Perfectly Simple Thanksgiving Turkey

This perfectly simple Thanksgiving turkey recipe will give you a delightful result every time. Great for a novice or an experienced cook.

What you’ll need

Roasting pan

Turkey

1 cup butter at room temperature

8 sprigs rosemary

12 sprigs of thyme

bunch of parsley

2 heads of garlic

3 carrots

3 stalks of celery

2 onions

3 clementines (optional)

salt

pepper

A few days ahead

Be sure to place your turkey in the refrigerator 2-3 days ahead of time to thaw and read through the recipe so you know what to expect day of.

How to make a Perfectly Simple Thanksgiving Turkey

First thing to do is to preheat the oven to 325° F and calculate the time your turkey will need to cook. The general guideline for cooking a turkey at 325° is 15-17 minutes per pound.

Here is a quick example of the cook-time math:

• My turkey was 14 lbs.
• 14 lbs. x 15 mins per pound = 210 minutes
• 210 minutes ÷ 60 mins/hr = 3.5 hrs

Preparing the pan and creating a trivet

Roughly peel and chop onions, carrots, and celery and drop them into the roasting plan.

Remove 4 cloves of garlic from one of the heads and set them aside. Cut the remaining garlic heads in half crosswise and add them to the pan.

Making herb butter

Place room temperature butter into a small mixing bowl.

Remove the leaves by from 4 sprigs of rosemary and 6 sprigs of thyme. An easy way to remove the leaves is to pinch at the top and gently pull downward.

Roughly chop the leaves before adding them to the butter.

Next we’ll use the 4 cloves of garlic that you reserved. Mince the garlic or pass it through a press and into the butter mixture.

Season the mixture liberally with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper) and mix it until well combined. Then set it aside while you prepare your turkey.

Preparing the Thanksgiving turkey

First look inside the body cavity and the neck cavity of your turkey. You will most often find the neck inside the larger body cavity and a bag of giblets inside the neck cavity. Remove the neck and save them for turkey stock.

• I like to drop them right into a stock pot. I get my stock going directly after placing my turkey in the oven. You can my recipe for Thanksgiving Turkey Stock here!

Next drain any liquid from inside the cavity and dry the turkey. Drying the turkey before seasoning it will dive you the beautifully browned skin that we love to see! I usually use a few paper towels for this task.

When your turkey is all dry and ready for seasoning, gently use your hand to separate the skin from the breasts. Move slowly and be careful not to tear the skin. You are creating a pocket that will be filled with herb butter. That little pocket of butter will ensure juiciness and you won’t have to baste at all!! This really is a no fuss recipe!

Next work about 1/3 of the herb butter into the pockets you created under the skin. It’s messy work, but well worth it!

Spread remaining butter all over the bird and place into the roasting pan on top of the vegetable trivet.

If you would like to, you can tuck the wings under to ensure more even cooking, but it isn’t strictly necessary.

Salt and pepper the turkey including inside the cavity.

Finally place some herbs and aromatics into the cavity. I like to use a handful of parsley (stalks and all), 2-3 sprigs of rosemary, and 5-7 sprigs of thyme. Adding 2 wedges of onion from the roasting pan, and 2 halved clementines will add some extra flavor and moisture.

• Definitely add the onion, but the clementines are optional. Lemons or oranges are a great substitute, but you can skip this step all together if you like. Honestly, I chose clementines because I like how they look!

Cooking your Perfectly Simple Thanksgiving Turkey

Here’s the simplest part. Place your turkey into the 325° F oven and leave it. Set a timer for the cook time you calculated earlier and forget about it while you do about the rest of the Thanksgiving preparations.

I said “forget about it”, but really you wont be able to. Within minutes your house will smell AMAZING!!

When the time is up, check the internal temperature of your turkey with a thermometer. Now, the safe minimum internal cooking temperature of turkey is 165° F, however your turkey will continue to cook after you have taken it out of the oven. So remove the turkey from the oven when the internal temperature reads 160° F.

Cover with a lid or foil and allow the turkey to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Plate it up! A great tip for plating almost anything is to use some of your ingredients. Fresh herbs and clementines are perfect for this! Carve right before serving and enjoy a beautiful, perfectly simple, Thanksgiving turkey.

Keep Smiling!

Perfectly Simple Thanksgiving Turkey

Print

This perfectly simple Thanksgiving turkey recipe will give you a delightful result every time. Great for a novice or an experienced cook.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• Turkey
• 1 cup butter at room temperature
• 8 sprigs rosemary
• 12 sprigs of thyme
• bunch of parsley
• 2 heads of garlic
• 3 carrots
• 3 stalks of celery
• 2 onions
• 3 clementines (optional)
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

Preparing the pan/ creating a trivet:

1. Roughly peel and chop onions, carrots, and celery and drop them into the roasting plan.
2. Remove 4 cloves of garlic from one of the heads and set them aside. Cut the remaining garlic heads in half crosswise and add them to the pan.

Herb butter:

1. Place room temperature butter into a small mixing bowl.
2. Remove the leaves from 4 sprigs of rosemary and 6 sprigs of thyme and roughly chop before adding them to the butter,
3. Mince or press the 4 cloves of garlic that you reserved into the butter mixture.
4. Season liberally with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper) and mix until well combined.

Preparing the turkey:

1. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity and save them for turkey stock.
2. Dry the turkey.
3. Gently separate the skin from the breasts of the turkey.
4. Spread 1/3 of the herb butter into the pockets you created under the skin.
5. Spread remaining butter all over the bird and place into the roasting pan on top of the vegetable trivet.
6. Salt and pepper the turkey including inside the cavity.
7. Place of a handful of parsley (stalks and all), 2-3 sprigs of rosemary, and 5-7 sprigs of thyme, 2 wedges of onion, and 2 halved clementines into the cavity.

Cooking the turkey

1. Calculate the time needed to cook your turkey. It will take 15-17minuted per pound.
2. Place the roasting pan into the 325° F oven uncovered and cook for your calculated time.
3. Check the internal temperature of the turkey. When it reaches 160° F take the turkey out of the oven.
4. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes. The bird will continue to cook and reach the recommended temperature of 165° F.
5. At 165° F, the turkey is safe to eat. Plate, carve, and enjoy!

Other posts you might enjoy

Turkey Stock for Thanksgiving Day

Classic Turkey Gravy

Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing

Homemade Cranberry and Orange Sauce