First, buy the right size
Rule of thumb is 1 pound of turkey per person. If you want leftovers – 1.5 per person.
- Less than 8 people: 10 to 12 pound turkey.
- For 8 people: 10 to 12 pound turkey
- For 12 people: 14 to 18 pound turkey
- for 16 people: 18 to 24 pound turkey
- More than 16 people: It’s best to buy two turkeys rather than one monster sized turkey.
Roast Turkey Ingredients
Besides the turkey, you just need herbs, aromatics, and a little seasoning. Simple really is best!
- Turkey: Any whole frozen (or fresh) turkey at the market works.
- Better to use Fresh Herbs if you can: Rosemary, thyme, and sage are classic poultry herbs.
- Onion and Garlic
- Lemon
- Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Thaw The Turkey Properly
Rule of thumb – It takes about 24 hours per 5 pounds of turkey to properly thaw in the fridge. Best to let it thaw for 3 to 4 days before the big day.
You do NOT Need to Wash It
Any bacteria on the turkey will get killed in the oven while baking.
Equipment
- Roasting Tray
- Meat Thermometer
- Knife
How to Prepare and Cook Turkey
Once it is thawed, remove giblets. Let it rest at room temperature for an hour. Remove the bag of giblets and the neck, found in the large cavity and sometimes the smaller neck cavity (check both areas just to make sure you got everything out). You can save these items for gravy or discard them.
Pat dry and stuff. Pat the turkey dry with a paper towel.
Season and stuff your bird. Season the inside of the turkey generously with salt and pepper, and stuff the cavity with quartered onion, lemon, and fresh sprigs of herbs. If anything, go lighter on the sage than the other herbs, as it’s more potent.
Make herb butter. Make the herb butter by stirring together the softened butter, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme in a small bowl.
Spread herb butter all over. Loosen the skin of the turkey on top of the breasts by gently sliding your fingers underneath. Add about 1/3 of the herb compound butter and spread it evenly underneath the skin. Spread the remainder of the herb butter all around the outside of the turkey.
Don’t truss the legs! Trussing prevents the air from circulating properly, leaving the meat to cook unevenly. So even though your mom (and likely grandmother) did it, skip it.
Cook the turkey. Place the turkey on a roasting rack or on a bed of veggies (or both – which is what we do) and cook!
How Long to Cook a Turkey
Unstuffed turkey takes about 30 minutes faster than a stuffed turkey. On average, plan for about 15 minutes per pound of turkey. The BEST gauge is the temperature. You want to cook the turkey to 158° to 160°F (measure at the thickest part of the thigh or breast). Use this as a guide only:
- For a 10 to 14 pound turkey: 2 ½ hrs to 3 ½ hrs
- For a 14 to 18 pound turkey: 3 ½ hrs to 4 ½ hrs
- For a 18 to 22 pound turkey: 4 ½ hrs to 5 ½ hrs
Check the temperature every 10 minutes once you reach 70-75% of the desired temperature (112° to 120°F). Remember that ovens can cook slightly hotter or cooler. Place aluminum foil on top if you see the skin browning too quickly.
IMPORTANT: Let Your Turkey Rest
Let it rest for at least 30 minutes. This makes for a juicer turkey.
Carving a turkey
Slice off the legs and thighs. To do this, slice through the skin between the leg and the breast. Then pull back on the leg, laying it flat outward, and push up on the joint from underneath. You may hear a slight pop. At that point, use your knife to cut around the joint and remove the leg and thigh completely. Repeat this process on the other side and set these pieces aside.
Remove the breasts. Slice down on either side of the breast bone, using long strokes. As your knife hits the bottom, use your thumb to gently pull the breasts outward, continuing to slice down and out until the breast meat is removed. If needed, you can slice horizontally at the bottom of the breast from the outside to help remove it. Repeat this process on the other side and set the breasts aside.
Remove the wings. Gently pull the wings away from the body and slice through the joint to remove it. You can remove the wing tips (there’s really no meat here), and they’re great for stocks. Then set the wings aside.
Separate the drumstick from the thigh. Now that all the meat is removed from the turkey, flip this piece over so it’s skin side down and you can see the natural separation between the drumstick and the thigh. Slice through the meat and gently pull pack on the drumstick to expose the joint, then slice through it. You’ll have two pieces, the drumstick and the thigh.
Remove the bone from the thigh. Use your knife to slice around the thigh bone, preserving as much meat as possible.
Slice up the meat. There’s two things to remember here. First, slice against the grain for tender pieces of meat. And second, use a very sharp knife to keep the skin attached to each piece.