Juicy Roast Turkey Recipe
I was so excited about this juicy roast turkey recipe every step of the way and I think you’ll feel the same way when you try it. I spent several days researching all of the best turkey recipes online, in books, and getting trusted advice from my Mom and you, my readers. This tender and delicious turkey will impress your dinner guests.
The turkey breast is so juicy and flavorful and the skin is crisp and roasts to a beautiful golden brown. I invited all of my family over to help eat this turkey and received rave reviews from 10 adults and quite a few kiddos. I was so giddy with excitement when I tasted the juicy bird. Since the beginning of my blog (2009), I’ve been flooded with requests for a great turkey recipe for the holidays.
P.S. Be sure be sure be sure to make the turkey gravy; it’s super delicious and was the talk of last year’s Thanksgiving dinner! Big Thank you to Wolf for sponsoring this recipe!
Watch How to Make a Juicy Roast Turkey Recipe:
You don’t need to be scared to try new things in the kitchen, like the Thanksgiving turkey which is the “year’s most important dish”. You can’t go wrong by adding this roast turkey recipe to your menu. It’s fantastic. Read on to learn everything you need to know for a perfect turkey. P.p.s. you can even make this turkey recipe a day in advance (stuff, butter it up, cover and refrigerate overnight then bake the next day) if it makes your life easier and it will taste even better! 🙂
Roast Turkey Recipe Ingredients:
12 lb turkey (Anything from 11-15 lbs will work, but bake time will vary – see below)
Salt & Pepper for the inside and outside of the bird
For the Flavored Butter:
1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin), plus more to drizzle the top
4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon), plus 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
3 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
1/2 Tbsp salt (I used sea salt)
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
For the Turkey Stuffing:
1 large onion, quartered (no peeling)
4 garlic cloves, halved (no peeling)
1/2 bunch parsley
1 lemon, quartered
What you’ll need:
Kitchen String
Heavy duty foil
A heavy roasting pan that accommodates your bird, but isn’t over-sized
A temperature probe (to ensure a fully-cooked turkey)
Note:
Many of you have asked about using a larger turkey. One of my readers, Shannon, shares her experience with a 23 pound turkey (Thanks Shannon!): “Used this recipe last night with a 23 pound turkey and it was superb!! I used 3 sticks of butter instead of the 2, about 1 cup of parsley, kept the zest and juice of 2 lemons and quartered them for the stuffing. Kept 1 large onion peeled & largely sliced, used about 8 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced in half.
Cooked at 430 for 20 minutes and then 350 for about 5 1/2 hours, basting occasionally. I used the tin foil hat and had to made a couple other tin foil accessories for the legs that started to scorch. Took the tin foil hat off when it had 10 minutes of cook time left to ensure a nice browned top. Had tons of drippings to make a delicious gravy with. Will use this recipe every year! So flavorful and yummy. Thank you”
Required Prep for Roast Turkey Recipe:
*If using a frozen turkey, defrost it in its plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 days prior to roasting.
*Remove turkey from fridge about 30 minutes before you start working with it. If the turkey is closer to room temperature, it will bake more evenly. *Remove the neck and bag of giblets from the turkey.
*Pat dry turkey with paper towels. Let turkey sit in over paper towels to soak up any excess water from the turkey.
*Fold the wings behind the turkey; if you don’t they are the quickest to scorch and dry out.
Seasoning, Stuffing and Tying up a Turkey:
1. Season inside of turkey cavity generously with about 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine: 2 sticks softened butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest, 4 Tbsp lemon juice, and 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mash/stir with a fork until well combined (the lemon juice doesn’t easily stir into butter, but keep mixing and it will happen after a few minutes). This mixture was adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Christmas Turkey video and it’s wonderful. Take a whiff of it; you’ll fall in love with how fresh it smells!
3. Separate the skin from the turkey breast by pushing your fingers under the skin. Do this from the front and the back of the turkey, being careful not to tear the skin.
4. Stuff 2/3 of the butter mixture under skin then spread the butter around by massaging over the top of the skin. This butter keeps the turkey breast tender, juicy and provides rich flavor.
5. Rub remaining butter over the outside of the turkey (breast, legs, wings). Drizzle all over the top of the turkey with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper; I just love a crisp, salty skin.
6. Stuff turkey with quartered onion, 4 halved garlic cloves, 1/2 bunch parsley and quartered lemon. Tie turkey base and legs together; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity, plus it looks extra fancy on the table.
How to Roast a Turkey:
Prep: Pre-heat the oven to 430˚F on the bake mode. Place oven rack in the lower part of your oven (mine was on the second level from the very bottom) – this ensures that your large turkey roasts in the middle of the oven and keeps the turkey breast further from the top heating element.
1. Here is a fantastic tip I picked up from Alton Brown to protect the turkey breast and keep it juicy: Fold a large square sheet of foil into a triangle. Rub one side of your triangle with olive oil and shape the foil (oil-side-down) over the turkey breast, then remove foil; it will shield your turkey breast and keep it from getting dry. You’ll apply this shield later in the roasting process.
2. Place an oven-safe meat thermometer into the bird; beneath the drumstick; deep into the dark meat. It’s ready for the oven. Start roasting uncovered at 430˚F for 20 min.
3. Remove from oven; quickly baste with butter from the bottom of the dish. You can use a baster or tilt one side of the pan and collect drippings with a large spoon. Now apply prepared foil triangle to turkey breast area.
