Thanksgiving Roast Turkey

Growing up, my grandpa was always on turkey duty. My grandma and I would be on sides and pies, and his main purpose was all things turkey. I’ve seen him try every method under the sun – wet brine, dry brine, compound butter, you name it. About 8 years ago I decided to finally bite the bullet and make turkey myself for Friendsgiving, and if you know me, you know that means I read no less than 80 turkey recipes, scoured the Internet for all tips and tricks from top chefs and publishing sites, and read just about every reddit thread you can imagine. I wanted to pair that knowledge with the trial and error of watching my grandpa take this on for years to have the moistest, most delicious turkey ever. 

I didn’t want to mess this up, and me being as extra as I am, I decided on a trifecta for the turkey: Ciao Samin’s Buttermilk Brine, Martha Stewart’s Cheesecloth method, and Kenji Lopez’s Compound Butter. Was it flavorful? Absolutely. But was it also a massive pain in the bum to do allll of those steps? Also yes. 

Over the years, I have refined the way I make my turkeys to have something a little bit more streamlined, but that still tastes like I put all the effort in of years past. The result is a truly foolproof turkey recipe, one that comes out beautifully golden brown and juicy on the inside every. single. time. I have included all my tips on having a delicious and moist turkey below, but the main game changers are as follows:

• Dry Brine – brining your turkey with salt and baking powder (a trick from J. Kenji López-Alt) 24-48 hours in advance makes a perfectly seasoned bird with a gorgeous golden brown skin. It is also infinitely easier than a wet brine – no massive pot or brining bag needed, no more buying 5 gallons of buttermilk. 
• Cheesecloth – Martha Stewart, there’s a reason why your name is known in every household. Her cheesecloth method has absolutely never steered me wrong, and its resulted in a perfect turkey every time (even my first turkey 8 years ago where I truly didn’t know what I was doing). 
• Meat Thermometer – a few years ago, my friend got me a Meater for my birthday and it is truly one of the best gifts I have ever gotten. I have bought one as a gift for almost every member of my family, and we have not had a dry turkey since. It takes the guesswork out of cooking a turkey and makes your day SO much less stressful, I can’t recommend it enough. The meater goes inside the turkey before you cook it, so you’re not constantly having to open the oven and check temp, and it connects to your phone, giving you estimated time alerts of when the turkey is going to finish cooking. This is crucial for the cheesecloth method, because in order to get a beautiful golden brown, you need to remove the cheesecloth an hour before it finishes cooking. 

All of these methods, plus a few tricks of my own I’ve learned throughout the years result in not only the best turkey I’ve ever had, but the best turkey my friend’s have ever had too (this was a hit at our Friendsgiving!) If you follow these tips below, I promise you’ll have a delicious and foolproof turkey recipe to keep in your back pocket for years to come. 

Before you start, take inventory of your home to make sure you have everything you actually need to bake a turkey: roasting tray, meat thermometer, cheesecloth, twine, baster, etc. I linked everything you may need below:

1. Roasting Tray – you want a roasting tray that has a V Rack within it to help circulate air underneath the turkey.

2. Cheesecloth – this is what makes this recipe so foolproof and the turkey so juicy.

3. Meat Thermometer – a non negotiable for me, as I absolutely do not recommend relying on time vs temperature when roasting a turkey. Pulling a turkey at the right temperature results in a juicy bird.

4. Twine to tie up the legs (if your turkey doesn’t already come tied)

5. Baster – this is crucial for keeping the turkey and cheesecloth moist throughout the cooking process.

Turkey Tips:

• Buy your turkey 5-7 days in advance as it always takes longer to defrost the turkey than you think. Fresh turkeys are really hard to come by and often have to be reserved in advance. I bought my 15 pound turkey frozen and it took about 5-6 days in the fridge to fully thaw. Keep in mind, you want your turkey fully defrosted by Wednesday morning, so you can dry brine the turkey properly before cooking.

• Dry Brine – this is essentially a dry marinade for your turkey.
  • When salting a protein well in advance, you allow the flavor to penetrate beneath the skin of the protein, allowing it to get flavored all the way through.
  • Adding a bit of baking powder to your brine also results in a beautifully golden brown turkey skin. I use a ¼ cup salt to 1 tbsp baking powder ratio for a 15lb turkey. If you have a smaller turkey, you may not need to use all of it. You need about 1 tbsp of salt for every 4 lbs of turkey. I use Diamond Crystal Salt for this recipe and really all my recipes. If you are using Morton’s kosher salt, start with half the amount of salt as it is much saltier. 
  • You want to salt your turkey 24-48 hours in advance of cooking, and leave in the fridge uncovered to dry out the skin. This is what makes the skin crispy! If you are dry brining for over 24 hours, loosely cover the turkey with cheesecloth or plastic wrap to prevent excess moisture loss. 

• Remove your turkey from the fridge 2 hours before cooking to allow it to properly come to room temperature. Cooking a turkey straight from the fridge can result in uneven cooking, or the outside cooking faster than the inside, which is not what we want!

