Roast Turkey Recipe

A roast turkey on a platter with greens.

This classic Roast Turkey Recipe is cooked to the perfect temperature inside and out, with extra crispy brown skin and juicy and flavorful turkey meat! Start it upside down and finish it breast side up for the absolutely perfect result!

Prep Time15

Cook Time2 30

Resting Time30

Total Time3 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 500kcal

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

1 turkey 10-15 lbs.
1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups chicken broth reduced sodium or sodium free*

To Stuff the Turkey

1 tablespoon Butter
1/2 lemon
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 bulb garlic cut in half crosswise

Turkey Seasoning:

¾ teaspoons EACH: Dred rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage
1/8 teaspoon EACH: Nutmeg, pepper

Instructions

Prepare the Turkey

Optional: Brine your turkey 2-3 days prior to roasting.
Remove the neck and giblets and pat the turkey completely dry.
Let the turkey sit out for an hour or until it gets close to room temperature. This ensures it will cook evenly.
Stuff the turkey with 1 Tbsp. butter, lemon, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Optional: Truss the legs by tying kitchen twine around them.
Move oven rack 1 level below the center. Preheat oven to 425° F.
Massage the entire turkey with the stick of butter and olive oil, getting into every nook and cranny. Rub with the seasoning mix.

Roast Breast Side Down

Place *half* of the chicken broth on the bottom of the pan. Place the turkey breast side down on a roasting rack and tuck the wings underneath the bird.
Roast for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan 180°. Roast for 25 more minutes.
Remove from the oven and decrease heat to 350° degrees.

Roast Breast Side Up

Carefully flip the turkey so that it’s breast-side-up (Use Ove-Gloves or oven mitts). Add the remaining chicken broth to the roasting pan. Baste the turkey with the broth.
*At this point, the thighs are around 110° and the breast is around 85° (just what we want)!
Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and return it to the oven.
Roast until the thermometer reads 160°. Remove from the oven. It will reach 165° while it rests. Pro Tip: As the turkey nears completion, check on the color and increase heat to 500° if additional browning is desired.
Let it sit for a full 20-30 minutes to allow the meat to fully absorb the juices before you slice into it.
While the turkey rests, prepare turkey gravy with the drippings in the pan.

Notes

Pro Tips

Check out all of my Thanksgiving recipes here.
*If you brined your turkey I recommend using sodium free chicken broth so that your drippings aren’t too salty for making gravy.
I don’t recommend cooking a turkey any larger than 15 lbs. It’s much better to cook 2 smaller turkeys. (Better flavor, texture, and double the drumsticks!)
Be sure to save the carcass and any additional scraps for making stock and Turkey Soup!
For a smaller group, try my easy roast chicken recipe.

Tools to Help With Roasting

(Amazon Affiliate)

Meat Thermometer- The single most important thing to have. Use one probe for the thigh, one for the breast. Never rely on the red popping thermometer.
Ove Gloves- Makes it easy to grip the turkey and flip it over easily while protecting your hands. (Be sure to wash them after handling the turkey.)
Roasting Pan- I use All-clad which is a little more expensive but super high quality and you'll have it forever.
Kitchen Twine, Turkey Baster & Poultry Lifters
Unsalted Chicken Broth- to add to your drippings if they taste too salty to make gravy with.
Gravy Boat- This one keeps the gravy warm!

Nutrition

Recipe Source: TheCozyCook.com - For pro tips, step-by-step photos, storage information, and to save it to your account, visit https://framework-keystone.live/roast-turkey-recipe/%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-35042":{"type":"food","name":"Roast Turkey Recipe","slug":"wprm-roast-turkey-recipe","image_url":"https:\/\/thecozycook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Roast-Turkey-f.jpg","rating":{"count":11,"total":55,"average":5,"type":{"comment":11,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"1","unit":"","name":"turkey","notes":"10-15 lbs.","id":9733,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"1","unit":"stick","name":"unsalted butter","notes":"at room temp","unit_id":12956,"id":3769,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"stick","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"stick","unitParsed":"stick"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"4","unit":"tablespoons","name":"olive oil","notes":"","unit_id":12930,"id":3645,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"4","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"4","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"1 \u00bd","unit":"cups","name":"chicken broth","notes":"reduced sodium or sodium free*","unit_id":12935,"id":4205,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1 \u00bd","unit":"cups","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 \u00bd","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":17,"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","name":"Butter","notes":"","unit_id":12932,"id":3648,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","unitParsed":"tablespoon"}}},{"uid":13,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"","name":"lemon","notes":"","id":6437,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"2","unit":"sprigs","name":"fresh rosemary","notes":"","unit_id":12959,"id":5186,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"sprigs","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"sprigs","unitParsed":"sprigs"}}},{"uid":11,"amount":"1","unit":"bunch","name":"fresh thyme","notes":"","unit_id":13371,"id":4965,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"bunch","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"bunch","unitParsed":"bunch"}}},{"uid":15,"amount":"1","unit":"bulb","name":"garlic","notes":"cut in half crosswise","unit_id":13372,"id":3669,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"bulb","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"bulb","unitParsed":"bulb"}}},{"uid":22,"amount":"\u00be","unit":"teaspoons","name":"EACH:<\/strong> Dred rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage","notes":"","unit_id":12937,"id":13822,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00be","unit":"teaspoons","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00be","unit":"teaspoons","unitParsed":"teaspoons"}}},{"uid":28,"amount":"1\/8","unit":"teaspoon","name":"EACH: Nutmeg, pepper","notes":"","unit_id":12938,"id":13823,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/8","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1778514698000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/8","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}}],"originalServings":"15","originalServingsParsed":15,"currentServings":"15","currentServingsParsed":15,"currentServingsFormatted":"15","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"favorite":false,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"servingsUnit":"people","servingsUnitRaw":"people","originalServings":"15","originalServingsParsed":15,"type":"recipe","recipeId":35042,"name":"Roast Turkey Recipe","image":"https:\/\/thecozycook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Roast-Turkey-f-500x500.jpg","servings":15,"parent_id":"34886","parent_url":"https:\/\/thecozycook.com\/roast-turkey-recipe\/","cachedAt":1778514698,"modifiedAt":1701011713}}}