Cooking a roast turkey is easier than you think! Follow my super simple recipe for a perfectly juicy and tender roast turkey that your whole family will enjoy! No brining or basting is required.
When it comes to roasting a turkey, there’s nothing worse than dry tough meat. And I know how stressful cooking a turkey can be, as it really is the centerpiece of the holiday feast. So to make your Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner stress-free, I am sharing with you my foolproof recipe that will ensure that your turkey is moist, tender, and juicy with perfect buttery crispy skin!
It’s a straightforward recipe that is hard to mess up if you read it carefully, and follow my guidelines, tips, and tricks. And if you’re looking for something different, check out my succulent Smoked Turkey recipe, we’re obsessed with it!
Roast Turkey Tips
Below are a few quick tips that you need to know before you cook your turkey. For very detailed information, check out my complete turkey guide!
- Think about the size of the turkey that you want to buy. You will need about 1lb/450g of turkey per adult (you will end up with half a pound of edible meat), and a total of half a pound/225g per child.
- The best way to defrost a frozen turkey is at the bottom of the refrigerator, it will take about 3-5 days to fully defrost depending on the size of the turkey.
- If you decide to brine, never brine self-basting turkey as it will end up too salty.
- Basting your turkey will help it cook faster, but it doesn’t make the meat moister or juicier. I don’t recommend basting as opening the oven door too often will drop the temperature of the oven.
- Cover the turkey breast with foil if it’s starting to brown too much, for small turkeys, it’s not necessary.
- The turkey is done when a kitchen thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches 155°F/68°C, and the inner thigh reaches at least 165°F/74°C.
Ingredients Needed for an Oven-Baked Turkey
To make a roast turkey, here’s what you’ll need:
- Turkey – fresh, or frozen, and completely thawed turkey.
- Butter – use unsalted butter to give the turkey great flavour, keep the meat moist, and help the skin brown and crisp up.
- Aromatics – onion, garlic, and mixed fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage, and parsley.
- Salt and pepper – table salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Kitchen Thermometer – the super-fast Thermapen is not an ingredient, but an essential when it comes to cooking turkeys!
How to Roast a Turkey
- Remove the turkey from the fridge one hour prior to cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 356°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 salt and pepper and stuff with onion quarters, garlic cloves, and fresh herbs to infuse the turkey with great flavor as it cooks. Truss the legs using butcher twine for better presentation.
- Place on a roasting rack, season with salt and pepper, and brush with melted butter from 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).
- Bake in the oven for 2-4 hours depending on the size of the bird (more on this below).
- When it browns nicely, make herb butter (mix 2 tablespoons of melted butter with 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs), brush it over the skin using a pastry brush, then put the turkey back in the oven for 30 more minutes or until it reaches the desired temperature.
- To prevent excessive browning, shield the turkey breast with foil. Check the temperature of the bird using a Thermapen kitchen thermometer. When a kitchen thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches 155°F/68°C, and the inner thigh reaches at least 165°F/74°C, the turkey is done and must be removed from the oven immediately.
- Allow the bird to rest for 30-40 minutes and up to 1 hour before carving, this will help redistribute the juices and keep the turkey moist.
This post is sponsored by Thermapen
Keep Checking The Temperature
The most important thing when it comes to cooking a turkey is to get it to the right temperature to ensure that it is safe to eat, and the meat is tender, juicy, moist, and never dry. I overcooked turkeys before, and trust me, there’s nothing worse than dry turkey meat!
So my biggest recommendation when it comes to cooking a turkey is to get the guesswork out of cooking and invest in a really good kitchen thermometer. And to be honest, it’s a kitchen essential that I use to properly cook all types of poultry and meat, and it’s also handy when it comes to candy-making and baking.
The kitchen thermometer that I always use and love is the Thermapen Professional Thermometer. It’s a super-fast high-quality kitchen thermometer, very reliable, waterproof with a great design. Basically, everything that you want in a kitchen thermometer!
