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a turkey, completely wrapped in slices of bacon in a cross cross lattice pattern. The turkey is on a platter lined with fresh herbs, cranberries, apple slices, and orange slices.
5 from 12 votes

Bacon Wrapped Turkey

It's easy to make this gorgeous bacon wrapped turkey, and it comes out of the oven juicy and flavorful, ready for your holiday dinner.
Author Diana
Servings 12 servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 8-12 lb (4-6kg) 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
  • ½ cup(113g) unsalted butter
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 and ½ cups (350ml) water

For the Lattice

  • 1 pound sliced bacon
  • ½ stick salted butter melted

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/350°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. If desired, you can add bits of butter underneath the skin of the breast as well, but it's not entirely necessary since we're adding bacon.
  • Place the turkey in a roasting rack, 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 lose 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).
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 2-4 hours depending on the size of the bird (check cooking times in the notes below).
  • To prevent excessive browning, shield the turkey breast with foil. Check the temperature of the bird using a 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

  • 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 unstuffed whole Turkey: 
    • 8 pound - 3.6kg: 2 hours.
    • 10 pound - 9kg: 2 hours and 30 minutes
    • 12 pound - 5.5kg: 3 hours.
  • Nutrition values are calculated based on a 10 lb turkey for 12 portions. These are just rough estimates.

Nutrition

Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 175mg | Sodium: 247mg | Potassium: 553mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 756IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg