baste but it’s not really necessary. I do periodically check the pan though to make sure there is still liquid in the bottom and nothing is burning. If the liquid on the bottom of the pan starts to disappear, add another cup or two or water. You can also throw a cup or two of white wine in. By the end you’ll have a very flavorful jus that you can serve as your gravy (separate the fat if you want) or you can mix it into a simple roux for a traditional gravy.
Let it rest for 20 minutes before carving so the juices settle back into the meat.
That’s it! Questions? Ask me!
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