4. Reduce oven to 350˚F and bake for another 2 hours 30 min for a 12 lb bird. (Once you have reduced the oven to 350˚F, you will bake about 13 min for every pound of turkey). The turkey thigh should register at 170˚F on the temperature probe and the breast at 160˚F to make sure it’s fully cooked through then remove from the oven (keep in mind the turkey temp continues to rise slightly after it’s out of the oven).
Note: temperature recommendations based on the USDA which now says the safe poultry temp is 165˚F but the deeper thigh parts really should be at 170˚ to be fully cooked through.
5. Transfer turkey to serving platter and cover loosely but fully with foil. Let turkey rest for at least 1 hour. It will become more tender and easier to carve, the longer it sits. Keep drippings from roasting pan for a most delicious turkey gravy. Decorate around your turkey and make it festive. I used kale for my greens, then added small apples, sliced oranges and quartered lemons.
Juicy Roast Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 lb turkey Anything from 11-15 lbs will work, but bake time will vary
- Salt & Pepper for the inside and outside of the bird
For the Flavored Butter:
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2 Tbsp olive oil not extra virgin, plus more to drizzle top
- 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice from 1 large lemon, plus 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 3 large garlic cloves pressed
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
- 1/2 Tbsp salt I used sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
For the Stuffing:
- 1 large onion quartered (no peeling)
- 4 garlic cloves halved (no peeling)
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1 lemon quartered
What you'll need:
- Kitchen String
- Heavy duty foil
- A heavy roasting pan that accommodates your bird but isn't over-sized
- A temperature probe to ensure a fully-cooked turkey
Instructions
Seasoning, Stuffing and Tying up a Turkey:
-
Season inside of turkey cavity generously with about 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
-
In a medium bowl, combine: 2 sticks softened butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest, 4 Tbsp lemon juice, 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mash /stir with a fork until well combined (the lemon juice doesn't easily stir into butter but keep mixing and it will happen after a few minutes). Take a whiff of it; you'll fall in love with how fresh it smells!
-
Separate the skin from the turkey breast by pushing your fingers under the skin. Do this from the front and the back of the turkey; being careful not to tear the skin.
-
Stuff 2/3 of the butter mixture under skin then spread the butter around by massaging over the top of the skin. This butter keeps the turkey breast tender, juicy and provides rich flavor.
-
Rub remaining butter over the outside of the turkey (breast, legs, wings). Drizzle all over the top of the turkey with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper; I just love a crisp, salty skin.
-
Stuff turkey with quartered onion, 4 halved garlic cloves, 1/2 bunch parsley and quartered lemon. Tie turkey base and legs together; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity, plus it looks extra fancy on the table.
How to Roast a Turkey: (Pre-heat the oven to 430˚F on the bake mode. Place oven rack in the lower part of your oven (mine was on the second level from the very bottom).
-
Here is a fantastic tip: to protect the turkey breast and keep it juicy: Fold a large square sheet of foil into a triangle. Rub one side of your triangle with olive oil and shape the foil (oil-side-down) over the turkey breast, then remove foil; it will shield your turkey breast and keep it from getting dry. You'll apply this shield later in the roasting process.
-
Place an oven-safe meat thermometer into the bird; beneath the drum stick; deep into the dark meat. Start roasting uncovered at 430˚F for 20 min.
-
Remove from oven; quickly baste with butter from the bottom of the dish. You can use a baster or tilt one side of the pan and collect drippings with a large spoon. Now apply prepared foil triangle to turkey breast area.
-
Reduce oven to 350˚F and bake for another 2 hours 30 min for a 12 lb bird. (Once you have reduced the oven to 350˚F, you will bake about 13 min for every pound of turkey). The turkey thigh should register at 170˚F on the temperature probe and the breast at 160˚F to make sure it's fully cooked through then remove from the oven (keep in mind the turkey temp continues to rise slightly after it's out of the oven).
-
Transfer turkey to serving platter and cover loosely but fully with foil. Let turkey rest for at least 1 hour. It will become more tender and easier to carve, the longer it sits. Keep the drippings from roasting pan for gravy. Now you can decorate around your turkey and make it festive. I used kale for my greens, then added small apples, sliced oranges and quartered lemons.
Recipe Notes
!Instructions/Tips for prepping your bird:
*If using a frozen turkey, defrost it in its plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 days prior to roasting.
*Remove turkey from fridge about 30 minutes before you start working with it. If the turkey is closer to room temperature, it will bake more evenly.
*Remove the neck and bag of giblets from the turkey.
*Pat dry turkey with paper towels. Let turkey sit in a roasting pan lined with paper towels to soak up any excess water from the turkey.
*Fold the wings behind the turkey; if you don't they are the quickest to scorch and dry out.
This roast turkey recipe are sponsored by Sub-Zero and Wolf Appliances – I’m so excited to be working with such a phenomenal brand; they are truly top notch; the creme de la creme of ranges and ovens. Wolf is all about empowering home cooks to make predictably delicious dishes every time. This is especially crucial during the holidays when everything has to be just so, like this roast turkey recipe! Be sure to show Sub-Zero & Wolf some like and thank them for sponsoring by visiting their Facebook page.
Now you know exactly how to make this juicy roast turkey recipe :). I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
natashaskitchen
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Hi Natasha,
Just wondering if you have a suggestion. I want to serve the Turkey for after church lunch. I plan on seasoning the Turkey tonight and then placing it in the oven at 430 degrees for 20 min then decreasing the heat to 350 and leaving it in the oven while we go to church. Do you think that would be ok?
