Thanksgiving Turkey

The grand day is coming soon, a day of thanks and giving! Here is the easiest way to prepare your Thanksgiving turkey that will produce a moist and tender bird, every time! The key is, Don’t lift the lid!

What you’ll need:

Butter, salt, pepper, any other seasoning you prefer, water, electric roasting pan.

Four days before the holiday (Sunday before Thanksgiving) put your frozen turkey into the fridge so it can defrost over several days. I always put my turkey on a towel to catch any water from the melting process.

The day of cooking, get that bird out of the fridge about 2 hours before time to cook. You want it to make sure your bird has time to warm up to room temperature before beginning the prep and cooking process.

Once at room temp, take some room temp butter and smear all over that bird. Give it a good massage to help that meat release its juices when it starts cooking. I like to put chunks of butter up under the skin and salt and pepper the whole thing very well. You will want to put butter and seasonings in the cavity as well, this will help those drippings and juices be nice and tasty! Put you bird on the rack inside your electric roaster and put the lid on. You will want the pan preheated to the highest setting ( I believe thats 500 degrees F) let it cook for about 30 minutes at this temp, it allows for searing the skin, then drop the temp 325 and allow to cook for about 3 hours (for a 15-18# bird). Do not lift the lid, just refrain from doing it at all cost! One hour before the proposed end of you cooking time, begin checking the temp of the breast (165 F) and thigh (180 F) every 30 minutes. Once you hit your desired temp, turn off the heat and remove the bird from the pan so it can rest, about 30 minutes before serving time.

If you bird reaches temp early (this does happen) just turn the temp to low and wait it out. Leave the lid on the pan and it will not dry out. After your rest time, you can prepare the meat for serving. It will literally fall off the bone, I’ve never had one that didn’t. It is so good, moist and tender!

I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving and your turkey is the best ever!