Looking for the ideal cooking method for a turkey? Try this recipe for a consistently juicy and well seasoned turkey. For vegetable amounts, etc., use your own discretion. Normally, I err on the side of too much.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 4 hrs |
| Additional Time: | 12 hrs 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 17 hrs |
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 1 (18 pound) turkey |
Ingredients
- 1 (18 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
- 2 cups kosher salt
- ½ cup butter, melted, divided
- 2 large onions, chopped, divided
- 4 carrots, coarsely chopped, divided
- 4 stalks celery, chopped, divided
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup dry white wine
Instructions
- Rub turkey inside and out with kosher salt; place in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Cover and refrigerate to allow turkey to soak in brine solution for 12 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thoroughly rinse the turkey; discard the brine mixture.
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- Brush turkey with 1/2 of the melted butter.
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- Place breast-side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff turkey cavity with 1/2 the onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme, and bay leaf. Scatter remaining vegetables and thyme in the bottom of the roasting pan; pour white wine over vegetables.
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- Roast turkey in the preheated oven, uncovered, until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Carefully turn turkey breast-side up about 2/3 through the roasting time, and brush with remaining butter. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
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- Allow turkey to rest for 30 minutes before carving.
- The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the brine ingredients. The actual amount of brine consumed will vary.
- Always brine foods in a food-grade, nonreactive container such as a stainless steel or enameled stockpot, a brining bag, or a food-grade plastic bucket.
Reviews
Need it for the first time this Christmas. Hands-down, and the best turkey I’ve ever made! The meat was so juicy and delicious and fell off the bone. Also rendered the best gravy I’ve ever made. The white wine definitely is the key. I will only use this recipe from now on.
My Husband and I make this every year for Thanksgiving and it is always so Juicy. Everyone loves it! WE do stuff the turkey, as well. WE put the Wine and all veggies in bottom of large Roaster! YUM
I had a heck of of a time trying to find a vessel big enough to hold my 13# turkey. After flooding my kitchen with a few attempts, settled on putting turkey in Turkey cooking bag inside plastic shopping bag, inside big pan.. soaked overnight. Did add a few sprigs of Rosemary to cavity of bird. Cooked 3 hours, very moist and flavorful.
I have made it this way several times and it is delicious. But I started making it without the onion, celery, carrots, thyme and bay leaf. We think it tastes pretty much the same and so do our guests who have had it both ways.
yum
AMAZING RECIPE
Best bird ever!!!
I have used this recipe twice and doing it again this year. Both times I had a perfect and moist delicious Turkey that everyone loved. Yes veggies are for flavor and moisture, not to eat. And it is very easy to follow and do. Our Turkey is a little smaller so I just adjust the amount of veggies down. And use a thermometer to keep an eye on the final amount of time. Brine I do the same.
Probably one of the best turkey recipes I’ve used. Everybody at the table loved it and asked for the recipe. The kids asked for seconds. We normally can’t get them to finish their first plate of food.
The best! White meat was moist and delicious. Just fallow the recipe. No need to change anything. And BTW. The veggies are for flavoring the turkey, not to be served as a side.
This is the second time I’ve made this and it really does come out perfect every time. I thought I messed it up this time when 2 hours in I realized I had put it in the oven breast side up. After kicking myself, I flipped it over, and then back over again with 1/2 hour to go. Turned out perfect. Evidently you can’t mess it up. I thought for sure it would be dry. It was not. That’s the kinda recipe I need. Lol! The only extra things I do is I rub garlic on it with the butter and I sprinkle the skin with garlic pepper after I put the wine over it. Everyone gobbles it up. Happy thanksgiving! If you manage to have leftovers, check out the recipe for turkey enchiladas on this site. Can’t go wrong there either.
A perfect turkey. I didn’t have fresh thyme but I did have fresh rosemary. I followed everything else exactly and it turned out perfectly yummy.
I made this as my first turkey ever, and it really was “perfect turkey”! I impressed everyone with this. I also brine the turkey overnight.
Excellent! Not salty, tender and juicy breast meat. Makes for a Perfect, delicious non fatty gravy
My first ever turkey was a success! I didn’t have white wine so I skipped it altogether and it was just fine. I mixed the vegetables in the pan into the dressing. Delicious and easy.
I left the carrots out, added the peels of 2 lemons with the onion & celery etc. I also added a couple of cups of chicken broth with the white wine. Everyone says its the best turkey they’ve ever had.
I thought this was fantastic, the gravy that I made from the juice was out of this world. I wouldn’t change a thing
This worked great!
This was the first time I’ve ever made a turkey and my husband (who only eats it because it’s what you do at Thanksgiving) declared it was the best one he’s ever eaten and couldn’t stop talking about how good it was. I followed the recipe as written except for the fresh thyme because I didn’t have any.
Best turkey ever!!! And the pan drippings made such a delicious rich gravy. I didn’t change a thing and it was perfect.
This is by far the best turkey we have ever had at Thanksgiving! I will definitely be using this recipe in the future. It is a very simple process and it yields fantastic results. The turkey was incredibly moist, flavorful, and the gravy made from it was wonderful! You will not be disappointed when you make this recipe!