That’s exactly what the recipe calls for. 🙂 So I don’t see why not. Just don’t forget the foil tent. and basting can be done before and after 🙂
Hi there
I am considering slow cooking the turkey overnight as it will be served for Christmas lunch (and I am not a morning person!)
Can I use the recipe and only reduce the temperature for the second part of the cooking (ie after basting?) or would you change something else? I’ve seen suggestions to cook it breast down and on a rack but I prefer the stuffing the skin method.
Looking forward to your response, thank you in advance.
Hi Mary, I haven’t tried slow roasting this overnight so I can’t provide details on that but you can stuff, rub and completely prep the turkey the night before and just bring it to room temperature again before roasting for more even roasting. I hope that helps!
Wow! I won our turkey cookoff with your recipe!!! It was so flavorful and juicy! The other turkeys were very good but yours was amazing. I presented it with kale like your picture but used starfruit and pomegranate. Thanks so much.
I’ve got my second attempt in the oven now for dinner and turkey sandwiches. ❤️
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
Hello!!
Two things I think you should change please for safety:
You shouldn’t rinse the turkey, it’s impossible to rinse away germs and you are only spreading them all over your sink / counter doing this.
Secondly, you said to put the meat thermometer in. I thought, oh, that’s cool, I didn’t know you could put that in, it’ll be easier to check the temperature if it’s already in!
I also couldn’t find the giblets. So when I got the smell of burning plastic along with turkey, I thought I had missed the giblets. Picture me for 20 minutes flipping and emptying and trying my best to find the giblets in this turkey. Finally giving up. Putting it back in. Checking the thermometer…. oh, it’s melted plastic face. The thermometer melted. I’m not even a newbie, I’ve cooked at least 10 turkeys, but you should specify some thermometers must be oven safe and others not. Now I have 3 and hours or so to go get a new thermometer for this turkey!! Arghhh LoL
I won’t take any stars off for this as I know your blog supports you but if you could leave some simple warnings I don’t want anyone else going through this!! Thank you!
Hi Carol, thank you for sharing your tips. I updated the portion about washing the bird and specified that it should be an oven-safe thermometer. There are various kinds of thermometers and usually the instant-read ones are plastic and are not safe to leave in the oven. The ones that are safe to leave in the bird are made of all metal with a glass plate for viewing the gauge.
Hello Natasha, this turkey looks amazing! I am cooking it tomorrow and I have a lot of pressure to make my first turkey great. I was wondering about the basting. I saw in a comment that you did it when you turned the temp down but cautioned that opening the oven a lot would make it cook longer. Then I saw a different comment about you basting every 30 to 40 min. Im probably stressing about this more then I should haha. But how much basting should I do?
I recommend basting quickly to eliminate the amount of time that oven door is open. The oven will cool down quickly if open for a long time.
This recipe is amazing. We made it for a family reunion in summer and have been designated ‘Turkey’ cookers from then on!
Two turkeys being cooked today!
The moist turkey and wonderful taste is the best anyone in our large family (of big healthy eaters) has ever had.
Cheers!
Hi Matt, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I used this recipe for my turkey and totally fell in love with it. The turkey was so delicious and moist. I will definitely do this again but am planning on using the flavored butter on other things, It’s amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I (mostly) followed this recipe and it turned out great. The salty buttered crust turned out crispy crunchy and the white meat was beyond moist… it was downright juicy! This one’s going into the family cookbook! Thanks for posting!
FYI: In the video, you mentioned “knot” knowing if the craft twine you used was cooking safe. You could always soak it beforehand like with skewers.
Thank you for sharing that with us!!
Thanks for posting this awesome recipe. It turned out great, even though I had only dried parsley, not fresh, and I failed to properly truss the bird. The basic instructions – brown at higher temp, butter massage and tin foil hat, plus the hint of fresh lemon – resulted in a tasty turkey. Gravy made from the pan drippings and some chicken broth was excellent.
Next year I’m going to make sure I have all ingredients on hand and do it by the book. My niece says she is already counting the days till Thanksgiving 2019!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Hey , when we lower to 350 do we cover the turkey or leave uncovered ?
Besides the breast triangle tent we did not cover the turkey.
Can i use dried parsley? All i have out here in the sticks.
Hi Tessa! Dried parsley will work! I haven’t tried that myself but one of my readers has an enjoyed that!
I found your recipe last year. It couldn’t have been easier, and the flavor of the gravy was the best I’ve ever had! Thank you for sharing it!!
My pleasure! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
This is the first review I ever left on a receipe because this is the first receipe I ever used that turn out spectacular!!! I messed up my first turkey a few days ago because I used a brine and if end up to be too salty. This receipe was perfect ! It really complimented the turkey a lot! It was also super duper moist! Omg 🤤. I just add 2 more cups of chicken broth to the pan so more gravy sauce yummmm. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome receipe! My family was so amaze that this one turn out execellent! They said that this was the first moist turkey they ever tasted!!!
Wow! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My first attempt at cooking a turkey and it came out wonderful. The nerves were definantly there but this recipe was easy to understand with simple ingredients . and the FLAVOR was excellent. Thanksgiving 2018 was a success! !!!!!!😀
That’s just awesome, Alice!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Awesome recipe! I made this tonight for some friends…my cousin made HAM for Thanksgiving, and while it was delicious, I wanted TURKEY. So I decided to make a turkey. I’ve cooked a lot but this was my first time roasting a whole turkey. Your recipe was delicious and everyone loved it. My first turkey was perfect thanks to you!
That’s so great Tina! I’m so happy you loved this recipe! Sounds like you made the right call!
