Holidays• Poultry

Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey!

November 19, 2024

Are you in charge of Thanksgiving dinner this year? Freaking out that your turkey won’t wow them? Wondering how you will fit 15 people around your six person table? Stressing over how on earth it will all be ready at the same time? Or, how to politely stuff a sock into the mouth of the person who bring up politics?

Fear not! People will be so grateful they didn’t have to cook, they won’t dare to criticize you. And if they do, stick the liver on their plate and they’ll pipe down.

I can’t help you with timing your dishes, or sock stuffing but I am letting you in on the secret to my best turkey, finely honed after years of Thanksgivings. Trust me, your guests will love this.

I love it so much I make it every year. This recipe for Thanksgiving turkey involves dry brining the turkey for a few days before you cook it. I make it with chestnut sausage stuffing which I love and am including in the recipe below.

Same turkey, but I tried a buttermilk brine and the skin got too dark. But you can see the rosemary under the skin.

I know you’re thinking, Oooof! That sounds like a pain! But it really isn’t. You’re getting the turkey ready anyway, you’ll just be doing it a couple days sooner than you thought and it will sit in the refrigerator plumping up for a couple days like it’s getting botox.

Back when brining was the new thing to try, I tried soaking my turkey in a wet brine, but it left the turkey stringy. I also tried a buttermilk brine, but it left the skin too dark.

I love this dry brine because it uses salt, rosemary and lemon zest and leaves turkey juicy and delicious. The only problem is you don’t have as many pan drippings left to make gravy because the turkey holds on to the juice. And the pan drippings tend to be a little salty, but you can add low sodium broth in the pan while the turkey is cooking and that really helps. You can also add whipping cream or and half to your gravy.

This takes a little planning. If you buy a frozen 15 pound turkey, it takes at least three days or more to defrost (one day per five pounds). (For planning purposes: Put the frozen turkey in the fridge the Saturday morning before Thanksgiving. Let it thaw. Then on Monday, rinse it, pat it dry, apply the dry brine, let it sit in the fridge, then prepare it and cook it on Thursday. The turkey needs to dry brine for three days in the refrigerator, then on the third day it gets roasted.

I use plastic roasting bags to put my turkey in while brining, but I don’t cook it in there. (As you know, I hate using plastic, but we’re all addicted to it, and once a year isn’t awful, so I do it.)

Sorry it’s not a better beauty shot, but the turkey was delicious!

As for cooking the turkey…I once heard a famous chef say the best thing to cover your turkey with, instead of foil, is an old white cotton t-shirt. I agree. Just make sure you wash it so it doesn’t smell of fabric softener. I use a wet (but rung out) white, cotton t-shirt cut in half to cover the turkey while it’s cooking. I just keep spraying the t-shirt with water every half hour as it dries out. You can use cheesecloth instead, but it tends to dry out quicker than the t-shirt.

I mix together salt, lemon rind and finely chopped rosemary for the dry brine. Then on roasting day, I mix together a pound (or more) of softened butter, finely chopped garlic, rosemary and lemon rind. I put it under the turkey skin and rub it all over the turkey. I’ll give the exact measurements and directions below, so you can do this. Trust me, this is delicious! You will be a star, but they may want you to cook every year, so be forewarned.

If you enjoy this blog and the recipes and would like to be a supporter so I can stay caffeinated enough to turn out a blog on a regular basis, or roast a turkey, just click on buymeacoffee.com/FranTunno

Dry-Brined Turkey Mixture with Seasoned Salt, Rosemary and Lemon Rind.

AuthorFran Tunno

Yields1 Serving

15 pound turkey

3 tbsp kosher salt

2 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

1 tbsp lemon rind

Thaw turkey first (it takes one day to thaw five pounds of turkey) so three days should thaw it. Once thawed, rinse it thoroughly, removing giblets. Then pat it dry inside and out.

Mix the kosher salt, rosemary and lemon zest together thoroughly. Then sprinkle the inside of the turkey lightly with the seasoned salt. Place the turkey on its back and salt the breasts concentrating salt where meat is thickest.

Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. Flip the turkey over and do the same on the other side.

Place the turkey in a turkey-size plastic Reynolds oven bag. Squeeze out the air and seal it tightly. Place the turkey breast side up in the refrigerator for three days. Leave it in the bag but turn it daily and massage the salt into the skin.

