This Bacon Wrapped Turkey is the best roast turkey I’ve ever had, and it makes a real showstopper for Thanksgiving dinner. A woven bacon lattice covers the breast while extra slices wrap the legs and wings, so the bacon seasons the meat and keeps it juicy as it roasts. If you’ve ever made a lattice pie crust, you already know how to weave it.
Why I Wrap My Turkey in Bacon
The bacon does the seasoning and the basting for me, so I skip the brine and keep the oven door closed. Opening it to baste only drops the oven temperature, and the bacon crisps up on its own.
I always weave the bacon as tightly as I can while it’s raw, because it shrinks in the oven. I also never skip the water in the pan. Without it, the bacon grease smokes and burns on the bottom of the pan, and it will likely set off your smoke alarm.
I take the turkey out when the breast and thigh both read 165°F/74°C, let it rest for at least 30 minutes, then carve right through the bacon so every slice gets some.
It’s always a hit and my husband won’t let me make turkey any other way!
Tiana B
Key Ingredients Needed for Bacon Wrapped Turkey
Here’s what you need to make this delectable turkey:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Turkey: I’m using a 10-pound turkey here, and this recipe will easily cover a turkey that is between 8 and 12 pounds. You want to make sure that your turkey is fully thawed before starting.
- Seasonings: To season the outside of the turkey we’ll use bacon, but to season the inside we’ll use kosher salt, ground black pepper, fresh garlic and onion, and fresh herbs. I like a mix of sage, thyme, and rosemary.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter, since the bacon brings plenty of salt. Softened butter under the breast skin is optional, and melted butter gets brushed over the bacon before roasting.
- Bacon: Buy regular-cut bacon (streaky bacon in the UK) rather than thick-cut.
How To Make Bacon Wrapped Turkey
First, we’ll weave a bacon blanket to cover the breast, then wrap the legs and wings before roasting the turkey in the oven.
Tip!
Before starting to wrap the turkey, toss salt and pepper, an onion cut into quarters, whole garlic cloves, and fresh herbs into the cavity. Tie the legs together and tuck the wings underneath. Finally, dry the skin of the turkey with paper towels. Now you’re ready!
- Start by laying 5 slices of bacon in a row on a piece of parchment paper.
- Just like making a lattice on a pie crust, turn down every other slice of bacon halfway, then lay another piece of bacon on top of the folds, perpendicular to the first row.
- Replace the pieces of bacon that you folded, then fold back the opposite pieces of bacon on the other side, and add another perpendicular piece.
- Continue weaving in this manner until you’ve added 5 pieces to the grid, and created a solid rectangle of woven bacon. Adjust your weaving so that the bacon is very close together, even overlapping.
- Transfer the woven bacon to the breast of the turkey using the parchment paper to help.
- Remove the paper and arrange the bacon so that as much of the breast is covered, tucking in any long edges.
- Wrap additional bacon around the turkey legs and wings.
- Roast: Add water to the pan, and toss in any extra herbs or pieces of onion that you might have. Bake in a preheated 350°F/180°C oven for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the bird, until the breast and thigh reach 165°F/74°C.
Tip!
You can make this turkey ahead of time! Wrap the turkey with bacon up to two days ahead of time and keep it wrapped and in the fridge. Take the turkey out of the fridge up to 1 hour before roasting.
How Long to Cook Bacon Wrapped Turkey
At 350°F/180°C, an unstuffed bacon wrapped turkey takes about 2 to 3 hours, depending on its size:
- 8 pounds (3.6 kg): about 2 hours
- 10 pounds (4.5 kg): about 2½ hours
- 12 pounds (5.4 kg): about 3 hours
These times are a guide. The turkey is done when a thermometer reads 165°F/74°C in the thickest part of the breast and the inner thigh. Let it rest for 30 to 40 minutes before carving.
Recipe Tips
- The best way to defrost a frozen turkey is at the bottom of the refrigerator. Allow about 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds, so 2 to 3 days for an 8-12 pound turkey.
- Buy the longest strips of bacon that you can find. This will make the weaving and wrapping process much easier. Avoid center-cut bacon, as it’s usually shorter.
- Since bacon shrinks as it cooks you should weave the bacon as tightly as possible while it’s still raw.
- You shouldn’t baste a bacon wrapped turkey. Opening and closing the oven too much will drop the temperature of the oven, and the bacon will get crispy all by itself.
- Add Water to the Pan. Bacon grease will smoke and burn at the bottom of your pan if you skip this part, and likely set off your smoke alarms! Water in the pan also creates a steamy oven environment, which helps the bacon cook slowly and evenly with the turkey.
- The turkey is done when a kitchen thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast and the inner thigh reaches 165°F/74°C.
- Let it Rest. Don’t slice into your turkey until it has rested for at least 30 minutes on the counter. Trust me, it will be worth the wait!
- For More Turkey Tips, visit my Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving Turkey. There you’ll learn all about other options for cooking a turkey, how to choose a turkey, how to defrost a turkey, how to carve a turkey, and more!
Storing Tips
Refrigerate leftover roast turkey with bacon within 2 hours of cooking. It keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for 2 to 6 months. Reheat to 165°F/74°C.
What To Serve With Bacon Wrapped Turkey
This turkey is a spectacular main dish, but it needs your best sides to make it the perfect holiday meal! Try some of these tried and true favorites this year:
Side Dishes To Serve with Turkey:
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
- Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes
- Boursin Mashed Potatoes
- Broccoli Casserole
- Creamy Green Bean Casserole
- Crockpot Mashed Potatoes
- Buttery Herb Stuffing
- Creamed Corn
- Crockpot Mac and Cheese
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce
For more ideas, see my Thanksgiving side dishes roundup.