Uses this recipe for thanksgiving and the turkey was absolutely phenomenal! Not a single bit of it was dry, and the drippings made a wonderful gravy. Will definitely be using this recipe from here on out. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your great review, Rachel!
This turkey was very tasty! We had a 22 lb turkey and it cooked in about a half hour less than the original calculation. We used leftover butter for rolls and sauteing the green beans. (leave it at room temp for easy spreading or warm it a bit to “lather” the bird) We did have trouble with the gravy though. The “drippings” were mostly oil from the butter, so the gravy was very oily. We added milk and flour and got a better texture, but next time it needs less butter drippings and more flour, and perhaps a bit of stock. Great recipe though, because we made it again over the weekend! 🙂 Again, our turkey was done in a shorter amount of time by about 30 minutes. (2 different ovens, one bird 22 lbs and one 10 lbs)
I’m happy you enjoyed this recipe, Matt!! Thank you for your feedback!
Pour the juices in a gravy separator and place it in the fridge while the turkey is resting. The oil will separate and you use the rest of the broth to make a delicious gravy.
I was so excited to try this recipe this year for thanksgiving. 100% the best turkey I have ever eaten. Thank you Natasha!! Most flavorful moist turkey 💛 insanely delicious!
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
This was delicious! Although it took considerably longer than expected. I had a nearly 16-pound turkey and had calculated 3 hours 15 minutes at 350 degrees. It was closer to 5 hours. Really moist and good. Thank you!!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Cameron!
Natasha,
This was our first time making turkey! Your recipe stuck out to us the most! I do have a question: when do we remove the “shield?” I notice in your video your turkey already had the foil shield removed when you took it out. Please advise for next time!
Jen, keep that foil triangle on the remainder of the time in the oven.
I made this recipe yesterday for Thanksgiving 2018. It got rave reviews! My family said that they want me to make the turkey every year now; I have never tasted a turkey breast as moist and the flavor of the bird was incredible! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Wow! I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you for sharing that with me! 🙂
Dear Natasha, your turkey was a complete success! The one thing I had truoble with was rubbing the butter mixture under the skin…. I could not find a way to put my hand under the skin…. I just rubbed all the surface of the turkey very well. I guess it did the trick. It was really good! I have saved the recipe for our next Thanksgiving, and the the next, and the next…. xx
Some turkeys are more stubborn than others. It can take some time and you have to be careful not to tear the skin. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed that recipe!
This recipe makes turkey is so juicy and moist, it almost tastes like tender chicken! Not dry at all! The consensus at Thanksgiving was this is the best turkey I’ve ever had! From absolutely everyone!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
This was my first time cooking a turkey and this recipe was so easy. My bird was seasoned and cooked to perfection. Moist, flavorful and balanced. The drippings made the most wonderful gravy Even though I forgot to use Natasha’s gravy recipe. My entire family raved about it all day long.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hi Natasha. I tried your recipe and added some mustard outside and inside of the turkey. IT came out so good. Thanks for sharing simple and easier ways of cooking. we had a great thanksgiving dinner. I tried to make the grave but it was hard for me because there was no video of it. it still came out good and also tried your mash potatoes recipe. everything was yummy
I’m so happy you enjoyed all of that! Thank you for the great review!
This recipe for Thanksgiving turkey is amazing, Natasha!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that June!!
I was wondering if you baste during the cooking aside from the baste wgrn you change the temp?
Hi Karie, I don’t usually but it wouldn’t hurt if you wanted to just keep in mind, every time you open the oven, you lose heat so it will take a little longer in the oven.
Made this recipe for Thanksgiving using a 22 lb turkey for a group of 13. EVERYONE raved about the turkey. Lots of comments like, “this is the best turkey I’ve ever had”. It was absolutely fabulous. I’ve never been able to master cooking a turkey until now. Thank you!
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
I’am 80 yrs.old and have cooked a turkey on Thanksgiving and Xmas, my family has always said I make the best turkey, Well, I did until I tried this recipe yesterday. I used this recipe–boy what a great turkey this was-never before have I had such a moist, juicy and great tasting bird!! , I even tasted it this morning (day after ) and it is just as good. I cooked a 24 lb put it in a bag, then put it in the frig. overnight. Hope to cook many more like this. THANK YOU
Wow! You’re so welcome! & Thank you for sharing your great review! Sounds like you may have found a new favorite!
Do you have a great recipe for baking a ham. One that is awesome like your turkey recipe
Hi Barbara! Not yet but thank you for that suggestion! I’ll have to get my hands on a good recipe!
I made your turkey, the gravy and the mashed potatoes. All came out wonderful!! It was my first turkey and our directions were easy and covered everything. The potatoes were the creamiest I ever made and all gone!! Gravy also was delicious! Thank you so much I will definitely be making this next year! Best to You and your family this holiday season!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Two days before Thanksgiving, my in-law went to a friend’s party and posted a photo of a beautiful turkey with the heading “The best and juiciest turkey I have ever had!”
Since I had no prior experience of making one and today being the day I was going attempt to cook one for dinner at my in-laws, the pressure was on ~ lots of pressure.
Fortunately, for my sake and for the sake of all the guests tonight, I found your recipe!! It was so easy to follow and the turkey turned out beautiful and flavorful and the juiciness of the turkey became the talk of the night!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!! Your recipe saved the day and it is definitely a keeper!!
I love that! Thank you for sharing that with me!!
The turkey recipe is wonderful, really! The meat is juicy and tasty. Everyone was happy to eat that thanksgiving turkey.
