It's that time of year again when family and friends get together to celebrate Thanksgiving!
Whether you're a seasoned chef or a novice in the kitchen, these step-by-step instructions for how to roast a turkey will ensure that your turkey emerges golden brown, moist, and full of flavor.
Check out all the other Easy Recipes for Thanksgiving to create the perfect holiday meal for your family.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There are no gifts to buy, no presents to wrap. It's all about FOOD. I love all the preparation that goes into the biggest meal of the year as well.
It's a lot of work, but so rewarding to sit down to a delicious meal with my family.
Don't forget to print out the FREE Turkey Roasting Charts at the bottom of the post to refer to while the turkey is cooking.
I keep mine on the windowsill above the kitchen sink and refer to it often while the turkey is cooking.
Table of Contents
- Should I cover my turkey with foil while cooking?
- Do you put water in the bottom of the roasting pan for turkey?
- The Secret to a Flavorful Turkey: Brining Made Easy
- 🛒Helpful Kitchen Tools
- Ingredients
- How to Prep a Turkey for Thanksgiving
- Important Update
- Roasting Turkey
- How long should I keep my turkey covered with foil?
- Turkey Temperature
- Tips for Carving Roast Turkey
- How to Make Homemade Lump Free Gravy
- How long to cook a Turkey in an Electric Roaster?
- How do you keep a Turkey Warm for 4 Hours?
- Storing and Reheating Tips
- Before You Begin!
- More Thanksgiving Recipes to LOVE
- 📖 Recipe Card
- 💬 Comments
Should I cover my turkey with foil while cooking?
The Thanksgiving turkey: to cover or not to cover? That is the question that sparks endless kitchen debates.
While covering helps retain moisture and prevent dryness, some argue it sacrifices that crispy golden skin we all crave. Turns out, both camps have a point!
A covered bird guarantees juicy meat, but if you're after that picture-perfect, crackling skin, ditch the foil and let your turkey breathe.
Do you put water in the bottom of the roasting pan for turkey?
The purpose of adding water to the bottom of a roasting pan is twofold.
- First, it allows the turkey to self-baste, keeping the meat moist and flavorful.
- Second, it protects the turkey from overcooking by creating steam.
When turkey is roasted without water in the bottom of the pan, the skin can become tough and leathery. The water helps to prevent this by creating steam and keeping the turkey moist.
My secret to a flavorful roast turkey? Start with a dry roasting pan. As the turkey cooks, its natural juices will release, creating a concentrated flavor base. Then, I simply add a splash of water to enhance those pan drippings.
You can also try this best turkey brine recipe for a different way to prepare your Thanksgiving turkey.
The Secret to a Flavorful Turkey: Brining Made Easy
Say goodbye to dry turkey! This Holiday Poultry Brine Cheat Sheet includes 9 delicious recipes for juicy, flavorful birds. Download now for the perfect Thanksgiving turkey.
🛒Helpful Kitchen Tools
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Ingredients
Here's a quick overview of the ingredients for this recipe. Find the exact amounts and click the Instacart button to easily add them to your cart – all in the printable recipe card below!
- 15 pound Turkey
- Butter; softened
- Salt and pepper
- Poultry Seasoning
How to Prep a Turkey for Thanksgiving
Cleaning up after removing the turkey from its packaging can be a bit of a hassle. To streamline the process, I prefer taking care of it the night before Thanksgiving.
- Remove the turkey from the packaging and remove the neck and giblets from the cavity. You can use these to make turkey stock if desired...I usually throw them away.
- Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
- Place the turkey on a baking tray and cover with paper towels and aluminum foil.
- Place in the refrigerator overnight.
Important Update
Since first publishing this post in 2015, there are new guidelines recommending not to rinse the turkey or any other poultry. You can read more about the new guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration HERE.
Roasting Turkey
- Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and uncover.
- Place the turkey, breast side up in the Roasting Pan with Rack. If you are not stuffing the turkey, make sure you salt and pepper the cavity.
- If you are stuffing the turkey, add your prepared stuffing now to the cavity of the turkey. Stuff it loosely!
- Turn the wings back or under the bird. Using kitchen twine, truss the legs of the turkey together.
- Spread softened butter over the turkey, the more the better.
- Sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper. I like to also use poultry seasoning. You can use whatever spices you prefer.
- Roast the turkey at 400°F for the first 20 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 325°F and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 hours.
- Baste the turkey with warmed chicken broth or the juices at the bottom of the pan every 20 - 30 minutes.
How long should I keep my turkey covered with foil?
- If you notice that the turkey is getting too brown while it is cooking, cover the turkey with the lid from the roaster.
- If you don't have a roaster lid, you can cover the turkey loosely with aluminum foil.
- Covering the turkey with foil while cooking traps steam and moistness so the turkey doesn't dry out.
Turkey Temperature
- The turkey is done when a Digital Meat Thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the turkey’s thigh reads 170°F degrees.
- If you stuffed the turkey with dressing, the dressing should reach 165°F degrees for it to be safe to consume.
- Once the turkey is finished cooking, remove it from the oven. Take the turkey out of the roasting pan and place on a cutting board. Cover the turkey with aluminum foil. Let the turkey rest for 30 to 60 minutes before carving.
Tips for Carving Roast Turkey
- I like to roast my turkey early in the day and have it carved before my guests arrive; that way I can have a clean kitchen.
