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November 15, 2013 By Christine 18 Comments

The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

 Are you getting tired of my gobbling on and on about turkey yet? I hope not, because today I’m sharing my tried and true, fool proof methods for getting that coveted, perfect Thanksgiving turkey!

PERFECT_TURKEY_COVER

There’s no specific flavors or spices that need to be injected into your bird. This isn’t so much about which recipe is best, it’s more about steps. What needs to happen to get that turkey just right! 

I can remember the first time I prepared Thanksgiving completely on my own. I had listened to my aunt complain about it for years. “It’s so much work.” “The clean-up isn’t worth it.” “Next year I’m not doing as much.” Call me crazy, but I enjoyed it, and wanted to do it every year since. I enjoy every aspect of preparing this ginormous meal and honestly…The turkey, I think, is the EASIEST part!

STEP 1: BRINE, BABY BRINE!

You already know about my love for brining. I talked about it here, and shared my favorite brining recipe. If you’ve never tried brining your turkey, give it a go this Thanksgiving. You will be amazed at just how juicy and favorable the meat turns out! So once you boil the dry brine (again, find that part here) This is where you now add the cooled brine to the icy water (or in my case juice and wine mixture) that’s ready to go in a large bucket with a brining bag lined in it.

**Helpful hint- if you can’t find brining bags, try using those oversized Ziploc bags. They work just as well!**

ice

Once the turkey is submerged into the icy bucket-o-brine, I like to add fresh herbs, citrus, onions, garlic and whatever other goodies I can throw in there.

herbs

 

Give everything a mix, together around the turkey, seal up the bag inside the bucket, and pop it in your fridge overnight. Try not to leave your bird brining for longer than 10 hours. Over doing it can turn the bird tough and processed tasting like deli meat instead of moist and succulent which is the sole purpose of brining in the first place. 

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I bet my friends at The Home Depot will get a giggle out of this next picture…

bucket

This is our designated “brining bucket.” A five gallon orange HD bucket… It’s amazing! I don’t have to worry about messy leaks and it can easily hold up to a 24lb. turkey and all of the brine! I may just have pitched you a new marketing idea for those buckets Home Depot…write that down. πŸ˜‰

STEP 2: DRY THE SKIN, NOT THE MEAT

There is nothing worse than dried out turkey meat, but in order to get deliciously crispy skin on your turkey you need to dry it off! So once your turkey comes out of the brine, give it a quick rinse off with water and place it onto your roasting pan, and grab of wad of paper towels and thoroughly pat the big boy down. At this point, you also want to tuck the tips of those wings under the breast, by pulling the wing out, and then under.

patdry

 

STEP 3: SKIP THE STUFFING

Not altogether, oh dear God, no! Just the stuffing inside the bird. 

See here’s the problem with stuffing inside the bird…Stuffing is primarily made up of some sort of bread, right? What happens when bread is placed in a cup of soup. It absorbs the liquid. You putting all that stuffing up into the cavity of the turkey is a sure guarantee you will dry out the meat. Why? Because stuffing inside the bird will make you have to cook the turkey for a longer period of time to make sure it gets fully cooked all while sucking the moisture out of your bird like an internal vampire, unless you know…you want to poison your guests with salmonella or something. πŸ˜‰

What to do instead? Fill up the cavity with herbs, celery, carrots, onions, citrus, apples…

stuffed

 

Mmmm…yummmmmay…

STEP 4: BUTTER ME UP

This ain’t diet food people. Sure you can use olive oil, grape seed oil, whatever oil, or no oil. It’s up to you. BUT if you want your turkey to have richness, and a stunningly vibrant brown color…butter is your friend…a whole softened stick of it, mixed with poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, and chopped up fresh herbs. 

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And this my friends is the single most important tip in this entire post,,,YOU MUST BUTTER UNDER THE SKIN.