Btw, I didn’t know initially that you’re from Ukraine. So, Спасибо большое, было очень вкусно! 😉
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Juicy Roast Turkey Recipe
This was only the 2nd time I’ve attempted to make turkey after a disastrous try over a decade ago. I have to say, I was blown away by how good it turned out! The flavor needed nothing, not even gravy. It was moist, tender, and very juicy—even and especially the breast meat. It was simply the best turkey I’ve ever tried! Far exceeding my expectations and I made it😌. My whole family was impressed as well. I am not exaggerating when I mention that the children were coming up to me and complimenting the turkey. Even some of the vegetarians in the crowd tried—and liked it! What a huge success. My Thanksgiving is complete. I now have a go-to full proof turkey recipe😎 The only thing I regret is there were absolutely no leftovers!!!
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you for sharing this with me Shari! Sounds like you found your new go-to Turkey recipe!
This was a bomb! Thank you Natasha for the recipe and tips! It was gone in a second! I used a 15lb turkey and cooked it about 3hrs and 30mins on 350 plus the 20mins on 430 and it was really juicy and tasty. I stuffed it the night before but put the butter mixture 2hrs before i cooked it. I added thyme and oregano in the butter mixture and lemon grass for the stuffing. Thank you so much! It’s my first time and will never be the last!
You’re so welcome! That truly sounds like the perfect turkey!! I’m so happy you enjoyed our recipe!
Best turkey I ever made I have messed up several this recipe is easy and delicious as of today I was loaded from now on to cook the turkey for my family !
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
We cooked our very first turkey with this recipe and nailed it !!!! It was a huge hit my boyfriend made a perfect glistening juicy turkey.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Just tried a variation of this but w/o the lemon juice/zest (I substituted a few drops of lime juice) and it was the juiciest turkey I’ve ever had!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Tried this recipe for Thanksgiving today and it was great!! 13 lb turkey with butter mixture applied the night before, just under 3 hrs total cook time, took out when temp was 160, rested about an hour and the meat was very juicy. Can’t wait to do this again! Thank you.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
I’m making this recipe this year. My turkey is reading 180 F after only 1.5 hours at 340 (and after the 20 minutes of 420) did I do something wrong?
Hi Emily – That is possible if you were using a smaller turkey or maybe were using a convection setting on your oven which would cause it to roast faster (I recommend regular bake mode for this recipe). Also, make sure you are checking the temperature in the proper places of the turkey (deep in the meat and not just under the skin) and with a reliable thermometer. I sure hope that helps!
How often should u baste
Occasionally is best. We did it about every 30-40 minutes or so.
Made the turkey today. Easy and was ready in 4.5 hours bGot so many compliments on how wonderful the turkey was.
Turkey was moist and flavorful.
Will be making this again
Thanks so much for sharing.
You’re so welcome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Thank you for the amazing turkey recipe! We loved it!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Question: what do you do with the neck and giblets? I saw you put the neck in the roasting pan, but how do you present it on the dish?
Thanks! Giving this a shot. Looks and smells DELISH so far!
Hi Mark, I add the neck to the pan and just serve it on the turkey platter right next to the turkey. 🙂 I personally love the neck 🙂
And what about the giblets? Do you just toss those? or is there some other magical use for them?
Hi Mark, I personally just toss them but here is a good reference on what to do with giblets. They are often used to make gravy.
U dont put a lid while cooking?
Hi Joel, no, I only apply the foil triangle after the first 20 minutes of roasting.
So… I messed up and did 3 sticks of butter not 2..its bubbling a LOT in the oven.. You think it will be OK? Or should I drain some of it?
Hi, it should still be ok. Extra butter won’t ruin the turkey 🙂 Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
i just want to say thank you for all the photos with each step. Awesome! Happy Thanksgiving!🦃
Just getting started – will leave results review later.🐷
You are so very welcome!! I hope you absolutely love the turkey and Happy Thanksgiving!
So is the cook time 5.5 hrs or 2.5hrs?
HI Darek, for a 12 lb bird, I roasted at 430˚F for 20 min then reduced to 350˚F and baked another 2.5 hours.
I don’t usually comment on recipes.. But I had to say, I prepped my turkey last night with the butter mixture and I couldn’t stop sniffing it!! It smells SO good. I am going to try it on fish sometime! My bird is in the oven now and smells fantastic. The only thing I did differently was injected a little salty apple juice into the turkey last night. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
I’m curious to hear how it goes with the salty apple juice! Sounds amazing!!
I am ready to wow my family with your turkey recipe 😊
Have you ever roasted your turkey in a convection oven?
Suggestions, opinions?!?!
Hi Cindy, I honestly haven’t tried this in a convection oven so I wouldn’t be able to make recommendations on that. If anyone else has tried, please let us know! 🙂
Hey there, I gotta tell you I have used this recipe the last 4 years or so and I am about to once more. It is the best turkey I have ever had with so much flavor in every bite not just the bites with the skin. It is never dry and the leftovers are just as amazing as the first serving. Thank you so much for this recipe, my family loves it and is always looking forward to thanksgiving so that I make another one. I’ve used a small bird and a bigger 20 lb bird and either way as long as you adjust the ingredients to account for the size, it is always perfect. Thank you
That is so wonderful to hear! I’m so glad you have loved this turkey recipe enough to make it 4 years in a row!! Fantastic! Thank you for sharing your thorough and amazing review! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi Natasha, Happy Thanksgiving!! Not sure if you’ll be answering questions now on the holiday, but I’m a young wife and this is my first time making a turkey and hosting Thanksgiving. I accidentally prepared the bird upside down… so I put the butter mixture underneath the skin on the opposite side of what you did.