If your turkey is undercooked, it’s not safe to eat and you run the risk of food poisoning. If it’s overcooked, then it will be dry and tough, and your turkey dinner will be ruined. So I will say it again, a kitchen thermometer is crucial so invest in a really good kitchen thermometer like the Thermapen to cook your turkey to perfection this Christmas!
Stuffing and Cooking Time
If you love stuffing, then I recommend that you cook it separately instead of stuffing it in the cavity of the bird. If you cooking it in the cavity, it will add cooking time and dry out the meat.
For an unstuffed bird, it should roughly take about 15 minutes per 450g/pound. Here’s a rough breakdown, but remember, it is just a rough guide and you should keep checking the temperature of the meat to know when it’s done.
- 6 pound – 2.75kg: 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- 8 pound – 3.6kg: 2 hours.
- 10 pound – 9kg: 2 hours and 30 minutes
- 12 pound – 5.5kg: 3 hours.
- 14 pound – 6.3kg: 3 hours and 30 minutes.
- 16 pound – 7.25kg: 4 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh herbs will give you the best flavor, but if fresh herbs are not available, you can either skip the herbs altogether and make a plain butter turkey which will still taste great. Or, use dried herbs but reduce the amount to just a third.
Yes! But make sure to reduce the temperature by 10 degrees if you’re using celsius, or by 25 degrees if using fahrenheit.
It is very important to let the turkey rest for 30-40 minutes and up to 1 hour. This will make carving the turkey much easier, and the juices will redistribute so you will get juicer meat.
What Sides to Serve With Turkey?
- Cranberry Sauce
- Mashed potatoes
- Green Bean Casserole
- Roasted brussels sprouts
- Brown sugar glazed carrots
- Scalloped potatoes
- The best ever stuffing recipe
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Roast Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-6kg 8-12lb whole turkey thawed
- 2 onions halved or quartered (yellow, white, brown)
- 2 heads garlic halved horizontally
- 1 bunch mixed fresh herbs sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley
- 113g ½ cup unsalted butter
- salt and pepper
- 350ml 1 and ½ cups water
Instructions
- Remove the turkey from the fridge one hour prior to cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F.
- 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 salt and pepper and stuff with onion quarters, garlic cloves, and fresh herbs. Truss the legs using butcher twine for better presentation.
- Place on a roasting rack, season with salt and pepper, and brush with melted butter from 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).
- Bake in the oven for 2-4 hours depending on the size of the bird (check cooking times in the notes below).
- When it browns nicely, make herb butter (mix 2 tablespoons of melted butter with 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs), brush it over the skin using a pastry brush, then put the turkey back in the oven for 30 more minutes or until it reaches the desired temperature.
- To prevent excessive browning, shield the turkey breast with foil. Check the temperature of the bird using a Thermapen kitchen thermometer. When a kitchen thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches 68°C/155°F, and the inner thigh reaches at least 74°C/165°F, the turkey is done and must be removed from the oven immediately.
- Allow the bird to rest for 30-40 minutes and up to 1 hour before carving, this will help redistribute the juices and keep the turkey moist.
Notes:
- 6 pound – 2.75kg: 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- 8 pound – 3.6kg: 2 hours.
- 10 pound – 9kg: 2 hours and 30 minutes
- 12 pound – 5.5kg: 3 hours.
- 14 pound – 6.3kg: 3 hours and 30 minutes.
- 16 pound – 7.25kg: 4 hours
Video
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
Thermapen are kindly offering one of my readers the chance to win a box with all the essentials that you need to cook a festive meal this year! The box is worth over £100, and contains a Thermapen Professional, meat forks, timer, fridge thermometer, apron, Beeswax wraps and a notebook.
For a chance to win, all you have to do is enter via this rafflecopter form and share this post on your Facebook. Good luck!
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Pete says
The best recipe, so far.