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3.93 from 14 votes

The Best Oven Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey Ever

A classic turkey recipe for making the best oven roasted Thanksgiving turkey ever!
Prep Time1 day 4 hours
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time1 day 7 hours
Course: 10 Best Turkey Recipes on the Internet
Cuisine: American
Keyword: thanksgiving, turkey
Servings: 8
Author: Sweet Basil

Equipment

Ingredients

Brine

Turkey

  • 12-14 Pounds Turkey fresh
  • 3/4 Cup Butter unsalted
  • 1 Lemon Zest
  • 4 Cloves Garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon Sage fresh, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Thyme fresh, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Savory fresh, chopped *see note
  • 1 ½ Cups Apple Cider
  • White Cooking Wine or real wine
  • 3 Onions yellow, quartered
  • 6 Cloves Garlic
  • 6 Bay Leaves
  • Kosher Salt
  • Black Pepper freshly ground
  • 1 Bunch Thyme fresh
  • 1 Bunch Sage fresh
  • 1 Lemon quartered
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Turkey Basics

  • A frozen turkey will need to thaw 24 hours per every 5 pounds.
  • Turkey will need to cook for 13-15 minutes per pound.
  • Safe internal temperature for a turkey is 175 degrees F the thigh and 165 degrees F in the breast.

Turkey Timeline

  • Remove turkey from freezer to thaw in the fridge: 4 1/2 days ahead of time (Sunday morning - Tuesday afternoon)
  • Brine: 24 hours (Tuesday afternoon - Wednesday afternoon)
  • Turkey rests in fridge: 4-12 hours (overnight Wednesday to Thursday morning)
  • Turkey rests at room temperature: 1 hour
  • Turkey roasts in the oven: 3 hours
  • Turkey rests: 30 minutes

For The Brine

  • Follow the instruction as written in My Favorite Turkey Brine Recipe (see link above)
    My Favorite Turkey Brine Recipe, 12-14 Pounds Turkey

For The Turkey

  • Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, uncovered, back on the baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours to dry out the skin (this helps crisp it).
  • When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for one hour.
  • Melt the butter and add the lemon zest, garlic, sage, thyme and savory.
    3/4 Cup Butter, 1 Lemon Zest, 4 Cloves Garlic, 1 teaspoon Sage, 1 teaspoon Thyme, 1 teaspoon Savory
  • Heat oven to 450 degrees F. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add the cider and enough cooking wine to fill the pan to a 1/4-inch depth. Add half the onions, 6 garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Stuff the remaining onion quarters, herb bunches and the lemon quarters into the turkey cavity.
    1 ½ Cups Apple Cider, White Cooking Wine, 3 Onions, 6 Cloves Garlic, 6 Bay Leaves, Kosher Salt, 1 Bunch Thyme, 1 Bunch Sage, 1 Lemon, Black Pepper
  • Loosen the skin on the turkey and put a few tablespoons of butter right on the meat, under the skin. Brush the turkey skin generously with remaining herbed melted butter. Salt and pepper the outside of the turkey generously.
  • Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside the roasting pan. Transfer pan to the oven and roast 30 minutes. Pull the oven open and slide the turkey out. Cover breast with aluminum foil only if the turkey is getting too brown.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches a temperature of 160-165 degrees, about 2-2/12 hours more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Notes

Left over turkey can be frozen for 3 months.  It is best to remove the bones and freeze in a heavy duty freezer bag.
  • If you can't find savory at the grocery store, then equal parts thyme, marjoram and sage can be used instead.

Nutrition

Serving: 1lb | Calories: 866kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 105g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 394mg | Sodium: 684mg | Potassium: 1161mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 845IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 5mg