How to Cook a Turkey for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving Feast

To some, turkey is a succulent holiday centerpiece—to others, merely a vehicle for gravy. Whichever camp you fall into, knowing how to cook a turkey so it emerges from the oven golden on the outside and juicy within is the key to keeping everyone happy.

Whether you’re a Thanksgiving pro ready to try something new (Will it be a spatchcocked turkey this year? A grilled bird? How about confit? ) or a holiday-hosting newbie preparing a whole turkey (or even a turkey breast) for the first time, allow this to be your guiding principle: You don’t need a complicated Thanksgiving turkey recipe; just stick to the basics and let the side dishes make it a show. Ahead, you’ll find everything you need to know, including step-by-step instructions for cooking and preparing the perfect turkey for your holiday table.

Step 1. Thaw your turkey

The ideal place to thaw a frozen turkey is in the fridge. Depending on the size of your bird, this can take up to a week. If you’re short on time, there are faster ways to thaw a turkey, but thawing it in the refrigerator is your best bet when it comes to safe kitchen practices.

Want to brine your turkey? Now’s the time. If you opt for a wet brine, you can submerge a frozen turkey right away. For a dry brine, wait a day or two until you can remove the giblets from the partially thawed turkey cavity, when the skin is more pliable, which will allow it to hold on to the rub better. A fresh turkey should also get some dry brine action at least one to two days before cooking.

Step 2. Prep your turkey

1. Remove turkey from the fridge about 1 hour before you plan to cook it. A tempered turkey will cook more evenly than one that’s very cold.
2. Place turkey on a roasting rack that sits level with the top of your largest roasting pan. This will allow air to circulate all around the bird and help it achieve crispy skin across the turkey’s entire surface). You can also use a cooling rack set inside a large sheet pan.
3. If you haven’t yet removed the giblets, do so now (save them, along with the neck, for turkey stock, giblet stuffing, gravy, or another use; or discard). Check the neck cavity too. You might also come across the occasional feather quill stuck in the bird; yank these out with your fingers or with clean needle-nose pliers.

Note: There is no need to rinse the turkey, but if you’re pulling it out of a wet brine (or out of the packaging), you’ll want to pat the turkey dry with reusable or paper towels.

The Simplest Roast Turkey

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Step 3. Prep your oven

1. Position oven rack on the lowest setting.
2. About 15 minutes before you plan to start cooking the turkey, preheat your oven to 350°F.

Why 350°F? Some recipes instruct you to briefly roast the turkey at a high oven temperature before lowering the heat for the remainder of the cooking time. The belief is that the high heat “sears” the bird, while the low heat gently finishes cooking it, resulting in a juicier and more succulent turkey. We haven’t found this to be true—plus, it can cause the skin to brown too quickly. Using a steady temperature of 350°F throughout means less attention is needed, freeing you up to do other things, such as preparing your mashed potatoes and Thanksgiving side dishes.

1. Position your turkey breast-side up.

2. Spread room-temperature unsalted butter—or your favorite flavored compound butter—all over it. (For a 12–14-pound turkey, you’ll need about ½ cup [1 stick] of butter.) Gently work your fingers under the skin, starting at the neck, being careful not to tear the skin or separate it completely at the large cavity. Rub most of the butter under the skin, a little inside the large cavity, and the rest on top of the skin.

   Note: You could swap the butter for a neutral oil like canola or safflower if preferred. Whichever fat you choose, follow these proportions to elicit crispy, golden brown skin and juicy meat.

If you’ve chosen to brine your bird (via a wet brine or dry brine), you can skip this final seasoning. For kosher turkeys, which are already salted, there’s no need to salt the cavity, but you will want to salt the skin. Here’s how to do it:

1. For a 12–14-pound bird, sprinkle 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. kosher salt and 1 ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper in the large cavity and an equal amount over the skin.

Note: You can add other ground spices and seasonings to your mix at this point too. Go for smoky cumin or lemony coriander. Some cooks like to add a teaspoon or two of brown sugar. These flavorings aren’t essential, but they’ll go a long way toward giving your Thanksgiving turkey some personality.

How to Dry-Brine Turkey for the Juiciest Bird Ever

Step 6. Stuff the neck cavity but not the main cavity

A note on stuffing: We don’t recommend stuffing a turkey with traditional stuffing. Doing so will slow down your cook time and require you to cook the bird longer so that the stuffing inside the main cavity reaches a safe temperature (hello, overcooked turkey). Instead, prep any of our favorite stuffing recipes in a casserole dish to bake and serve on the side.

