The Easiest Thanksgiving Turkey
Description
The Easiest Thanksgiving Turkey is a foolproof, stress-free recipe perfect for beginners. With simple seasoning, minimal prep, and no fancy techniques, it delivers juicy meat and crisp skin—classic, delicious, and ready for your holiday table.
Ingredients
- 1 13-15 pound turkey
- 1-2 cups kosher salt
- 2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
- Prep your turkey overnight. Using paper towels, pat your turkey very dry, then rub salt all over the turkey, inside and out, and under the skin. Do not throw the giblets or neck away— save them for the gravy! You can spatchcock/butterfly your turkey before or after you do this—I did mine after for no particular reason at all. Place turkey in a brine bag (or large ziplock) in the fridge overnight (you can put it on a plate or in a roasting pan, lightly covered with foil, too).
- When you're ready to cook your turkey, heat the oven to 450°F. Toss the vegetables and rosemary together and spread them out on a roasting pan or a sheet pan lined with foil. Top the vegetables with a cooling rack fitted into the roasting tray itself.
- Spatchcock your turkey. Place a wet paper towel under a cutting board so that it doesn't slip around, and using a pair of kitchen shears (highly recommended) or a very sharp knife, carefully cut the backbone out of the brined turkey, starting at the tail end. Cutting through gets a little tough in certain areas, but follow the back bone and keep cutting. See the photos above if you're unsure, but I promise this is really easy and almost impossible to mess up. Do one side, then do the other. Be really careful not to slip or cut yourself—do not attempt this with a blunt knife.
- Once the back bone is out, set it aside to be used for the gravy, if desired. Flip the bird over so that it is breast side up. Using as much force as possible, press your palm into the "sternum" of the turkey, between the two breasts, and press down to flatten the bird as much as possible (again, see the photos above). Spread the legs out, away from the body, and tuck the wings in so that they don't burn in the oven. Rub all over with olive oil. Place the turkey on top of the roasted rack. Roast in the oven for 70-80 minutes, until a meat thermometer registers 165°F.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes or so before carving. Save any juices from the bottom of the pan to add to the gravy, if you like.