• Butter soaked cheesecloth – ever since I started following the Martha Stewart trick of cooking a turkey with butter soaked cheesecloth I have not looked back. The cheesecloth protects the skin and keeps it from browning faster than the inside of the turkey cooks, but still has better air circulation than foil, allowing heat to penetrate the turkey. It keeps the turkey moist throughout the cooking process, adding flavor and improving the cook. A few tips to keep in mind:
  • Soaking the cheesecloth in butter, white wine, and aromatics like herbs and garlic add flavor and moisture. You want the cheesecloth to be fully saturated in the cooled butter and wine mixture before adding to the turkey. You also want to keep the cheesecloth moist throughout the process, which is achieved by basting the turkey every 30 minutes. 
  • Peeling the cheesecloth off can be the trickiest part of this, as the turkey skin gets delicate as it cooks. The best way to do this is slow and steady, basting the cheesecloth with the turkey juices from the pan to ensure the cheesecloth is wet as you peel it off. You want to do this an hour before the turkey has finished roasting to allow the turkey to get golden brown. Do this process with the turkey removed from the oven to avoid too much heat escaping the oven. 
  • Your first baste will be with the remaining wine/butter mixture, then the rest will be using the juices from the bottom of the pan. If you notice your pan getting too dry, add more broth. 
• The biggest game changer and stress reliever when cooking turkey is using a digital meat thermometer, especially one that remains inside the turkey as it cooks, like my Meater Thermometer. It connects to my phone and monitors everything from internal temperature to ambient temperature (oven temperature) to estimated cooking finish time. This is extremely helpful with the cheesecloth method, as I pull the cheesecloth off when the Meater tells me I’m 1 hour out from cook time. Place the meater in the thickest part of the thigh (where the thigh meets the body), avoiding the bone, prior to cooking.
• You do not want to cook a turkey to time, you want to cook a turkey to temperature. The ideal temperature to cook your turkey to is 165°F. Cooking the turkey to temperature is the most foolproof way to bake a turkey that not only reaches safe temperature to eat, but is also still juicy and moist.
• Stuffing the cavity with aromatics like lemon, onion, herbs, and garlic help add flavor from within the turkey, not just from the outside. You also want to make sure the cavity is full, so no hot air enters and dries out the turkey. 
• Adding chicken or turkey broth to the base of the roasting pan ensures you’ll have enough drippings to baste the turkey with, and also creates a little steam to keep the turkey moist. I like to start with 2 cups and add more as needed throughout the cooking process.
• Start the turkey high for the first 30 minutes (450°F), then cook the rest of the turkey at 350°F. This helps the skin get a head start, whereas the lower cooking temperature ensures the turkey cooks properly all over. 
• When adding the turkey to the oven, you want the legs to be facing the back, as those take the longest to cook and the back of the oven is the hottest part of the oven. Once you pull of the cheesecloth, you can rotate this around to get the breast skin properly golden brown. 

Make Ahead Gravy Recipe:

I love starting my gravy a few days ahead of time to take one thing off my plate on the big day. All it takes is just roasting turkey wings with veggies and aromatics, then creating a fortified stock that will be the base of the gravy. Refrigerating the stock overnight allows you to easily skim the fat, which you can whisk with flour for the base of your gravy or discard and use a standard butter and flour roux (it all depends on your flavor preference!). I like to make the gravy a little extra thick ahead of time, since it will loosen up when you whisk into the pan drippings. 

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs turkey wings, necks, thighs
• 3 celery stalks, washed and cut into 3” chunks
• 2 large carrots, washed and cut into 3” chunks
• 1 leek, sliced in half lengthwise and washed
• 3 large shallots
• 1 whole head of garlic
• 1 bunch thyme, sage, and rosemary
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 cups white wine
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• ½ cup all purpose flour 
• ½ cup unsalted butter or ½ cup of fat drippings
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning 
• ½ tsp mushroom umami seasoning (optional)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• Salt to taste 

Directions:

For the Make Ahead Turkey Gravy:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. 
• Add celery, carrots, and leek to a large dutch oven or roasting tray. Trim the ends off the shallot, slice it in half lengthwise, and leave the skin on. Slice the top ⅓ off the garlic bulb and discard the top. Add the bottom garlic bulb to the Dutch oven with the shallots and herbs. 
• Place the turkey wings over the vegetables and drizzle all over with olive oil. You’ll need enough to coat the turkey wings and vegetables. 
• Season with salt and rub the olive oil into the turkey wings and vegetables. Make sure the herbs are tucked under the turkey wings so they don’t burn.
• Transfer to the oven and roast for 1 hour and a half, checking halfway through to make sure everything is roasting evenly.
• Remove from the oven, transfer the Dutch oven directly to the stovetop on medium heat, and pour in the white wine. If using a roasting tray that isn’t cooktop friendly, transfer the turkey, vegetables, and pan juices to a pot and add some white wine to the roasting pan to scrape up any browned bits to add to the pot. Cook for 3-5 minutes, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan. 
• Pour in the chicken broth and add the black peppercorns. Push the turkey wings down to ensure the broth properly covers them, adding a bit of water if needed. 
• Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam. 
• Discard the turkey parts and any large vegetables, then strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve. Store in an airtight container in the fridge overnight to allow the fat to separate from the broth. If you are pressed for time, you can also freeze for 30 minutes to skim off the fat.
• The next morning, skim the fat from the broth and set aside. You should have about ½ cup of fat. You can use this to make the gravy, or use butter, depending on your flavor preferences.
• Add the fat or butter to a pot over medium low heat, and once melted, whisk in the flour until well combined. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, whisking constantly to cook out the raw flour taste. Meanwhile, heat your broth so it is warm when you add it to the flour.
• Slowly drizzle in the broth, whisking continuously to avoid any clumps. In total, you will use about 4 cups of broth, and can reserve the rest to loosen the gravy as needed when reheating, or to use as broth while roasting your turkey. 
• Cook for about 3-5 minutes over medium heat or until thickened to your liking. Add the poultry seasoning, mushroom powder, and soy sauce. Season with salt, tasting to adjust for additional seasoning. 
• Let cool and store in an airtight container until ready to use. When ready to serve, whisk into the drippings from the turkey, adding more flour or broth as needed to reach desired thickness (this will depend on how much you have in drippings). Keep warm on low until ready to serve.