How To Roast a Whole Turkey - Juicy, Easy

Recipe: Perfect Roast Turkey Recipe »

Master the perfect roast turkey! I love roasting turkey and this method makes juicy, tender turkey full of flavour with our butter cheesecloth method. Great for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any festive feast. I'll also show you how to carve it for presentation!

About This Perfect Roast Turkey

Roast turkey is a popular Thanksgiving and Christmas roast. But for some reason people find a turkey intimidating but to me it's just a bigger chicken. I love roasting turkey because its delicious, never dry and it feeds a lot of people so great for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners!

I'm going to show you:

How long it takes to roast a turkey to perfection.

How to keep the turkey moist.

How to Make a Butter Cheesecloth turkey (the latest trend on social media)

How to carve a turkey so that it looks like it came from a restaurant: chicken or turkey carving is one of those great tricks that comes in handy.

How many hours does it take to roast a turkey? It depends on the weight of your turkey. Basically it is 20 minutes for every kilo/2.2lbs of turkey plus 80 minutes. We roast the turkey at 180C/350F conventional or 160C/320F fan forced. If you have a fan setting on your oven, use this as this helps the skin brown.

What is the secret to a moist turkey? There are three great tips to keep your turkey breast moist.

Moist turkey tip 1 - The first is to dry brine the turkey. You can also wet brine a turkey but this requires a lot of room in the fridge and a massive pot. Dry brining is easier, less messy and also seasons the chicken perfectly. You can also dry brine a turkey crown.

Moist turkey tip 2 - The second tip to keeping turkey moist is to use the butter cheesecloth method. Cheesecloth is a thin, porous material used make cheese and is designed so that the whey can pass through it. It also keeps the moistening agents like butter on the skin instead of the butter dripping down and protects the turkey from drying out.

Moist turkey tip 3 - The third tip is to let the turkey rest for 30 minutes after it comes out of the oven. The juices will reabsorb back into the bird and then it will be a cinch to carve.

Can I dry brine a self basting turkey? A lot of turkeys come as "self basting" which means that they're salted. But I have found dry brining these turkeys doesn't mean that it is oversalted. It just means that you don't really need to season it afterwards.

Will the cheesecloth burn in the oven? No as long as the cheesecloth remains moist. But it's important to use the specified amount of butter so that the cheesecloth remains moist.

Will the cheesecloth stick to the turkey? No, soaking it in the butter doesn't let it stick nor does soaking it in stock (I made a cheesecloth "mummy" turkey many years back).

Video How To Make A Perfect Roast Turkey (and Carve It!)

Video: How to Make A Perfect Roast Turkey

Ingredients For a Perfect Roast Turkey

Turkey - I used a very small 3kgs/6.6lb turkey as we were feeding 6 people. Don't worry about fresh vs frozen turkeys. I've been told by my butcher that all turkeys sold in Australia are frozen and then thawed because the demand window for whole turkeys is just Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Salt - Use fine salt so that it can penetrate the skin.

Sage - Look for dried sage sold in powder form in the herb and spices aisle.

Black pepper - Freshly ground black pepper works here.

Butter - Go for salted butter.

Maple syrup - Pure or maple flavoured syrup works.

Garlic powder - Sold in a fine powder form in the herbs and spices aisle. Tip: keep this in the freezer so that it doesn't clump together!

Onion powder - Use the fine textured onion powder sold in the herbs and spices aisle and not the onion flakes. Tip: also store this in the freezer so that it doesn't clump together!

Cheesecloth - For wrapping the turkey. Around 1 square metre/3.3 square feet is good so that it can cover the whole turkey with at least 3-4 layers.

Tips For Making a Perfect Roast Turkey

1 - If you have a frozen turkey, thaw it in the fridge for a few days ahead of time. It takes approximately 24 hours to thaw every 1.5kgs/3.3lbs of turkey.

2 - Dry brine the turkey for between 1 and 3 days in the fridge uncovered.

3 - You don't need to wash the salt away from the turkey, just brush off any excess salt before rubbing with the butter.

4 - Take the turkey out of the fridge 2 hours before you want to start roasting it. It will cook perfectly with the temperature estimate above as the chill will be taken off it.

5 - I always roast using a rack at the bottom of my roasting pan. Make sure to add water on the bottom of the pan so that the juices don't burn. Add enough water but don't let the bottom of the turkey touch the water.

6 - Some people start the turkey off on a higher temperature to brown it and then drop the temperature. For this butter cheesecloth we roast it at a consistent temperature and it will naturally brown when cooked through. But we also have the option at the end to uncover the turkey to make it brown.

7 - Some people recommend roasting turkeys breast side down to keep the breast moist but with the butter cheesecloth this traps in the moisture from the steam and avoids having to turn a turkey which isn't easy when the turkey is heavy and hot!

