Are you thinking about cooking a turkey this year? Here’s how to cook the perfect turkey in just 5 simple easy to follow steps. Your turkey will be so good, you will want to cook it all year!
Perfectly Cooked Turkey
Growing up, I would listen to the adults talk about how difficult it was to cook a turkey. They described it as labor intensive and stressful. The end result of this stressful, labor-intensive turkey didn’t always go well either. Quite frankly, I always thought the turkey was a plain, boring, dry meat that I would prefer not to eat other than for tradition sake. When it became my turn to break into the Thanksgiving Rite of Passage, I was terrified. After doing a little research and experimenting, I discovered that cooking that bird is quite easy; even for a novice. My turkey always turns out beautifully brown, moist, and full of flavor. I had no idea what I was missing out on. So today I am sharing with you how to cook the perfect turkey in five easy to follow steps. Now you can “Gobble, Gobble” a beautiful, moist, flavorful turkey too!
Perfectly cooked, juicy turkey
How to Cook The Perfect Turkey
First Tip – COMPLETELY THAW YOUR TURKEY
You can buy a fresh turkey and alleviate some of the stress, but odds are you are going to buy a frozen turkey. You must give yourself adequate time for thawing out your turkey. If you cook a half-frozen turkey in the oven, you will have a nightmare in the kitchen. TRUST ME!! It will not cook evenly and the frozen part probably will not cook to a done temperature at all. Thawing your turkey out is probably the most crucial part of cooking your turkey. There is NO buying a 20lb turkey the night before Thanksgiving, then waking up that morning to cook it for lunch or dinner. It takes 24 hours for every 4lbs of turkey, so keep that in mind when purchasing your turkey. If you don’t have the time or the room in your refrigerator to thaw the turkey for days, you will need a smaller turkey.
You can also cold water thaw it. Butter Ball says: Thaw breast side down, in an unopened wrapper, with enough cold water to cover your turkey completely. Change water every 30 minutes to keep the turkey chilled. Estimate a minimum thawing time of 30 minutes per lb.
Perfectly cooked, juicy turkey
*This post contains affiliate links.
Second Tip – BRINE YOUR TURKEY
I had never heard of brining a turkey. My grandmother never brined her turkey. My mother never brined her turkey. And my husband’s mother never brined her turkey. Then years ago I came across a magazine called Cuisine at Home
Why brine? It enhances the flavor of your turkey and most importantly, it keeps that bird moist!!! If you brine your turkey, you almost can’t mess it up…. I did say ALMOST. Brine your bird for at least 2 hours. I often brine my bird overnight.
Once you’ve mastered this step, you’re well on your way to learning how to cook the perfect turkey.
Perfectly Cooked Turkey
Five Tips to Cooking a Perfect, Juicy Turkey
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 cups apple juice
- 4 cups ice
Instructions
- Dissolve salt and brown sugar in hot water.
- Stir in apple juice and ice.
- Submerge turkey in brine for 2 or more hours.
Recipe Notes
*Brine your bird for at least 2 hours. I often brine my bird overnight.
**This recipe is for an 8lb turkey. Adjust and double to the size of turkey.
Third Tip – USE A MEAT THERMOMETER
Look, you are dealing with a BIG bird and estimating baking time based on the size of that bird. Key word is ESTIMATING. Your bird may cook slower or faster than planned. The only way to know it is exactly the temperature you want is to use a thermometer. If you use a thermometer, you can stop cooking it the minute it reaches perfection. People will argue about what temperature you want to cook the bird. I have seen everything between 165 degrees to 185 degrees. We don’t take chances in our house. I have a convection oven and I cook it until it reaches 180. My bird has always been fully cooked and fully juicy. You can cook it to the temperature you are comfortable with. Keep in mind it will cook a little more as it rests, which brings me to my fourth tip in how to cook the perfect turkey.
Perfectly cooked, juicy turkey
Fourth Tip – LET IT REST
Resist any temptation to carve the turkey the minute it comes out of the oven. You have to give it time to rest. Resting allows the juice in the meat to redistribute evenly. If you carve it too soon, you will lose some of that lovely juice. Also, resting allows the meat to firm back up a bit, allowing it to be easier for carving.
