How to dress a turkey for roasting

We know it can sound intimidating, but preparing a turkey for roasting is a simple task, no matter how big the bird. All you need are a few basic techniques, and you'll be ready to impress the crowd at your Thanksgiving dinner.

What You'll Need

• Turkey
• Kitchen twine
• Roasting pan with rack
• Baking tray
• Paring knife

How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey Without a Roasting Pan

How to Prepare a Turkey for Roasting

01 of 04

Empty the Inside and Place Turkey on a Tray

Reach your hand into the turkey's cavity and remove anything that's in there, such as a packet of giblets. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rimmed baking tray or cookie sheet—this will catch any juices and make post-prep cleanup a breeze.

02 of 04

Tuck the Turkey Wings

Holding a wing in your hand, lift that side of the turkey a couple of inches and tuck the wing underneath the bird's back. Lower the turkey and repeat with the other side. Tucking the wings will make for more even roasting and keep them from burning.

03 of 04

Tie the Drumsticks Together

Cut a piece of kitchen twine (about 8 inches in length). Cross the turkey legs at their "ankles"—the thinnest point, directly above the bottom joints. Then, wrap the twine around the two ankles, tying it into a knot or bow to hold them together. This makes for a tidy-looking turkey.

04 of 04

Transfer the Turkey to a Roasting Rack

For cooking, transfer the turkey from the baking tray to a rack set inside a roasting pan. If one of the wings comes untucked, tuck it back under the bird.

How to Roast a Turkey – learn easy techniques to perfectly roast a turkey. Step by step instructions from start to finish.

Table of Contents Open

• Basic Roast Turkey Recipe
• How To Thaw A Turkey
• Ingredients You’ll Need
• How To Roast A Turkey
  • Prep The Turkey
  • Make The Herb Butter Mixture
  • Season The Turkey
  • Cover The Turkey And Roast
  • Uncover And Finish Roasting
• Can You Cook A Frozen Turkey?
• Brining A Turkey
• Cooking Times For Roasting A Turkey
• Expert Tips
• What To Serve With Your Turkey
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • World’s Best Cranberry Sauce
  • Roasted Root Vegetables
  • Classic Pumpkin Pie
• How To Make Turkey Gravy With The Drippings
• Craving More Thanksgiving Recipes? Try These:
• How to Roast a Turkey
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Equipment
  • Notes
  • Nutrition Information
• Did You Make This?

Basic Roast Turkey Recipe

Well with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, it’s time to roast a turkey. I love this season, it’s my favorite time of the year. And how can you not? You can’t turn the TV on without seeing a Christmas movie on and I just can’t help myself, I watch them all. I can watch Christmas movies all day long. 

So have you roasted a turkey before? Don’t be scared, it’s just a big bird. Over the years, I’ve watched my mother roast turkeys over and over again. I love everything about roasting a turkey. The smell in the kitchen, the holiday atmosphere all around and of course, eating that delicious turkey.

This recipe here for a roast turkey is a simple basic turkey recipe. I brushed the turkey with a lemon flavored butter, generously and I mean generously and seasoned it with salt and pepper.

How To Thaw A Turkey

The safest and easiest way to thaw a turkey is in the refrigerator, but it takes the longest. It will take a few days, depending on the size of your turkey. All you have to do is put the turkey in a pan to catch any drips and leave it in the fridge for a few days. Allow 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey.

If you’re planning to brine the turkey, wet or dry, you can do this while the turkey is partially frozen.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Turkey – I typically roast turkeys that are around 10 to 12 pounds. 
• Butter – Used to add lovey richness and buttery goodness. But always use unsalted butter to control the amount of sodium.
• Lemon – Both the zest and juice of a fresh lemon are used to add a bit of acid which is super delicious in combination with the butter and garlic cloves.
• Thyme – Use fresh thyme for the best herby flavor. Feel free to use additional fresh herbs such as fresh rosemary, sage or even bay leaves.
• Salt – All turkeys must be seasoned well with salt to make them tasty. 
• Black Pepper – Regular ground black pepper is perfect.
• Onion – Put in the cavity to help keep the turkey moist and add flavor. 
• Celery And Carrots – I love to add some to the roasting pan to add flavor to my gravy.
• Garlic – Use freshly peeled cloves for the most garlicky good flavor.

How To Roast A Turkey

Prep The Turkey

Before starting, you’ll need to prepare your turkey for roasting. Make sure to remove any packaging from it and the bag of giblets from inside the cavity. Pat dry the skin with paper towels, this promotes browning and crisping.

Tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey, this will help stabilize the turkey when carving, plus it makes it easier to carve the breast. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.

Make The Herb Butter Mixture

In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the lemon zest and juice and the teaspoon of thyme to the butter and stir. Set aside.

Season The Turkey

First, you’ll need to place the onions, celery and carrots in the bottom of a roasting rack, then place the rack on top. Place the turkey breast side up on top of the roasting rack.

Tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey, this will help stabilize the turkey when carving, plus it makes it easier to carve the breast. Tie the legs together with butcher twine.

Brush the turkey with the butter mixture generously over the entire turkey. Use all the butter. Next, you’ll want to season it with salt and pepper all around. Make sure to season a bit inside the cavity as well.

You can pour a little of water in the bottom of the roasting pan, but keep in mind the turkey will release drippings as well as it cooks. However, if you’re making gravy, it’s best to add about a cup of water to the roasting pan.

Cover The Turkey And Roast

Cover the turkey with aluminum foil and cook covered for 2 hours. Remove the aluminum foil and transfer the turkey back to the oven.

Uncover And Finish Roasting

Continue roasting for an additional 1½ hours until the turkey turns golden brown and is fully cooked inside. You can baste it every 30 minutes if preferred. The turkey is done when the thigh meat reaches an internal temperature of 180°F and the breast reaches 165°F.

Can You Cook A Frozen Turkey?

Believe it or not, you certainly can cook a frozen turkey. The only difference is that it will take a lot longer to cook than normal, 50 percent more time. For example, a 10 pound turkey will take about 5 ¼ hours to cook. Best way to check if it’s cooked is still to use a meat thermometer.

The turkey cooks as it thaws, with the legs and wings cooking faster. If cooking a frozen turkey, you won’t be able to do any fancy rubs or brines.

Brining A Turkey

Brining involves immersing the turkey in a salt-water solution or dry-brining it in salt for a day or so before cooking. This results in a moist and perfectly seasoned turkey.

If you have the extra time, I strongly recommend to brine your turkey. Check out my post on Brined Roast Turkey Breast for detailed instructions on how to brine your turkey.

A dry-brine, also called pre-salting, seasons the turkey like a wet brine, but there’s no water. You basically rub the salt and seasonings directly into the meat and skin, and let it rest in the fridge for a period of time before cooking. This works because the salt draws out the meat juices through osmosis. The salt then dissolves into the juices, and this brine is reabsorbed into the meat and starts to break down tough muscle proteins. The result is a juicy, tender, seasoned turkey.

Cooking Times For Roasting A Turkey

Expert Tips

1. Always cook your turkey until the skin is a light golden color. Cover your roasting pan with a lid or foil and cook covered for 2 hours (depending on size of your bird) and uncovered for the remaining time.
2. Baste your turkey every half hour or so. However, basting will not make your turkey moister, but it promotes even browning of the skin.
3. To truly test doneness of the meat, use an instant meat thermometer. Do not go by the color of the skin. The turkey is done when the thigh meat reaches an internal temperature of 180°F and the breast reaches 165°F. Make sure the thermometer is not touching the bone.
4. If you’re stuffing your turkey, check the temperature of the dressing as well. It should be 165°F(75°C).
5. Just like with any roast, you need to let your meat sit and rest after removing it from the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat and makes carving easier.

What To Serve With Your Turkey

35 mins

Mashed Potatoes

20 mins

World’s Best Cranberry Sauce

1 hr

Roasted Root Vegetables

1 hr 20 mins

Classic Pumpkin Pie

How To Make Turkey Gravy With The Drippings

The great thing about a roast turkey is all the leftover drippings to make gravy. Making gravy is so incredibly easy.

First, you’ll need to strain the drippings through a fine-mesh sieve and then discard all the solids like the carrots and onions. You should have about 2 cups of pan drippings left.

Next, you’ll need to melt about ¼ cup of butter in a saucepan then sprinkle ¼ cup of flour and whisk it in. Cook it about a minute to remove that raw flour taste. Gradually, whisk in the pan drippings and bring to a boil. If you find the gravy is too thick, feel free to add a bit more chicken broth to it.

All that’s left to do is taste it for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.

Craving More Thanksgiving Recipes? Try These:

• Crockpot Brown Sugar Cola Glazed Ham
• Green Bean Casserole From Scratch
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Sage Sausage Stuffing
• Sugared Cranberries
• Spatchcock Turkey
• Bourbon Pecan Pie
• Turkey Meatballs

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4.41 from 89 votes

How to Roast a Turkey

Prep 30 minutes

Cook 3 hours 30 minutes

Total 4 hours

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