When I realized this, I flipped the turkey and put the butter where it was supposed to go. This means I separated the skin around the entire turkey and did oil, salt and pepper on both sides. Do you think this will be too much? Should I be prepared for a ruined turkey?
Thank you for the great tips, video and recipe!!
Hi Kate, I don’t think it would be too much. you’ll probably have a wonderfully flavorful roast turkey! I hope you love the recipe and happy Thanksgiving!
Hi, I prepped my turkey tonight, but was a little confused with the ingredients for a 20lb turkey flavored rub that Shannon wrote. Do the measurements for the oil, garlic , salt and pepper stay the same for the flavored butter?
For the stuffing 2 lemons and 8 garlic cloves, 1 onion, and 1/2 bunch of parsley? Thank you
It looks like she used 1/3 more of everything in the flavored butter. It looks like she stuffed with 2 lemons, 1 large onion, 8 garlic cloves and 1/2 bunch of parsley. I would be careful with the lemon juice and not add more than 4-6 Tbsp to the flavored butter so it won’t be too difficult to blend it into the butter and also so your pan drippings wouldn’t be overwhelmingly lemony (If you are using the drippings to make turkey gravy).
Thank you , Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Natasha,
The total time is 5 hours from what I read at the very beginning but then at the bottom it says a different thing. I’m confused.
Hi Johana. Were you possibly reading about my note regarding the cook time for the 20+ pound Turkey from another readers experience? This recipe calls for a 12 lb turkey so total time should be about 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Thank you Natasha! I have a 17 lb turkey. Should I cook it for 3?
HI Johana, I would recommend using the guidelines in the post on how long to roast a turkey: Once the oven is reduced to 350˚F, bake 13 min for every pound of turkey. I highly recommend a meat thermometer and the turkey thigh should register at 170˚F on the temperature probe and the breast at 160˚F to make sure it’s fully cooked through then remove from the oven (keep in mind the internal turkey temp continues to rise slightly after it’s out of the oven).
Great, will do. Thank you! It’s my first time cooking a turkey so I’m looking forward to this yummy recipe. Happy thanksgiving to you and your family! Thanks so much for responding so quickly.
I love love love this recipe!!! So delicious and juicy! Thank you for the perfect turkey recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it
Hi! I’m gonna try this recipe this year! I was just wondering what you did with neck and gizzard. Do you have a good stuffing recipe? Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi Meg, we don’t currently have a stuffing recipe since it isn’t something we grew up eating (neither my husband or I), but if I come up with something great, I will be sure to share it! 🙂 I do toss the gizzard but keep the neck and roast it alongside the turkey in the pan, but my Mom stuffs the turkey with the gizzards along with the vegetables. I’m just a little grossed out by them. lol.
Hi! I am a first time turkey chef this year and plan to use your recipe. I am nervous as my mom and hubby’s mom only use butter with theirs. I find that good but not very flavorful shhhhh dont tell them lol. My only hesitation is the lemon. Does it give the turkey a profound lemony taste? I have a hard time imagining a lemon flavored turkey and gravy. Thanks ahead of time for a great recipe. I read all of the reviews and sounds like you are one awesome cook!
Hi Jackie, the turkey meat doesn’t have an overpowering lemon taste. The gravy has a stronger lemony flavor so you could cut back if you wanted to but the turkey meat will not be overwhelmingly lemon-flavored 🙂 Others have reported great results even cutting the lemon juice in half. I hope you love it!
Hi again, one more for ya lol.
Would this recipe be sufficient for a 15 lb turkey? Thanks in advance.
That should work. You can choose to add a bit more butter and ingredients to cover the entire turkey if you’d like. This recipe is for a 12-pound turkey.
Hi i am really excited about using this recipe! Fingers crossed. I just have one question, How often to you baste the turkey during cooking>
We baste it occasionally. I haven’t really tracked that but about every 30-40 minutes or so.
Can I use salted butter or will it draw out the moisture? I already have it in stock.
If all you have is salted butter than that’s fine. A few of our readers have reported good results using that.
Can I use salted butter instead?
I think that will work fine. Our readers only had salted butter and mentioned it turned out great! I hope you love this recipe!
Hi, i only have extra virgin olive oil. Should i wait and get regular at the store or can i go ahead and use that?
Hi Bianca, you can still make it work but extra virgin is not ideal because it doesn’t tolerate high eat well and does not have a high smoke point and the turkey is on high heat for the first 20 minutes. You can also use canola oil or even better is avocado oil if you have it.
I am excited to try this but also a bit nervous about strong lemon taste on the turkey meat. Does it have a noticeable lemon taste?
Hi Cheryl, the turkey meat doesn’t have an overpowering lemon taste. The gravy has a stronger lemony flavor so you could cut back if you wanted to but the turkey meat will not be overwhelmingly lemon-flavored 🙂 Others have reported great results even cutting the lemon juice in half.
I’ve always used an oven bag. Can I still use with this recipe? Thanks!
Hi John, I honestly haven’t tried that method so I can’t make that recommendation. If anyone else has tried, please let us know! 🙂
I have a 19 1/2 pound turkey. Would I need to change the ingredients and how much more cooking time will I need to add?