UNDERSKIN

 

I mean…really, really…get under there. Chipped nail polish and all!

underthere

And your hands are most definitely the best tool for this job, so don’t get squeamish on me. πŸ˜‰ Take a nice scoop of herbed butter in the tips of your fingers and shove it in there and spread it around. 

butter

 

Make sure you spread it down into the pocket of the legs too. Just be very careful and delicate so you don’t rip a hole in the skin or else all of the buttery goodness will leak out when it’s cooking in the oven.

After you’ve thoroughly buttered under the skin, use the remaining butter to lather up the top of the skin. 

butteringskin

Are we having fun yet?! πŸ™‚ It’s like finger painting for grown ups! Once your lovely, buttery, brined turkey is greased up to your liking, you can truss it just by tying the legs together with a piece of twine. (I guess I ran out of twine, because I couldn’t find it so I skipped over this step on this day, but I usually do this.) This keeps the legs closer to the body to ensure they don’t over cook, and it just makes the finished, cooked turkey look pretty. We like pretty, don’t we?!  πŸ˜‰

STEP 5: TINFOIL TENT & COOK TIMES

You may com across these tinfoil “turkey shield” contraptions that I’ve seen floating around on the web. It’s not necessary. You can do it, if you want to but with everything else you’re going to have going on on this day. SIMPLIFY my friends. One to two pieces of tinfoil, draped over your turkey will work just as well.

tented

 

Now I live in Florida, so my cooking time and oven is different then say someone who lives in Utah at a higher altitude. For me, the magic number is setting the oven to 325, and cooking the turkey 25 minutes per pound. You may need longer, you may need a higher temp. This comes from experience, and knowing what works and doesn’t for you. If this guessing game makes you feel uncomfortable, then I highly recommend investing in a meat thermometer. Your turkey will be perfectly cooked when the thermometer is placed in the fattest areas (thighs, breast) and gets a reading of  165 Β°F or slightly higher.

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STEP 6: LET THERE BE REST

When you take that turkey out of the oven, you MUST LET IT REST! I talked about it in this post where I also showed you how to carve a turkey. So check that out when you’re done here! Carving into a fresh out of the oven turkey is a guaranteed dry to the bone bird. SO JUST DON’T DO IT! Please? πŸ™‚

Following these steps will provide you with the most glorious meal this Thanksgiving, or any holiday for that matter.

ENDTURKEY

 

I hope you enjoyed this post, and while you’re here…Check out my friends below who are also sharing their own tips and advice for all things Thanksgiving!

 November Fourteenth: Printables: Worthing Court&Mom 4 Real | Decor – Just Paint It & Making Lemonade |  Centerpieces: The Everyday Home&Designer’s Sweet Spot | Table Decor and Ideas – Creating This Life My Soulful Home &Major Hoff Takes a Wife | Drinks – Southern Color &Deja Vue Designs | Appetizers – Our Southern Home &Sweet Pea

 November Fifteenth: Soups –Town and Country Living&Just Us Four | Salads –Cedar Hill Farmhouse&Fresh Idea Studio | Main Dishes –Designed by BH&First Home Love Life | Side Dishes –All Things Heart and Home | Desserts – Domestically Speaking&Lilacs and Longhorns | Parting Gifts –House on the Way&Dukes and Duchesses

Talk to you soon friends, take care!

XO

 

 

 

Comments

comments

Filed Under: RECIPE, Thanksgiving Tagged With: thanksgiving, turkey

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Comments

  1. Maryann @ Domestically Speaking says

    November 15, 2013 at 9:36 PM

    I’ve never brined a turkey, but I definitely need to! Thanks for the awesome recipe. Great partying with you on our Progressive Dinner.

    Reply
    • Christine says

      November 15, 2013 at 11:28 PM

      I hope you try it out Maryann! I know you’ll love it! Thanks for popping over πŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Leslie @ House on the Way says

    November 16, 2013 at 1:46 AM

    I love a brined turkey! Yours looks unbelievable! Have a great weekend!
    Leslie @ House on the Way recently posted…Gifts for Your Guests at ThanksgivingMy Profile

    Reply
    • Christine says

      November 16, 2013 at 2:19 AM

      Thanks Leslie! You too, and Happy Thanksgiving πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. Shannah @ Just Us Four says

    November 16, 2013 at 1:45 PM

    We definitely brine our turkey every year. It makes such a big difference in the final product.