Serve the turkey with homemade cranberry sauce. Make sure to try my turkey leftover rolls with any leftover turkey!

How To Carve a Turkey

Tip: use a very sharp, large chef's knife for carving - I always sharpen my knives before carving a big roast. Wearing disposable gloves also helps keep things clean.

DRUMSTICKS & THIGHS - The first step is to remove the drumstick and thighs. Slice through the skin between the leg and breast and you will see that the drumstick and thigh (maryland) come off easily. Turn the maryland upside down so you can see where the drumstick ends and the thigh begins and separate the drumstick by cutting. Place the drumsticks on a serving platter and then shred the thigh meat and add these to the platter.

BREASTS - Cut the breasts away starting at the top and going down the centre on the side of the breast bone. Slice the breast against the grain in thick or thin slices (this makes the meat more tender to eat). Using your knife, lift the breast slices onto the platter. Repeat with the other breast.

WINGS - Remove the wings last (these help balance the carcass of the turkey on each side) and add these to the platter. Remove the "oysters" from the turkey and other nice, juicy meat pieces and shred with hands and add to the shredded meat.

Perfect Roast Turkey Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 1-3 days dry brining time

Cooking time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Serves: 6-8 people

Start this 2-3 days ahead of time

Ingredients Needed

• 3kg/6.6lbs turkey

Brine

• 1.5 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried sage powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Basting Butter

• 150g/5ozs salted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

For Butter Cheesecloth

• 250g/8.8ozs melted salted butter
• 1 square metre/3.3 square foot cheesecloth

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 DRY - Remove any extra fat, neck and giblets from the turkey and pat dry with paper towels on the skin outside and inside the cavity. Place three layers of paper towels underneath a rack in a baking dish and place the turkey breast side up on the rack.

Step 2 BRINE - Mix the salt, sage and black pepper together. Slide a spoon between the skin and the breast and add some seasoning there too. Rub the seasoning all over the turkey and place in the fridge uncovered for 1-3 days.

Step 3 BENCH - On the day you want to roast the turkey, take it out of the fridge and leave on the bench for 2 hours to take the chill off.

Step 4 MIX - Mix the butter, maple syrup, garlic powder and onion powder together. and melt the butter for the cheesecloth.

Step 5 BUTTER - Preheat oven to 180C/350F conventional or 160C/320F fan forced. Brush the excess salt from the turkey, remove the paper towels from under the rack and replace the rack in the pan. Using gloved hands rub butter between the skin and the breast and all over the turkey. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Dip the cheesecloth into the bowl of melted butter, fold over 4 times and cover the bird entirely tucking in the sides.

Step 6 ROAST - Add 1-2 cups of water to the bottom of the baking tray but don't let the water touch the bottom of the turkey. Calculate roasting time per weight of bird (20 minutes for every kilo/2.2lbs of turkey plus 80 minutes). I check on the turkey every 45 minutes and baste it using the juices. Make sure to rotate the turkey halfway too to ensure even browning.

Step 7 BROWN - In the last 15 minutes, if the turkey needs a bit more browning on the breast remove the cheesecloth and let it brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest covered with the cheesecloth for 30 minutes.

Personal Note

When I was carving the turkey, Teddy Elliott was right by my side. It's funny, because Milo is allergic to poultry and beef so he doesn't bother coming to the kitchen when he smells it because he has learnt that he doesn't ever get any. But not Teddy, he planted himself firmly next to me patiently sitting in the hopes for some turkey.

Our neighbours Vic and Nicki and their girls absolutely love Teddy and Milo. The girls want a dog of their own but Vic and Nicki are approaching the idea cautiously as the girls are very young and they know that they'll end up doing most of the work with the dogs and they have two busy careers so they weren't sure if they would have time. Also Nicki hasn't had a lot of experience with dogs so she is a bit wary of them.

We were away one night at a hotel staycation so Mr NQN asked if they wanted to look after Teddy and Milo. They happily accepted and Vic and Nicki actually kept the sleepover as a surprise from the girls.

Both girls are super gentle with the dogs. They sent us lots of pictures of the girls and the dogs which we love because as a dog parent, any pics of your "kids" while away is great. Older sister Eleanor is a bit shyer than her younger sister Sarah who is more outgoing.

I knew the girls loved Teddy because he is tinier and very sedate while Milo is a bit bigger, stronger and energetic and loves attention. I was worried that Milo might be left out of the action because all I got were pictures of Teddy.

But like our house, the dogs pick their favourites based on personality. "It seems Milo absolutely loves me, and the feeling is mutual!" messaged Vic. My son Milo became a favourite of Vic and Sarah who are more outgoing while Mr NQN's son Teddy became the favourite of Nicki and Eleanor, the quieter members of the family!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you roast turkey very often? Have you ever heard of the butter cheesecloth method?

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