Hi Mel, One of my readers reported the following which should help:
“1. Took me 4 days to thaw turkey
2. Marinated turkey with butter and herbs for 2 days,
3. Cooked on HI for 30 min and rest at 350 oF
4. 10 min per lb. (what? Yes 10 min per lb)
5. Internal temperature between breast and tight registered 160 oF.
6. Took out of oven and Covered well with heavy duty aluminum oil and did let it rest for 2 hours.
Yes for 2 hours (Ramsay’s tip – rest turkey for almost the same time as a cooking time).
Guess what how it turned out? one person who ate 4 turkey in 3 days he told that this was the most delicious turkey. My husband (who always know a clue of good food because he eats lots of doctor’s lunches) told that turkey was awesome (juicy, crispy skin, and etc.). ok. I got lots of compliments.”
Do I need to stuff the turkey?
we don’t currently have a stuffing recipe since it isn’t something we grew up eating (neither my husband or I), but if I come up with something great, I will be sure to share it! 🙂
Hello,
I noticed the instructions stated to take the bird out 30 minutes prior to handling. If I am prepping the bird the night before, is this still safe to do so? This will be my first time attempting a bit of prep the night before, so I am unsure of how safe this is? Thank you, I cannot wait to try this!
Hi Sherri, If you are prepping the bird the night before (very smart way to do it!), I would take it out at least 30 minutes and probably more like 1 hour prior to baking to take the chill off before putting it in the oven for more even baking.
What can I substitute the lemon with? My husband cannot have anything with lemon in it.
I have not tried this recipe without the lemon just because it is very important to the flavor here. I would suggest still using the lemon on the outside and not placing lemons inside the turkey so you still will have all the flavor without any strong lemony flavor.
Yayyyyyy! I see the Alton brown note and remove foil in bold black letters. Thank you! Every year that would be the one question I always seem to ask otherwise, I live by your recipe. Your recipes are amazing through and through! I hadn’t had not one complaint making this turkey! And apologies about asking the same question every year but it helps me now the one missing piece.
That’s so great! Thank you for the wonderful review!!
Should I cover my turkey to keep it moist? I noticed you didn’t cover yours.
We only covered the breast with foil and it turned out juicy!
Hey Natasha 🙂 , thank you for this awesome turkey recipe! I’m really wanting to try this out but our turkey is less than the suggested 11 lbs. Can we still follow the cooking time based off the 13 minutes per lb rule? Thank you so much and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hi Amanda, yes that is correct – I Would follow those guidelines and I always highly recommend using a thermometer to double check. 🙂
Wondering what will happen if I do use extra virgin olive oil? That is all that I have… is it ok?
You can use more if need be. Are you looking to substitute that for something else?
Hi Natasha! Thank you for this AMAZING recipe. I will be making this turkey for the 3rd year now, my husband loves it and our one year old son will get to try it for the first time this year.
I do have a question, the past times of making this I used a pre brined frozen turkey (butterball), thawed out as instructed. This year I am cooking an all natrual, fresh (non frozen) turkey. I have heard brined turkey is a staple to making a juicy turkey. Should I pre brine my turkey?? If so do you have any recipes or recommendations for brining?
Hi Miranda! You are more than welcome to bring it ahead of time or marinate if you’d like. Several of our readers have. We don’t brine or pre-marinate ours and it turns out juicy & flavorful just fine.
Hi Natasha
If I have a 9 pounds turkey should I still use the 20 minutes and 430 degrees for the first time in the oven? How about for the second time in the oven?
Hi Eugene! Yes, that should be fine! You would want to cut down time for the second part so watch it closely and possibly decrease cook time.
hi there. I bought brined turkey and so do I need to omit the salt or reduce the salt amount? Please advice. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I don’t brine but you can if you prefer, it just isn’t necessary for this recipe. Several of our readers have brined and followed this recipe with great results!
Well the turkey I bought is brined already, not that I prefer that necessarily. So since it’s been done I was wondering whether I need to adjust the salt or just simply follow the recipe. Thanks for the timely reply, I do appreciate it.
Hi Flower, you shouldn’t have to adjust the salt if the turkey is brined already. I hope you love the roast turkey and Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Def gonna try this, but just to confirm; no injecting needed? normally we inject with chic broth and white wine but it still isn’t juicy enough.
We did not inject this Turkey. Some of our readers have injected it in addition to following this recipe, however.
I know you said you can prepare turkey a day in advance. Do you think two days in advance would be ok?
Are you looking to marinate it for two days? Several of our readers of marinated it for up to 48 hours and loved it.
Thank you for replying so quickly. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Natasha, I’m really excited to try your recipe. I’m a big believer in massaging butter underneath the skin and all over. So you’re not using the rack. I have the nonstick roasting pan with rack. But I am think of just using my pyrex dish since a rack isn’t needed. What do you think?
Hi Renee, my only reservation with a glass pyrex is that at higher temperatures, glass can be dangerous and this one does start at 430˚F. If you can remove the rack from your roasting pan, that will work great. I don’t use a rack because the turkey self-bastes at the bottom in the pan drippings and the results are excellent 🙂
Hello! I’m going to try your recipe on Thursday, this will also be my first time making a turkey. The turkey is 11.5 pounds and I just put it in the fridge. Should I put it in cold water for an hour or so right before I cook it? I just want to make sure it’s completely thawed.
Hi Melissa, most frozen turkeys take about 3 days to thaw in the fridge but you can speed thaw in cold water since you won’t have it refrigerated the full 3 days. I would guess you should give it at least 2-3 hours in water to be safe (keeping it in it’s wrapper), submerge under cold water (a cooler with a press over it works well) and change the water every 30 minutes (Food safety recommendation).