If you are trying to learn how to make the perfect turkey… you must:
Fifth Tip – BASTE YOUR TURKEY
See that pretty brown color of my turkey? All of my turkeys look this way. Do you know why? I lovingly baste them. I slather them up in an AMAZING butter and maple syrup recipe I found in that same issue of Cuisine at Home. I start basting my turkey about the last hour of cooking every 15 minutes. It makes that skin a beautiful color and it makes my turkey taste WICKED GOOD!
Baste the turkey with maple syrup and butter
For the Baste:
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup of melted butter
Mix butter and syrup together. Baste the turkey the last hour every 15 minutes.
Follow these tips. Allow yourself plenty of time to cook the turkey. And save plenty of room in your belly to eat it, because you will want seconds and thirds!! Enjoy!!
Check out my dressing recipes to go along with your turkey! Granny Moore’s Dressing, Pumpkin Chorizo Dressing, and Individual Bread Dressing with Pears, Bacon, and Blue Cheese.
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
I pinned this immediately!! Great post & great tips for cooking a turkey. Loved all your pics too. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Katie 🙂
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
All your tips are so right on! I totally agree, cooking a turkey shouldn’t be scarey! I’ve always found it weird that people approach it with such hesitation and fear… i mean, it’s just a big chicken! And we all know most people out there cook chicken for dinner all the time. #enigma Your tips are all ones I follow, so I’m happy to hear I cook my turkey in A Forks Tale approved manner! 😉 pinning this to my Thanksgiving board! Cheers and warm wishes for a beautiful Turkey Day!!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
Now all I can think of is turkey for breakfast 🙂
Willow | Will Cook For Friends says
These are fantastic tips! There’s so much conflicting advice out there when it comes to turkeys, but you made it really straightforward and easy. Despite all the arguing people do about it, it really doesn’t have to be so hard! 🙂
Tracy | Baking Mischief says
What great tips! And I’m so with you on using a meat thermometer. It takes SO much stress out of cooking meat!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
Perfect tips before the holidays roll around!
Jules Donahue says
Fabulous as always! Love the Brine idea. Never thought of that. Thanks Katie!
jade says
Do you leave it brine in the fridge? And what would I do for a 12 pound turkey? Thanks going to try it
Katie says
Hi Jade,
Yes, marinate the turkey in the brine in the refrigerator. For a 12 pound turkey, it would be okay to double the brine. I hope your turkey turns out amazing!
Jessie Huang says
Hi Katie, do you cover the turkey up with foil before you put it in oven? Thank you!
Jessie
Katie says
I usually don’t cover the turkey with foil at all. However, if it is a big bird, sometimes the skin will cook a little faster then you want it to. Roast your turkey and if the skin begins cooking too fast before you are ready to begin basting, loosely cover the breast and drumsticks with foil. You can put a little olive oil or butter on the skin when you first begin roasting it along with salt and pepper, but you don’t want to start out with covering it with foil. You also do not want to cover the whole pan with foil or it will steam the turkey. When you are ready to baste, you can remove the foil. You will baste every 15 minutes on the last hour to keep it from drying out, but also to brown it.
Susan P says
How do you submerge an 8# turkey in just 8 cups of liquid to brine? This hardly seam like enough liquid. Did I miss something?
Katie says
Susan, if your turkey is big, you may have to double it. I usually double the recipe. I put the turkey in a bag and submerge it in the brine. Doubling the recipe has always worked for me.
Angie says
I think I missed something too. After you brine, bake it? Seasons? Cover?
Katie says
You can pepper it if you want…. but the brine already salts it, so do not add more salt. If you baste it in the end with my recipe, that will add all the yummy outer flavor you will need.
I have a convection oven that I open roast my turkey in. I follow the directions for the settings for my convection oven to cook the turkey paying attention to the meat thermometer. For a regular oven, Butterball suggests open roasting at 325 degrees. Hope this helps.
Trish says
For the baste, would you apply to turkey before putting in the oven, and then baste with the juices in the pan for the hour? Or just wait to put baste on until the last hour? Would this recipe still work with a turkey bag? Sorry, first time hosting and I’m clueless! Sounds delicious and hopefully I don’t mess it up!!
