Turkey recipes that are guaranteed to impress not just everyone at the table but the cooks in the kitchen. Whether you want to cling to tradition and roast it or go a little further flung and brine, smoke, or deep-fry it, you’ll find your centerpiece here. And we’re including foolproof carving instructions to make things even simpler on you this year.
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Old-Fashioned Roast Turkey and Gravy
This old-fashioned roast turkey and gravy shows why covering turkey with cheesecloth while you roast it is the perfect trick to ensuring tender meat and shatteringly crisp skin. And there’s no need to stuff, truss, brine, or otherwise fuss with it.
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This dry brine turkey gets blanketed in a salt and sugar rub overnight and is then rinsed and roasted until golden. The result? Perfectly moist and tender turkey. No basting required.
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Most of us eat turkey only once or twice a year—at Thanksgiving and possibly at Christmas. However, once you taste smoked turkey prepared in your own smoker, you may find yourself wanting it a little more often.
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The stock for this classic Thanksgiving turkey can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated or up to 3 months ahead of time and frozen. Or you can make it Thanksgiving morning before you put the turkey in the oven.
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It's a safe bet that every cook will be called upon to roast a turkey at some point in his or her life. Since it's usually a once-a-year endeavor, there's not much room for practice.
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This deep-fried turkey, which requires no brine and no injection, is the juiciest and most tender we’ve ever tried and has just the slightest Cajun lilt. Here’s how to (safely) make it.
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Simple roast turkey is an easy way to cook the perfect bird for Thanksgiving. And by that we mean the best, most juiciest roast turkey imaginable. A failproof technique, even for beginner cooks.
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Brandy-brined turkey breast. It’s a simple and sure way to guarantee moist turkey. (Hiccup.)
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This maple glazed turkey is paleo friendly and gluten free and crowd pleasing and easy to make and, as if that’s not enough, magnificent in taste.
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A 6- to 7-pound (2.75- to 3.25-kg) turkey—the perfect size for an intimate dinner party—will easily fit in your six-quart multicooker, and will produce the juiciest, most tender turkey your guests have ever had. To give the turkey a beautiful golden-brown finish, pop it under the broiler for about five minutes.
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Roasted and braised turkey makes certain that both the white and dark meat is cooked perfectly and with tons of flavor. Cooking them separately ensures that everything is succulent.
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This Texas style smoked turkey, which is smothered with a bold spice rub and slowly smoked on the grill, is welcome any time of the year, whether on your Thanksgiving table or your annual backyard shindig.
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This roast turkey breast is the answer to when you have more white meat lovers at Thanksgiving than you have white meat. Succulent, flavorful, and ready in 1 1/2 hours.
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This turkey cranberry sandwich with stuffing is a classic post-Thanksgiving must. Slices of sturdy bread, mayo, cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, and gravy. The best part of Thanksgiving…besides the people at the table.
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This smoked paprika and fennel roast turkey with onion gravy is perfect for Thanksgiving. It's basted with a compound butter made with paprika and fennel and is unlike any turkey you've ever experienced. From chef Tom Douglas.
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HUNGRY FOR MORE?
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I am picking up my boneless turkey breasts (3 of ’em) tomorrow to dry brine. After that I’ll sear the skins and sous vide them. On the Wed night before I’ll bring them back up to temp in the sous vide rig and then give them a brief roast on T-day.
I’ve ordered backs, necks and wings as well to make broth and gravy well in advance..
This is a big departure from our conventional Normal Rockwell turkey but we did a test run several weeks ago and all our taste testers agreed they’d never had such moist turkey. The difference was nothing short of remarkable! I’d venture to say you could even make a cold turkey sandwich without the mayo with that juicy white meat.
I’ll miss the dark meat (but I’d need a second sous vide pump to prepare it to a different temp) and I’ll miss the in-the-bird stuffing but I know it’s gonna be good and I suspect it’s going to be calmer in those last 30 minutes on T-day.
Rainey, this sounds wonderful! I suspect you are correct; you will have a much calmer meal preparation and will be able to enjoy the experience rather than the sheer panic of the final half-hour. Do let us know how your meal turns out and what your favorite dishes were this year.