| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 days 5 hr 20 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
- 1 tablespoon sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
- One 12- to 14-pound whole turkey
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons fresh thyme, minced, plus 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 lemons, zested, 1 cut into quarters
- 1 apple, cut into quarters
- 2 shallots, halved
- 2 onions, quartered
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 1/2 bunch celery, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and broken into pieces
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- For the turkey: Two days before cooking, combine the salt with the herbes de Provence, sumac and black pepper in a bowl. Rub all over the turkey, inside and out, and under the skin of the breast and legs where accessible, being careful to not tear the skin. Place on a sheet tray fitted with a rack or in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 2 days.
- Bring the turkey out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours before cooking to temper.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the butter, minced thyme and lemon zest in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place the turkey on a work surface. Spread the butter under the skin of the turkey around the legs and breasts, as evenly as possible. Stuff the cavity with the quartered lemons, apple, shallots and sprigs of thyme. Tie the legs closed with kitchen twine. Place the onions, carrots, celery and garlic at the bottom of a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Place the turkey on the rack. Roast, basting every 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the leg (do not touch bone) reads 155 to 160 degrees F, 12 to 14 minutes per pound, or 2 to 3 hours. Allow the turkey to rest for 90 minutes.
- For the gravy: Meanwhile, strain the drippings and juices from the roasting pan into a bowl. Discard the vegetables. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until the raw flavor is cooked off, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cider vinegar and soy sauce for depth. Slowly whisk the strained drippings into the flour to avoid clumps. Simmer until the gravy just coats the back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. (The gravy will not be a heavy thick gravy, but rather a light gravy.) Season to taste. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 840 |
| Total Fat | 45 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 92 g |
| Cholesterol | 356 mg |
| Sodium | 1669 mg |
Reviews
Definite keeper! I am a wet brine, bake in a bag upside down type of gal, but I thought I’d change it up this year, by using a dry brine. I am so glad I did! The skin was crispy and the meat was so tender and juicy throughout. Will make this again!
Fabulous! I have used this on whole turkey, turkey breasts, chickens and a duck! The meat is so moist.
I just used the brine for a chicken (It is July, so I don’t want the oven on long enough to cook a turkey). I was very pleased with the results. The chicken was very moist and flavorful. I used less fruit, but used the same method as GZ used for the turkey.
A definite hit! I thought for sure between the lemons, the zest and the sumac that the lemon flavor would be overbearing, but they blended perfectly with the other herbs and spices. I am not a huge lemon chicken/turkey guy, but my family loved this and so did I! The only thing I changed was the cooking method. I somked this 14 pound bird on a Louisiana Grills pellet grill at 330 degrees for about 3 hours and 45 minutes, basting it the last 1/3rd of the time with some of the butter, sumac and lemon zest mixture. I was worried about it drying out because of the smoking method, but the butter mixture I rubbed it with gave it a great, crispy skin and I also had a pan of water in the grill to help keep it moist and tender, which it turned out to be! So good with the Turkey at Thanksgiving, I did a chicken the same way a couple weeks later. Thanks Geoffrey for showing me something I would not have otherwise tried. You need to smoke one now!
Followed the recipe and the turkey and gravy were excellent. QUESTION: Neither recipe or video said what to baste the turkey with, I ended up melting butter to use because there wasn’t enough liquid from drippings to use. Recipe didn’t indicate to add liquid to bottom of pan for roasting the turkey, did others add liquid. For the gravy, I added an 8 oz box of chicken stock to the pan to scrape the flavor and to use for gravy. Did others have enough liquid from the drippings?? TYIA
Sorry it was just so so. Followed the instructions and video. Took the bird out at 155 degrees and let sit 60 minutes. Skin was not crispy, and breast was slightly dry. The taste was good. But, no better then if we just cooked it in a aluminum pan and just used salt and pepper. No distinctive flavor from the sumac rum. The gravy was also sort of a failure.
This has become my go-to way to cook our Thanksgiving turkey! Prepping so far ahead makes it so much easier on the main event day, and the taste…WOW!! So juicy, flavorful, and so beautiful when it comes out of the oven. Can’t recommend enough!! Thank you, GZ!!
I will never use any other turkey recipe. This will be my third year making this turkey (and the unique and delicious gravy). Nothing else to say but it’s the best turkey ever (sorry mom). Thanks GZ.
By far the best turkey I ever made!! It’s even moist after sitting in the fridge all night!! Thank you Geoffrey!!
I love this recipe, especially the gravy. I never thought to add soy, it was a lovely result. Appreciate the temperature instruction, testing the thickest part of the thigh to 157-160 degrees and resting 90 minutes. This worked beautifully last year. Today, I saw GZ make mashed potatoes on the Nov 20, 2021 new episode . His recipe is the same way we’ve always done, except he baked the Yukon Golds, then peeled and after they were made, served in a warmed enamel covered cast iron dutch oven – great tips, which we will try this year. Tips and tricks and new flavors – always great from GZ.