Katie says
Trish, You don’t want to baste until the last hour because the skin will darken too fast if you do it too early and eventually burn from the cartelizing of the sugar. If you baste in the last hour, it will have the beautiful skin you see pictured in my blog. I keep the skin covered with tinfoil until I start basting. I do not cover the whole pan in tinfoil because I don’t want to steam cook it, so I just take the tinfoil and cover the top of the bird that gets the most direct heat. I have never cooked a turkey in a bag. I heard it is very good, however, I assume it stays in the bag until cooked. If that is the case, you would not be able to baste it at all… However, if you remove it from the bag in the last hour or even the last half hour of it’s cooking, you could incorporate the basting. Hope this helps.
Jan says
Do you bake the turkey covered or uncovered?
Katie says
I cover my turkey directly on the turkey with tinfoil, just covering the exposed top areas so the skin doesn’t cook too quickly. On the last hour, I remove the tinfoil completely.
Whitney says
What temperature do you cook it on?
Katie says
Whitney, you roast the turkey at 325 degrees until the internal breast temperature reaches between 165 to 185. Good luck!
Maggie says
Hi! Thanks for the great tips! This looks amazing! Do you stuff your bird with stuffing or veggies or anything? If you do, does that alter the taste or how juicy the turkey turns out?
Katie says
Maggie, I don’t stuff my bird, so I can’t give you an experienced answer to that question. However, I have friends that have stuffed their turkey with apples and oranges to keep it even more moist. They discarded the fruit once the turkey was cooked. They said the fruit made the turkey even juicier and a bit sweeter. I personally have not tried that.
Jeanie says
I’m going to try this out- my first turkey!What temperature do you cook it and how long, total?
Thanks!
Katie says
Jeanie, you roast it at 325 degrees until the internal breast temperature reaches between 165 to 185. Good luck!
Sarah says
This will be my first go round hosting Thanksgiving, so forgive the novice question, but what temp do you cook your bird at?
Katie says
Sarah, you roast the turkey at 325 degrees until the internal breast temperature reaches between 165 to 185. Good luck!
Debra Alvarez says
Love this idea! This year will be my first time hosting Thansgiving . Question after you brine the turkey do you still smother it in butter and stuff the cavity?
Katie says
I do not stuff my turkey… I also do not smother it in butter until the last hour when I put a maple butter glaze on it.
Jen says
Going to attempt to brine a 21 pd turkey. Husband thinks using an ice chest would be okay for overnight but I feel like we should refrigerate it. Any thoughts on this? Cooking my first turkey so I’m clueless!
Katie says
Jen,
If the ice chest is filled with ice, I assume it would keep it cold enough. I am not an expert though…
LeAnn says
Have you brined a turkey that was frozen and already had the solution injected when you bought it? I want to try your tips for Thanksgiving but, don’t want to ruin the turkey if I am not suppose to brine it since it was pre-injected.
Thank you!
Katie says
I am sorry, but I have not tried anything with the pre injected solutions, so I can not answer that.
Anni says
Do you rinse your turkey after brining? And how long do you let the turkey dry before roasting?
Katie says
Rinse the turkey before you brine. Do not rinse after. You can pat it dry with a paper towel if it is excessively wet.
Jessica says
This will be my first year making a turkey and your tips are so helpful! As far as brining overnight is it possible to OVERbrine? Also do I rinse the turkey once I’m ready to roast?
Katie says
I don’t think you can overborne if you don’t go longer than 24hours.
Danielle W. says
Hi Katie,
How long do you recommend letting your turkey rest before carving?
Thanks!
Katie says
10 to 15 minutes.
Evangelinee says
You can’t make gravy after basting with butter and maple suryup can you
Katie says
I wouldn’t…. You could buy turkey broth…. I also use the neck bone to create a broth. I just boil it in water with seasonings. Then discard the neck bone. I use that broth to make my gravy.
Gala says
Interesting idea to basting turkey with butter and maple syrup. We are going to try. We basted our turkey with it own juices and little broth. Thank you!
Katie says
You will love it. Just don’t start until the last hour of cooking! Have a great Thanksgiving.
Monte says
Do you leave the brine in the oven with the turkey?
Katie says
No. The Brine is like a marinade. You discard it once you start roasting your turkey.