    So excited to be part of this dinner with you!
    Shannah @ Just Us Four recently posted…Herbed Steaks and Roasted Potatoes #STAROliveOilMy Profile

    Reply
    • Christine says

      November 16, 2013 at 6:19 PM

      It sure does! Once you brine, you never go back…or something like that πŸ™‚ Thanks for stopping by Shannah!

      Reply
  4. Christy @ Our Southern Home says

    November 16, 2013 at 2:08 PM

    OMG! The work you put into this fabulous post!!! I can’t wait to try this!!! Thanks so much! Sharing πŸ™‚ ~Christy
    Christy @ Our Southern Home recently posted…Hot Artichoke DipMy Profile

    Reply
    • Christine says

      November 16, 2013 at 6:20 PM

      Thanks Christy! It wasn’t too much work, honest! Happy Thanksgiving πŸ™‚

      Reply
  5. Julie @ Creating This Life says

    November 16, 2013 at 4:47 PM

    Love t his post! And the bucket is cracking me up. Happy Thanksgiving!
    Julie @ Creating This Life recently posted…Thanksgiving TablesettingMy Profile

    Reply
    • Christine says

      November 16, 2013 at 6:18 PM

      Thanks so much Julie! You gotta do what you gotta do to get that perfect turkey! πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  6. Kelly @ View Along the Way says

    November 17, 2013 at 2:04 AM

    Aaaaand now I’m officially craving some tasty turkey meat. That looks amazing!
    Kelly @ View Along the Way recently posted…Our Christmas Porch: the Home Depot Challenge!My Profile

    Reply
    • Christine says

      November 17, 2013 at 3:29 PM

      Soon…Very soon you will be gorging yourself into a turkey coma πŸ™‚ Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
    • Christine says

      November 17, 2013 at 3:30 PM

      Soon…Very soon you will be gorging yourself into a turkey coma ;}

      Reply
  7. Wendy says

    November 22, 2014 at 2:29 AM

    How long do you let it rest for before carving? It’ll be my first turkey dinner this year. Want to make sure I get it right. πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Christine says

      November 24, 2014 at 10:42 PM

      At the very minimum- 30 minutes. This way all the juices will redistribute evenly throughout the bird. Tent it with tinfoil to keep it warm while it rests and you should be good to go! Good luck on your first Thanksgiving!!!! You’ll do great! XO

      Reply
  8. Michele C says

    November 26, 2014 at 4:18 PM

    I have a couple questions… First, do you baste the turkey? Second, Does the lower temp and longer cook time produce a more juicy bird? We moved this year, from the states to italy, and I have a new oven to top off a new geography… I have read lots of things regarding temps and times, yours is the lowest temp I have seen… several people suggest 350 and 12-15 min per pound, and a lot of people suggested 425 for a time and then reduce to 350 and the time is still about the same 12-15 min per pound… which seems odd to me… this is also my first year brinning, so I have a lot of first going on…

    Reply
    • Christine says

      November 27, 2014 at 11:44 AM

      Hi Michele! Happy Thanksgiving! Yes I baste the turkey about every 20 minutes, and yes I’ve found going low and slow results in a juicy and tender bird, but the starting high and then lowering the temp works well too! Have a wonderful day. XO

      Reply

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  1. The Perfect Prime Rib Recipe - First Home Love Life says:
    December 29, 2014 at 6:42 PM

    […] like when I’m making my perfect turkey, the next step is to take a wad of paper towels and pat dry the beef. On the turkey that ensures a […]

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Hi! I'm Chrissi! I'm a homebody and get excited about finding ways to turn my house into a home. I love being able to share whatever inspires me too. Whether it's an easy DIY project, cleaning tip or delicious recipe...you can definitely find something to try here! This is my happy place to share what's going on in my life...Oh, and maybe talk a little bit about the love for my furkids too! I hope you'll stick around... Read More…

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