Do recomend a ccoking bag instead the foil for the turkey?
Hi Dani, I honestly haven’t tried that method so I can’t make that recommendation.
Can you do preparation of turkey the night before and just bring out an hour before it goes in oven?
Hi Beverly, yes I have done that and thought it was even better 🙂
Hi Natasha,
When you’ve prepared it this way the night before, do you cover it when you put it back in the fridge? Was worried it would dry out otherwise.
Also I have another question if that’s OK! Do you use your roasting pan’s wire rack? Thought I saw someone comment you didn’t, and I didn’t notice that detail in your video. Thank you so much for all your help!! You’ve helped Thanksgiving dinners across the nation 🙂
Yes keeping it covered will be a good idea. We did not use the wire rack. Our turkey sat directly in the pan. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi, I also want to do the prep work the day before. How would you cover it when putting back in the fridge? Loosely with foil? I would think plastic wrap would smear and take off the butter.
Loosely with foil should work just fine!
Thank you. That will be a big help time wise. Also I am using a Stainless Steel roasting pan. You said not to use rack and let sit on bottom of pan. Do you use any aluminum foil on bottom of pan?
We did not. We let it rest directly on the pan
Did you baste the turkey at all during the roasting process?
Hi girl. Idk how fast you reply, but I’m going to start cooking the turkey on a timer cause I’ll be at work , so how would I do the step where you take it out 20 mins after and put the butter on top. Can I do that after an hour maybe and just cook it on the 350 in the beginning.
Hi Emily, The butter is applied to the turkey before it goes into the oven and we start roasting it uncovered for the first 20 minutes then apple the foil triangle (in step 3) and keep that foil triangle on the remainder of time in the oven. If you leave it off for the first hour, the turkey breast will be dry.
Made this for Friendsgiving on Saturday and everyone loved it. Great Recipe. I added a little fresh Rosemary and Thyme to it. Very flavorful and moist
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Peter!! Thank you for the great review!
Can I use vegetable oil instead of olive oil?
Hi Wanda! That should work! You can also use canola oil or even better is avocado oil.
Hi, so I really wanted to try this with my first Turkey this year, but with all the salmonella outbreaks and concerns I’m gonna stick with a chicken. Would this recipe still work? I know I would have to adjust the cooking time since it would be smaller in size..
Hi Briana, I have had several readers report good results scaling it down with a chicken. I would also suggest our spatchcock chicken which has a similar flavor profile.
I prepared my turkey this way last year and it was wonderful! However, my son and grandson who will be having Thanksgiving with us this year are dairy free. Any suggestion to replace the butter? Olive oil perhaps? Flax Seed Oil?
Hi Heidi, I searched through the comments and I haven’t had anyone mention any kind of dairy free substitute. Possibly ghee but I just haven’t any substitutes. If anyone else has tried to make a dairy free version of this roast turkey, please let us know and thanks in advance! 🙂
I am highly allergic to all milk products and will make the flavored “butter” using vegan substitute. With all the other flavors going on this works!
Thank you for sharing that! I hope you love it!
I keep kosher, so I don’t mix meat and dairy. I substitute rendered chicken fat (schmaltz). It makes the turkey really delicious. You can make your own own or find it frozen in the kosher section of the grocery store.
How interesting! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Thank you so much for the suggestion, I will check that out!
Just transferred my 11.5 lb bird from the freezer to the fridge for Thursday. Looking forward to trying this recipe out! Will let you know how it comes out!
Really hoping for a juicy turkey as my husband isn’t a big fan of dry meat, keeping my fingers crossed!
I’m crossing my fingers for you also! It will be great! Enjoy!!
I want to make this with a 25lb turkey would I just double the recipe? I made this last year and can’t remember what I did. It was delicious
I think that would be best since this recipe calls for a 12 lb turkey
What would you recommend for cooking time and temp be for a 14lb turkey?
I’d say follow the same temperature as the recipe just watch it closely towards the end 14lbs is not that far off from the 12 lb turkey we used in this recipe
Hi Natasha! I’m so excited to try your recipe for this Thanksgiving! My turkey always been dry the last few times in the past. I’m hoping this will be a game changer. Will let you know how mine turn out. Thanks!!
I look forward to your feedback Winnie!!
I’ve never made a turkey. Do I put the neck in the pan as well? I thought I saw that on the video. Thanks!
Hi Chri, yes I put it in the pan – it enriches the pan drippings and someone always likes the neck 🙂
Will it be best to have it marinated a couple days before? Or have it done that same day?
You are more than welcome to bring it ahead of time or marinate if you’d like. Several of our readers have. We don’t brine or pre-marinate ours and it turns out juicy & flavorful just fine.
I made this for a friendsgiving yesterday and it was good! But it was done an hour and a half earlier than I had calculated at 13min/pound. I cooked a 20.5lb turkey at 430 for 20 then 350 for 3hr 15min then let it rest about an hour. I had to cover the legs with foil halfway through roasting too as they started to get darker. Turned out beautiful!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Auriel!!
I needTurkey staffing recipes please. thank you Happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Angela, we don’t currently have a stuffing recipe since it isn’t something we grew up eating (neither my husband or I), but if I come up with something great, I will be sure to share it! 🙂
Stafing recipe please Thank you I love you recipes.
I’m not sure what you mean by that Angela. Can you expand on that?
Hi,Natasha,
I made this Turkey last yr. Everyone liked it cause it was juicy. Thanks for this recipe. God bless u,& have a happy joyful thanksgiving!!!👍💖
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :). Happy Thanksgiving!!