- Always remove the turkey breast completely from the turkey body and then slice it on a cutting board. I know a lot of people like to slice the breast while it's still attached to the turkey, but if you remove it completely, you'll get beautiful slices of white meat.
- After the breast is removed and sliced, you can proceed to carve the dark meat, thighs, wings and legs.
- Keep the turkey in a large pan covered with aluminum foil until you're ready to serve.
How to Make Homemade Lump Free Gravy
- Instructions on how to make lump-free gravy are in my post for Pot Roast. It's the SAME recipe, only you'll be using the turkey drippings for turkey gravy instead of the beef broth from the pot roast.
- Step-by-step photo instructions are included in that post as well.
How long to cook a Turkey in an Electric Roaster?
Follow the steps above for prepping the turkey, and seasoning the turkey. Place the turkey in the electric roaster and set the cooking temperature to 325°F.
When cooking a turkey in an electric roaster, the cooking time can vary based on the weight of the bird.
Cook the turkey for about 8-10 minutes per pound at 325°F for an unstuffed turkey.
How do you keep a Turkey Warm for 4 Hours?
Place the turkey in an Oster Turkey Roaster which is an electric roasting pan.
Fill the bottom tray of an electric roasting pan with warm water and then place the sliced turkey in the removable tray. Insert the removable tray into the electric roasting pan.
Turn the roasting pan to the warm setting around 200 degrees.
The warm water at the bottom of the electric roasting pan helps keep the sliced turkey warm without drying it out.
Storing and Reheating Tips
Refrigerator: Place any leftover turkey in an airtight container or wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate within two hours of cooking and store for up to four days.
Freezer: Portion any leftovers it into meal-sized amounts before freezing in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 3 months.
Thawing and Reheating: Thaw safely in the refrigerator overnight and then enjoy your turkey in sandwiches, soups, salads, and more!
Before You Begin!
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More Thanksgiving Recipes to LOVE
- Candied Sweet Potatoes and Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing are two of my favorite side dishes for Thanksgiving!
- Company Mashed Potatoes - prepare your mashed potatoes the day before with this delicious recipe for creamy mashed potatoes.
- I always cook an additional Turkey Breast cooked in the crock pot so we have extra white meat. That way you can send home leftovers with family members and have enough on hand the next day to make turkey sandwiches.
📖 Recipe Card
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How to Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- 15 pound Turkey
- ½ cup butter; softened
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons Poultry Seasoning
Instructions
The Night Before Thanksgiving:
- Remove the turkey from the packaging and remove the neck and giblets from the cavity.
- You can use these to make turkey stock if desired...I usually throw them away.
- Pat dry with paper towels.
- Place the turkey on a tray and cover with paper towels and aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Thanksgiving Morning:
- Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and uncover.
- Place the turkey, breast side up in the roasting pan on top of a rack.
- If you are roasting the turkey with stuffing, add your prepared stuffing now to the cavity of the turkey. If you are not stuffing the turkey, make sure you salt and pepper the cavity.
- You can also add onions, apples, celery, carrots and parsnips to the cavity of the bird. These will all add flavor to the turkey. Make sure you stuff loosely.
- Turn the wings back or under the bird. Using kitchen twine, truss the legs of the turkey together
- Cover the turkey with the softened butter, the more the better. This is Thanksgiving and calories don’t count.
- Sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper and then poultry seasoning. If you prefer different seasonings, please use your favorite.
- Roast the turkey at 400 degrees for the first 20 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 hours.
- If you notice that the turkey is getting too brown while it is cooking, cover loosely with aluminum foil.
- Don’t forget to baste your turkey! I like to baste every 20 minutes or so using chicken stock.
- The turkey is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the turkey’s thigh reads 170 degrees.
- If you stuffed the turkey with dressing, the dressing should reach 165 degrees for it to be safe to consume.
- Once the turkey is finished cooking, remove it from the oven. Take the turkey out of the roasting pan and place on a cutting board. Cover the turkey with aluminum foil.
- Let the turkey rest for 30 to 60 minutes before carving.
- How to Make Homemade Lump Free Gravy
- Instructions on how to make lump-free gravy are in my post for Pot Roast. It's the SAME recipe, only you'll be using the turkey drippings for turkey gravy instead of the beef broth from the pot roast.
- Step-by-step photo instructions are included in that post as well.
Julie Slominski says
Do you have a crockpot recipe for turkey thanksgiving
Lois says
I only have a recipe for a turkey breast made in the crock pot: https://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com/roast-turkey-in-crock-pot/ Thank you for visiting!
Loretta says
Always used your tips
.this time we used your turkey recipe
.my husband said it was so.juicy and moist..Best turkey ever. Thanks
Lois says
Thank you Loretta! Best comment I've read in a long time. Glad your family enjoyed the turkey.
Doreen says
Thank you for the tips. You said you threw away the giblets in the turkey. My mom/grandma would cook them in some water/chicken broth with celery & onions and add the meat to their stuffing recipe. So that's how I do mine too. Yummy!
Lois says
That's such a great idea! I know my mom always did something very similar. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment!
Tim Leathers says
Loved it. Thanks for the tips!!
Excel at Home says
Great tips, thanks! I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year and will be following for more advice. I'd love for you to check out my free Christmas Card List and printable on my blog (and also linked through Link Party Palooza). Thanks!
Sunny Simple Life says
Do you still host your weekly blog party? I am updating my list on the blog. Could you let me know?