1. Place ½ an apple or orange inside the neck cavity, with the cut side right against the flesh. We know this sounds random, but stick with us. The fruit will add a buffer against the heat, protecting the delicate breast meat from overcooking. The skin draped over the rounded side of the fruit will help it stand proud as the bird roasts, instead of sinking in, resulting in a more robust-looking finish.
2. Without stuffing, the bird’s cavity is available for rent. This is your time to play around, so take the opportunity to add some aromatics and vegetables, which will add flavor and aroma to the turkey and add complexity to the pan drippings (used to make turkey gravy). Think fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, or parsley; a few wedges of onion and some celery sticks; or lemon and orange slices. How about a dried chile? Have some fennel stems left over from making a holiday side dish with just the bulb? Toss those in. Again, none of these things are strictly necessary, but they will perfume your turkey with lots of flavor.
3. You can also place some aromatics in the bottom of the pan. These will caramelize in the more direct heat, perfuming the meat and further flavoring the turkey drippings. Whether you choose to add aromatics or not, pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of the pan to prevent those drippings from burning.

Step 7. Truss the turkey

Trussing isn’t totally necessary, but it will help to secure anything you’ve stuffed into the cavity and encourage your bird to cook more evenly. It doesn’t hurt that a trussed bird will look a little more Norman Rockwell–esque than an untrussed bird. But there’s no need to go all out with a full truss (which requires a needle):

1. Tuck the wing tips behind the bird’s shoulders to lock them in place and protect them from scorching. The positioning of the wings also helps stabilize the cooked bird on a serving platter or cutting board.
2. Tie the “ankles” (the ends of the drumsticks) together using kitchen twine, kite string, or unwaxed, unflavored dental floss. Wrap twine once or twice around each ankle, pulling the drumsticks together, then wrap around both and, finally, tie the twine in a knot. For a tighter knot, make a regular overhand knot, and before tightening it, thread one end back through the loop a second time, then tighten.

Step 8. Cook the turkey

1. Loosely tent the turkey with aluminum foil, shiny side out (to deflect heat). Shielding the turkey keeps its skin from getting too dark too soon; but keeping it loose prevents that skin from steaming and staying flabby. You’ll remove the foil about halfway through cooking to get that burnished glow.
2. Don’t baste! While some classic roast turkey recipes insist on basting (once thought to moisten and flavor the bird), modern approaches find that opening the door so often allows precious heat to escape, lengthening the cooking time. Additionally, squirting or brushing broth onto the skin prevents it from browning evenly and can cause it to lose any crispness it might achieve. The better way to ensure a moist bird is to dry-brine it before cooking.

The simplest way to figure out a turkey’s roasting time is to calculate 13 minutes per pound at 350°F for an unstuffed turkey (that’s about 3 hours for a 12–14-lb. turkey), or 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey. Check the temperature about three-quarters of the way through that time, and then again every 10 minutes. Roast until the internal temperature reads 165°F (or 150°F as the case may be; more on that below) when checked at the thickest part of the thigh meat and the thickest part of the breast meat.

If, however, you prefer to roast your turkey at a different temperature, follow these guidelines. (The following cook times are for unstuffed birds. Our general rule is to avoid stuffed turkeys and instead to bake something like our classic stuffing recipe alongside so it can easily reach a safe temperature.)

According to the USDA, a turkey must be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F to kill harmful bacteria. For the juiciest meat, however, remove your bird from the oven when the temperature reaches 150°F. The temperature will continue to rise as the turkey rests and should reach 165°F within 30 minutes of being removed from the oven. Some cooks, including food director Chris Morocco, prefer dark meat cooked to an internal temperature of 190°F, which will allow more of the collagen and connective tissues to break down, rendering the tenderest meat. This higher temp would dry out white meat, so it’s best to only aim for it when cooking your turkey in parts.

Whichever turkey roasting temperature you choose, be sure to use an accurate meat thermometer to confirm the final temperature. In the past, home cooks used to look at the color of the meat as an indication of doneness: The turkey was pierced with a knife, and if the juices were clear instead of pink, it was considered done. This is not a reliable method for several reasons: First, pinkness can disappear before a safe temperature is reached; contrarily, some turkeys (especially organic and heritage breeds) may never lose their pink color, even when cooked to well above 165°F.