On the day it's to be cooked, remove it from the bag and let it sit out at room temperature for one hour. Follow directions for Rosemary, lemon, garlic roast turkey with chestnut, sausage stuffiing.

Ingredients

15 pound turkey

3 tbsp kosher salt

2 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

1 tbsp lemon rind

Directions

Thaw turkey first (it takes one day to thaw five pounds of turkey) so three days should thaw it. Once thawed, rinse it thoroughly, removing giblets. Then pat it dry inside and out.

Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. Flip the turkey over and do the same on the other side.

On the day it's to be cooked, remove it from the bag and let it sit out at room temperature for one hour. Follow directions for Rosemary, lemon, garlic roast turkey with chestnut, sausage stuffiing.

Dry-Brined Turkey with Seasoned Salt

Ingredients Directions

Rosemary Lemon Garlic Roast Turkey with Sausage, Chestnut Stuffing

AuthorFran Tunno

Yields15 Servings

Dry Brined Turkey Preparation

1 15 pound turkey

3 tbsp kosher salt

2 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

1 tbsp lemon rind

Stuffing Preparation

2 boxes Stovetop Turkey Stuffing mix

3 cups water

½ cup butter (1 stick) not unsalted

15 large roasted chestnuts chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

1 lb Sweet Italian sausage, loose, not in links

2 cups celery cut into 1/2 inch slices

Turkey Preparation

1 ½ cups butter, softened (3 sticks - for rubbing)

3 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 tbsp finely chopped garlic

1 tbsp lemon zest

Thaw turkey first (it takes one day to thaw five pounds of turkey) so three days should thaw it. Once thawed, rinse it thoroughly, removing giblets. Then pat it dry inside and out.

Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. Flip the turkey over and do the same on the other side.

On the day it's to be cooked, remove it from the bag and let it sit out at room temperature for one hour. Follow directions for Rosemary, lemon, garlic roast turkey with chestnut, sausage stuffing.

Remove the dry-brined turkey from the refrigerator and take it out of the plastic bag. Massage it thoroughly, dry it and set it aside at room temperature for 1 hour.

Cut an x into each chestnut, roast them in a toaster oven about 45 minutes or until tender. Skin them and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces. Set them aside.

Rinse and dry 2 to 3 stalks of celery. Cut them into 1/2 inch pieces, to make 2 cups chopped, set them aside.

In a skillet, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat until it is no longer pink. Drain it, on a paper towel and set it aside.

Prepare the 2 boxes of Stovetop stuffing mix as directed. Place water in a large pot along with the butter. Heat on medium until butter is melted. Add stuffing mix, remove from heat, and cover with lid.

Add the chopped celery, chopped chestnuts, and cooked Italian sausage to the stuffing mix and combine thoroughly. Add additional water up to 1/3 cup, if too dry. Cover stuffing and set it aside.

Turkey Preparation

Soften 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) of butter (not unsalted) and add 4 tablespoons of finely chopped rosemary, 1 tablespoon of garlic, and one tablespoon of lemon zest. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Make sure turkey has been dried outside and in with a paper towel. Place the turkey, breast side up, in a large roasting pan greased with olive oil or cooking spray. With your hand, gently work your way under the skin of the turkey breast so there is a pocket. Then take two tablespoons of the butter, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest mixture and insert it into the pocket on each side of the breast. Press down on the skin so it's evenly distributed.

Take the rest of the butter mixture and rub it all over the outside of the turkey, breast, back, thighs and wings.

Take the stuffing mixture and stuff the cavity of the turkey as well as the area near the neck. Do not pack it too tightly. If you have some left over, grease a small casserole dish, place stuffing in, cover and refrigerate it, then heat it 40 minutes before dinner is ready.

Find a large piece of clean, 100% cotton material and wash it thoroughly so it does not smell of fabric softener. (An old white t-shirt works great.) Rinse it thoroughly and wring it mostly dry. Lay the cotton material over the turkey so it covers it completely, and place it in the oven at 350 degrees.

Check on the turkey every half hour, lifting the cloth, basting the turkey, then placing the cloth back over the turkey and thoroughly spraying it with water until the cloth is wet. Do this until the turkey is golden brown on top and juices run clear. About 4 hours.

Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving it.