I didn’t grow up making turkeys, but I mean it’s kind of an essential skill if you want to be American/awesome, because let’s be real, roasted turkeys are freakin delicious. My mom came over last week so that we could roast one together. She brought Grandma Georgia’s roasting pan that she inherited. We’re guessing it’s nearly 70 years old. (This is when we all chime in “they just don’t make ’em like they used to!”) Here’s Aunt Pauline and Grandma Georgia, having a V-J Day Party in August 1945. Both of their husbands served in WWII. Aren’t they awesome?? I love this Sage Butter Roasted Turkey because it is simple, no fuss, and tastes amazing. It has all the classic Thanksgiving flavors you love, and turns out moist and tender every time. I like to keep it simple when it comes to the turkey. Easy sage butter rub, a bag to roast it in, and voila. Thanksgiving is busy enough, right? Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram
How to Brine a Turkey
I love brining my turkey! It’s my favorite low-difficulty way to get the bird full of delicious herby flavor. Brining isn’t hard, it just takes planning ahead. If you have patience and a little time you’re good to go. My turkey wasn’t completely covered; I just turned it about 2/3 of the way through the brine time. Don’t brine your turkey too early; 18 to 24 hours will do ya. Much more than that and your turkey will taste over seasoned and have a mushy texture, no thanks. I like to make my brine on Tuesday night, let it cool overnight, then put the turkey in the brine Wednesday morning. Then it’s ready for roasting Thursday morning. If you have a small enough turkey you can brine it in a pot, like I did here. But on other years I’ve had too big of a turkey for a pot. So I use the double oven bag method. I put the turkey and brine in an oven bag, seal tightly, then put it in another oven bag and seal tightly. (By “tightly” I mean like several rubber band and maybe some twisty ties for good measure.) I put it in my roasting pan in the fridge. (obviously you need a container in case the bag breaks! That would be so sad! It’s never happened to me though!) You will need to turn it more often if you choose this method. Here’s how much I used for the butter rub. Look at all this glorious velvety-ness. Chop it up nice and fine. Then top with kosher salt and minced garlic. Use the side of your chef’s knife to smash and grind the salt and garlic into the sage, forming almost a paste. Add this glorious mixture to your soft, soft, soft butter and stir it up. Feel free to save out a dollop at this point and try it on a freshly baked roll. YUM. Here’s a quick overview of how to roast a turkey. Scroll down to the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions! For example: this recipe calls for a 12-14 pound turkey, and we’re cooking it for 2 hours and 15 minutes. After that, you’ll check your turkey every 5 minutes with a meat thermometer inserted in the breast to make sure it is 165 degrees. Once it hits that magic number, get it outta there. No one wants an overcooked bird!
Allow time for a frozen turkey to defrost. You need a whole day in the fridge for every 5 pounds of turkey. Let’s do the math: if you bought a 25 pound turkey, you need to let it defrost for 5 days. That’s BEFORE you start brining. Cool your brine before you use it. If you put a turkey in warm brine, it’s going to absorb a lot more salt. No one wants a super salty turkey. Don’t over brine your turkey. After 18-24 hours, you need to get the turkey out of the brine, or it’s going to be too salty. Use a roasting bag. It’s not cheating, it’s smart! Roasting bags keep your turkey moist, let you skip basting, speed up your cooking time, AND even make cleanup easier. Cook your turkey to 165. The competing goals when cooking a turkey are safety and moistness. At 165, you’re safe and you’ve avoided drying out your turkey, hurray!
They’re self-basting. Remember how your aunt was always opening the oven every 20 minutes to squirt juice on your turkey with a turkey baster? Yeah no way. We’re not doing that. Every time you open the oven, you’re lowering the temperature, which means it will take longer for your turkey to cook. Also, who wants to spend their entire Thanksgiving day squirting juice on their turkey? Not me. Not you. They speed up your cooking time. Dinner sooner? Sign me up. Your entire Thanksgiving guest list will thank you. They lock in moisture. A bagged bird is a tender bird. If the moisture is trapped inside the turkey roasting bag, it can’t evaporate away into the oven.
Enjoy getting ready for the holidays, guys! I love this time of year!