Stick your thermometer into the meatiest part of the thigh, just below the turkey’s wing, to gauge the doneness of your bird. The breast will likely reach temp long before the dark meat does.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell

1. Insert an instant-read thermometer or remote food thermometer (the type that has a probe you insert before cooking, which connects to a digital display that sits on your counter) into the turkey breast so that the point reaches the center of the thickest section. Note: Be careful not to touch the bone, as this can skew the reading.
2. Repeat, checking the thickest part of one turkey thigh to ensure the turkey is cooked evenly throughout. If you find the breast to be done but the legs need more time, position the turkey so that the drumsticks are pointed to the back of the oven and continue to cook.
3. Loosely tent any parts of the turkey you think might be getting too dark with a double-thick layer of buttered aluminum foil to sheild them from the heat.

Now, about that thermometer →

Step 9. Let the turkey rest

1. Transfer your cooked turkey to a safe spot, away from pets and nibble-prone guests.
2. Let it sit there for at least 30 minutes.

Why? Letting the bird rest gives its juices time to settle and be reabsorbed. Carving it too soon will allow the moisture to escape, leaving you with parched meat and a puddle on the cutting board. The turkey can rest for up to 90 minutes and still be hot when it’s time to carve—which means you’ve got plenty of time to make the gravy.

Note: Don’t cover the turkey with aluminum foil while it rests. Doing so will cause the skin to go limp.

How to Carve a Turkey Without Mangling It

With longer thighs and drumsticks, a leaner breast, and a more diminutive size compared to a standard supermarket turkey, heritage turkeys look, taste, and cook differently than your average Thanksgiving fowl. Heritage birds typically weigh no more than 16 pounds. If you plan on serving a larger crowd, you might want to roast two birds side by side. The bonus is that smaller birds cook more quickly than their fleshy cousins, so you don’t need to rise at dawn if you like to eat Thanksgiving meal at noon.

Because they tend to have a more active lifestyle, heritage turkeys require a different roasting method to prevent toughness. Roasting the bird slowly, at a lower temperature, is the best way to achieve tender meat.

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Prep a 12–14-lb. turkey with softened butter, salt, and pepper, as described above (or dry-brine it) and roast for 3½–4 hours.
3. Monitor the internal temperature. Your turkey is done when it hits 165°F.

Note: Due to the nature of some heritage breeds, their flesh and bones may retain a pinkish hue even after being fully cooked. As long as the bird has reached the specified temperature on a reliable meat thermometer, you don’t need to worry.

Absolutely Everything You Need to Know About Thanksgiving Turkey and Gravy

So it’s noon on Thanksgiving day, and you suddenly realize you’ve forgotten to thaw the turkey. Take a deep, calming breath. Trust that you’ll get it done, but cooking that turkey will likely take longer than originally planned.

Importantly, do not try to partially thaw the bird. According to ThermoWorks VP Tim Robinson, to do so is to invite disaster. A semi-thawed bird will cook unevenly, drying out around the edges while the center remains raw. On the other hand, you can cook a fully frozen bird and achieve a positive end result. The trick is using a two-pronged cooking method.

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Slide the frozen turkey into the oven while it warms up and set a timer for 2 hours. This first stretch is a controlled partial defrost.
3. Remove the turkey from the oven. It should be pliable enough now to extract the giblets and neck bone from the cavities. Do so and set them aside or discard (it’ll be somewhat hot, so use a carving fork and tongs to help you navigate.
4. Brush the turkey all over with oil or melted butter (about ½ cup) and season with salt and pepper, as described above, and any other seasonings that sound good to you. Have a spice blend ready to go—even already bloomed in your melted butter—so that you don’t waste any time.
5. Return the turkey to the oven, still set to 325°F, and continue to cook for another 3–4 hours. Check the internal temperature in several places—both thighs and both breasts. If any spot is cooking more slowly, position it toward the back of your oven. Remove the turkey from the oven when your thermometer reads at least 150°F in all sections; rest the bird as above so the temperature can rise to 165°F.

Editor’s note: This article was written by Melissa Clark for Epicurious and contains additional reporting by Grace Parisi and Sam Worley. It has been expanded and updated by the Epicurious team.