Turkey Recipes - All the Best Thanksgiving Recipes | Taste of Home (2024)

FAQs

Should I put butter or oil on my turkey? ›

Because turkey breast is especially lean, I like to rub softened fat beneath the skin just before roasting. It melts and gives the meat extra flavor, richness, and moisture. Duck fat is wonderful for this, and it fortifies the poultry flavors, but unsalted butter works well, too.

Oven-Roasted Turkey

We recommend starting the turkey in a 425 degree oven for 30-45 minutes before tenting the pan with foil and lowering the temperature to 350 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the bird.

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To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.

"Often, consumers will inquire about adding water to the bottom of their roasting pans. We do not recommend adding water to the bottom of the pan. Cooking a turkey with steam is a moist heat-cook method and is acceptable, sure, but is not the preferred method for cooking your turkey."

325°F for 3 to 3¾ hours. For a 15- to 16-pound turkey: 425°F for 3 to 3¼ hours. 400°F for 3¼ to 3½ hours.

To Cover Or Not To Cover

So, yes, you do want to cover the turkey with foil to give it a chance to roast without getting dry. But then, towards the end of the cook time, remove the foil so the skin—the best part in this writer's opinion—gets a chance to crisp up.

If you're determined to stuff the turkey, you'll want to leave it in the oven at 325°F for 20-25 minutes per pound. We'll also recommend covering the turkey (especially the wings and drumsticks) with a loose tent of aluminum foil about halfway through cooking, to keep them from drying out or burning.

Covering a turkey with butter (under and over the skin) serves to flavor and moisten the meat, as well as help the skin get crispy and golden brown.

Never pass up the opportunity to add flavor to turkey by stuffing the cavity with a simple aromatics mix. Fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage along with a half lemon go a long way to add flavor, and stuffing it into the bird takes almost no time at all.

What can I add to turkey to make it taste better? ›

The basics, like onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and sage, help lend that traditional Thanksgiving flavor. Take your aromatics up a notch by adding halved lemons or oranges. The citrus will add a nice brightness to the turkey and keep it perfectly moist.

Fresh and frozen Butterball turkeys are all natural, gluten free and raised without hormones. Fresh and Frozen Butterball turkeys are deep basted for juiciness and flavor. All natural means minimally processed and no artificial ingredients.

Butterball Frozen Whole Turkey is all natural*, gluten free and raised without hormones on American farms. Each turkey is pre-brined before freezing for meat that's always tender and juicy. Frozen turkey can be purchased ahead of time for convenience and thawed prior to cooking.

In the last hour of cooking, you can baste the turkey in additional melted butter or olive oil instead of the pan juices to really make sure that skin turns golden brown.

Brush the turkey with olive oil, and rub it with the seasoning mixture. Tie the legs together loosely to hold their shape, and tuck the wing tips under. Roast the turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165 to 170 degrees F, about 3 hours.

You can use an injection like this Turkey Injection Sauce with Honey and Herbs or this Fried Turkey Rub with Cajun Injection. This time around I opted to use a butter/herb mixture under the skin like in this Mouth-Watering Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe. Then sprinkle kosher salt all over the turkey skin.

Place turkey breast-side-up on a flat rack in a shallow roasting pan 2 to 2½ inches deep. Turn the wings back to hold the neck skin in place. (Tucking the wings will help stabilize the turkey in the pan and when carving) Brush or spray skin lightly with vegetable or cooking oil for best appearance.