Desserts to Serve with Turkey:
More Perfect Turkey Recipes
All Thanksgiving→
Cooking for a smaller group? My Roasted Turkey Breast serves 8 and is ready in about 2½ hours. If you’re making a classic roast turkey instead, rub it with my Turkey Seasoning.
FAQs
While you don’t need to brine this bacon-wrapped turkey, you certainly can if you have the time! My easy Turkey Brine recipe is perfect for this.
Before it goes in the oven. The bacon roasts with the turkey the whole time. You can also wrap the turkey in bacon up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge.
You don’t need to cover it from the start. Keep an eye on the bacon, and if it gets too dark before the turkey is done, tent the breast loosely with foil.
No, the skin stays soft under the bacon. The bacon is the part that gets crispy.
No, I carve right through it. Slice the breast with the bacon on, so every slice gets bacon on top.
The drippings leftover from roasting a turkey wrapped in bacon are going to be SO delicious, but possibly too salty to use on their own to make gravy. I suggest tasting the drippings first, and cutting them with low-sodium chicken stock to make a pan gravy, thickened either with flour or cornstarch.
I don’t recommend cooking stuffing inside the cavity of a turkey, as it’s nearly impossible to get it to the correct temperature that way. Instead, make your stuffing in a casserole dish on the side. You can bake it while the turkey is resting.
There you have it! Bacon-wrapped turkey is a modern twist on the classic holiday bird that is completely delicious and super easy to make. Make sure you pin the recipe so that more people can find it too.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Bacon Wrapped Turkey
Equipment
- Roasting pan with rack
- Kitchen twine
Ingredients
- 8-12 lb (3.6-5.4 kg) whole turkey thawed
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 2 onions yellow or white, quartered
- 2 heads garlic halved horizontally
- 1 bunch mixed fresh herbs sage, thyme, rosemary and parsley
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened, optional
For the Bacon Lattice
- 1 lb (454 g) regular-cut bacon
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter melted
For the Pan
- 1½ cups (355 ml) water
Instructions
- Take the turkey out of the fridge up to 1 hour before roasting.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Remove the neck and giblets, and save them for gravy if you wish to make giblet gravy. Remove any pin feathers that were left behind, and pat the bird dry using paper towels. Do NOT rinse the turkey.
- Tuck the wings behind the bird, then season the cavity with kosher salt and ground black pepper and stuff with onion quarters, garlic halves, and fresh herbs. Truss the legs using kitchen twine for better presentation. If desired, you can tuck the softened butter underneath the skin of the breast as well, but it’s not entirely necessary since we’re adding bacon.
- Set the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, then create a bacon blanket by weaving 10 slices of bacon together on a piece of parchment paper. Use the parchment to transfer the woven bacon to the breast of the turkey.
- Then wrap the turkey legs and wings with the remaining bacon. Tuck in any loose ends.
- Brush the bacon wrapped turkey with melted unsalted butter on all sides. If you wish to make gravy using the drippings, add some aromatics to the bottom of the roasting pan (I add 1 onion sliced in half, garlic, and fresh herbs).
- Pour the water into the bottom of the roasting pan. It keeps the bacon drippings from smoking and burning.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 2 to 3 hours depending on the size of the bird (check cooking times in the notes below).
- Keep an eye on the bacon. If it gets too dark before the turkey is done, tent the breast loosely with foil.
- Check the temperature of the bird using a kitchen thermometer. The turkey is done when the thickest part of the breast and the inner thigh both reach 165°F/74°C. Remove it from the oven right away.
- Let the bird rest for 30 to 40 minutes, and up to 1 hour, before carving. This helps redistribute the juices and keeps the turkey moist.
Notes:
- Please see images in the post for details on weaving bacon strips into a lattice.
- Buy the longest strips of bacon that you can find. This will make the weaving and wrapping process much easier. Avoid center-cut bacon, as it’s usually shorter.
- Since bacon shrinks as it cooks you should weave the bacon as tightly as possible while it’s still raw.
- Approximate cooking times for an unstuffed whole turkey at 350°F/180°C:
- 8 pounds (3.6 kg): about 2 hours
- 10 pounds (4.5 kg): about 2½ hours
- 12 pounds (5.4 kg): about 3 hours
- These times are a guide. The turkey is done when a thermometer reads 165°F/74°C in the breast and thigh.
- Nutrition values are calculated based on a 10 lb turkey for 12 portions. These are just rough estimates.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Terry says
Going to make this with a bone in turkey breast. does the skin crisp up under the bacon?
Diana says
It stays soft under the bacon, since the bacon is what gets crispy. Just go by the thermometer with a bone in breast.
Tiana B says
I have done this for now..10 years!!! It’s always a hit and my husband won’t let me make turkey any other way!!! I do baste mine with garlic Cajun butter about once an hour, I also inject the turkey before the wrap…. Takes like a fried turkey, always moist and leftovers “chefs kiss” thanks
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thanks for sharing your bacon wrapped turkey tips and tricks!
Calvin Langley says
Great recipe. If you haven’t. Wrapped your bird in a cozy bacon blanket. Give it a try . Remember to drape a piece of tinfoil. And uncover the last hour. So the bacon can turn a golden brown… Yummmmy . Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 enjoy…
Andrea says
I usually cover the turkey for 1 to 2 hours when baked .
Do I need cover the Turkey when is wrapped in bacon?
Thank you,
Andrea
Diana says
Hi Andrea, I don’t usually cover it but I keep an eye on the bacon/turkey breast – To prevent excessive browning, shield the turkey breast with foil. I hope this helps!