How do I make a Thanksgiving Turkey? My method is not rocket science. That’s for sure. It’s what my grandmother did. It’s what my mother taught me. All I know is, it’s delicious and perfect every time. Here’s how I do MY Thanksgiving turkey…
I typically buy the biggest turkey I can find. Why? Mainly because I usually host a pretty big crew (although this year, we’re keeping it fairly small. 😔). And, I like to turn the leftovers into turkey salad (see Chicken Salad recipe on justmeheatherb.com).
Honestly, my favorite turkey to buy is a Butterball Turkey. It’s always juicy and never disappoints.
I think the secret to a juicy, no-fail turkey is to cook it in a Reynolds Turkey Size browning bag.
I stuff the bird with onions, celery, whole garlic, apple and lemons. And put room temperature butter under the skin and melted butter all over the top along with lots of Mccormick Spice Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Seriously, if you follow my instructions, you will be the hero of Thanksgiving. It’s always perfect. .
20-25 lb Butterball Turkey
2 Sweet Onions
1 Bunch of Celery
1 Whole Head of Garlic
2 Tbl Flour
2 Lemons
Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 Sticks of Butter
Turkey-sized Disposable Aluminum Pan
Turkey-sized Browning Bag
Kitchen Twine
Preheat oven to 350.
If your turkey is frozen, thaw in the refrigerator at least 3 days before cooking. If it’s not thawed completely on the day of cooking, place in your kitchen sink in a large bath of cool water a few hours before cooking.
When turkey is thawed, take out of packaging and remove gizzards and organs from the inside cavity. (Set aside if you are making giblet gravy. Otherwise, throw away.). Since turkey well with cool water and allow to sit in the kitchen sink while you prepare your pan.
To prepare the pan, take browning bag out of package. Open the end and put 2 tablespoons of flour in the bag and close the end of bag with fingers. Shake the entire bag until flour has evenly coated the bag. Put bag inside of disposable pan.
Meanwhile, dice one whole, sweet onion and the entire bunch of celery. Put about 1/2 of the onion and celery in the bottom of the browning bag.
Once flour, onion and celery are inside of the bag and the bag is placed inside of the pan, start to season your turkey. You can do this in the kitchen sink.
You will want to season the inside of the cavity of the turkey and the outside. Make sure to get some under the skin of the breast.
After seasoning, this is where you will want to take one stick of the room temperature butter and put in under the skin of the breast and some inside of the cavity.
Once all of that is done, then stuff the cavity of the turkey with the rest of the diced onion and celery. Cut an apple in half and put half inside the cavity of the turkey. Now cut a lemon in half and put the whole thing inside the cavity. Cut the whole garlic in half (no need to peel) and put the whole, cut in half garlic bulb, inside the cavity.
Once the turkey is stuffed and all is seasoned and butter is under the skin and a little inside the cavity, it’s time to make her sit like a lady and cross her legs. Use the kitchen twine to tie the legs together to keep all of the goodness inside.
Now, it’s time to put the turkey in the prepared browning bag. Place the turkey, breast side up, in the bag. Then place the bag and turkey in the turkey-sized disposable aluminum pan.
Next, melt a full stick of butter and pour it over the top of the turkey that resting comfortably in the browning bag.
That’s it! It’s time to seal ‘er up.
Use the brown tie that comes with the browning bag to seal the bag. Don’t make it too tight as the bag will expand as it cooks. If it’s too tight, it will stick to the skin of the turkey and pull it off when it’s time to eat. You don’t want that. The skin is the best part.
Cut a few slits in the top of the browning bag so it can vent a bit during the cooking process.
Pull out the instructions inside of your browning bag to see how long you should cook your turkey. You want the internal temp to reach 165 degrees for safety. For a 20 lb turkey, you’re looking at 2.5 to 3 hours cooking time. Check the weight of your turkey for proper cooking time.
Allow turkey to rest at least 20 minutes after cooking. Happy Thanksgiving!
