How to make a thanksgiving turkey

Step by Step

Step 1

Prepare the turkey brine: Fill a 20-30 quart pot with 2 gallons of water.

Step 2

Remove 2 cups of water from the pot and add it to a saucepan with the kosher salt. Heat the two ingredients over medium heat and whisk until the salt has dissolved. Do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add the salted water back into the pot and whisk together.

Step 3

Next, add the oranges and the lemons to the salt water.

Step 4

Finally, add the turkey to the pot. Make sure the turkey is completely submerged in the water.

Step 5

Place the pot in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight.

Step 6

Prepare the turkey for roasting: Preheat the oven to 325ºF and remove the turkey from the brine and let any excess liquid drain from the cavity of the turkey. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.

Step 7

Add all of the ingredients for the basting liquid into the bottom of a large basting pan and mix the ingredients together. Place the metal rack for the turkey in the basting pan and place the turkey breast side-up in the pan.

Step 8

Season the outside of the turkey with the turkey seasoning and massage the seasoning into the turkey with your hands making sure to cover as much of the outside as you can. Then, place the two pads of butter under the skin of each turkey breast.

Step 9

Drizzle the olive oil over the turkey and massage the oil into the skin.

Step 10

Lastly, stuff the onion, garlic, thyme, oregano, and rosemary into the cavity of the turkey.

Step 11

Roast the turkey: Place the turkey into the oven and roast it for 3-3.5 hours (about 13 minutes per pound) or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF in the thickest part of the turkey. Make sure to baste the turkey every hour, on the hour. If the skin begins to brown too much in the last hour, place tin foil over the top of the turkey.

Step 12

Remove the turkey from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Then, let the turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Step 13

Serve the turkey with gravy and other sides.

Tips and Warnings

You do not have to brine the turkey before baking but we highly recommend it. If you’d like to dry-brine your turkey instead, check out this post.
The size of the turkey will depend on how long it takes the turkey to roast. The rule of thumb is 13 minutes per pound of turkey.
We highly recommend using our homemade turkey dry rub, but if you don’t have time to mix up this seasoning you can use a generic poultry seasoning.
We used this turkey roasting pan. Be sure you use a pan that can elevate the turkey out of the turkey drippings.
Serve this turkey with our homemade turkey gravy.

Ingredient

Lemon

1 1
Large orange

1 1
Water

7.57 l 1.67 gallons
Dry white wine

236.59 ml 8.28 fl. ozs
Olive oil

29.57 ml 1.03 fl. ozs
Unsalted butter

29.57 ml 1.03 fl. ozs
Large white onion

0.5 0.5
Sprigs fresh thyme

2 2
Broth

709.76 ml 24.84 fl. ozs
Kosher salt

3548.82 ml 124.21 fl. ozs
Sprigs fresh oregano

4 4
Sprigs fresh rosemary

2 2
Turkey seasoning

44.36 ml 1.55 fl. ozs
Garlic

4 pcs 4 pcs
Whole turkey

12.94 lb 5.87 kg

Amount Per Serving
	Calories	687 kcal
	Carbohydrates	2 g
	Protein	99 g
	Fat	30 g
	Fiber	0.4 g
	Sugar	1 g

View nutrition facts