How to Roast the Perfect Turkey for Thanksgiving Day

It's that time of year again when family and friends get together to celebrate Thanksgiving. One of the most important, and traditional, parts of the Thanksgiving feast is the roasted turkey. Follow these easy steps on how to roast a turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner.

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.  

Check out the NEW Place Cards available to help you set a GREAT table for Thanksgiving! And if you want to cook a turkey breast, read my post on Crock Pot Turkey Breast.

Table of Contents

• FREE Turkey Roasting Chart Printable
• 💬Should I cover my turkey with foil while cooking?
• 💬Do you put water in the bottom of the roasting pan for turkey?
• 🛒Helpful Kitchen Tools
• Main Ingredients Needed
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• 💬Tips for Carving Roast Turkey
• 💬How to Make Homemade Lump Free Gravy
• 💬Oster roaster oven turkey cooking instructions
• 💬Side Dish Ideas for Roast Turkey 
• 💬 Comments

FREE Turkey Roasting Chart Printable

Here's a handy Turkey Roasting Chart PRINTABLE for you to print out and refer to while the turkey is cooking. I keep mine on the windowsill above the kitchen sink and refer to often while the turkey is cooking. 

💬Should I cover my turkey with foil while cooking?

One of the most debated topics during the Thanksgiving holiday is whether or not to cover the roast turkey while it cooks. Some people swear by the method, insisting that it helps to keep the meat moist and prevents it from drying out.

Others argue that it inhibits browning and roasting, resulting in a less than ideal bird. So, what is the answer?

Well, it turns out that both methods have their merits.

Covering the turkey will indeed help to keep it moist, but it also means that the skin will not have a chance to crisp up and brown. If you are looking for a perfectly roasted turkey with crispy skin, then you should forego the foil.

However, if you are more concerned with juicy meat, then covering the turkey may be the way to go. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide which is more important: perfectly roasted skin or juicy, moist meat.

💬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.

I always start out roasting the turkey without any water or broth at the bottom of the pan. Then I'll add about ½ cup of water to combine with the natural juices from the turkey.

🛒Helpful Kitchen Tools

This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.

More InformationMore InformationMore InformationMore InformationMore InformationMore InformationMore Information

 

Main Ingredients Needed

This is an overview of the ingredients and instructions. Be sure to see the recipe card below for exact quantities, detailed instructions and special notes.

• 15 pound Turkey
• ½ cup butter; softened
• Salt and pepper
• Poultry Seasoning; about 2 tablespoons

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 | How to Prepare a Turkey for Roasting

Turkey prep the night before Thanksgiving: This is something my mother always did and it's what do as well. There's a lot of cleanup involved when you remove the turkey from the packaging:

• 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 baking tray and cover with paper towels and aluminum foil.
• Place in the refrigerator overnight.

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. 

If you do choose to rinse the turkey, please make sure you wash with very hot soapy water the sink, kitchen counter top or any other surface the turkey has come in direct contact with after you have completed preparing the turkey.  This includes the scissors used to cut the twine to tie up the turkey legs or any knives you use to trim excess skin from the turkey.  

Step 2 | Roasting a Turkey

• Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and uncover.
• Place the turkey, breast side up in the Roasting Pan with 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.
• 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 degrees for the first 20 minutes.  Then lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 hours.
• Baste the turkey every 20 - 30 minutes.

Step 3 | 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.

Step 4 | Perfect 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.

💬Oster roaster oven turkey cooking instructions

An easy way to keep roasted turkey warm is to use an Oster Roaster Oven:

• 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.

💬Side Dish Ideas for Roast Turkey 

• Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce made in the Instant Pot
• Candied Sweet Potatoes - one of my favorite side dishes for Thanksgiving! 
• Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing
• Company Mashed Potatoes - prepare your mashed potatoes the day before with this delicious recipe for creamy mashed potatoes. 
• Turkey Breast cooked in the crock pot - I always cook another turkey breast in the crock pot so we have extra white meat. That way you can send home extra with family members and have enough on hand the next day to make turkey sandwiches. 

⭐Before You Begin! If you make this recipe, please leave a review and star rating. This helps my business thrive and continue providing FREE recipes.

This recipe has been updated since it first appeared in 2015 with new photos and a new printable recipe card that includes nutritional information. I hope you enjoy the updates as much as I enjoyed working on them!