Roasting a Turkey

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posted on

November 6, 2024

It’s Thanksgiving Day! Guests are showing up soon, excitement is in the air, and the kitchen becomes alive with activity.

You may be wondering what to do with that turkey sitting in the fridge… when, at what temp, and how long to ROAST it for…

I (Bethany here!) started cooking our family Thanksgiving turkey when I was seventeen years old. Yeah, that first time was a little rough! But my family, as amazing as they all are, ate it anyway and let me try again the next year. Now, eight years later, there isn’t much turkey left from our Thanksgivings because everyone loves the moist, flavorful turkey! (Thanks Mom and Dad for putting up with those dry turkeys and letting me keep trying!)

Last week, we looked at brining a turkey. (If you didn’t see that post, click HERE to learn how to brine your Thanksgiving turkey!) This week, I’ll walk you through the process of roasting the turkey.

What you’ll need:

-1 whole turkey, brined or not (18.5 lb turkey was used for this post)
-Salt
-Seasonings of your choice (optional)
-Onions, carrots, and celery cut into large chunks (optional)
-Roasting pan
-2 Tbsp butter
-Meat thermometer

For a quick run-down on the steps, from frozen to roast:

TUESDAY: pulled turkey out of the freezer to thaw
WEDNESDAY: thawed turkey the rest of the way in cold water
THURSDAY: brined the turkey
FRIDAY:
- 8:00am -- Pulled the turkey from the fridge, drained the brine juices, placed into roasting pan
- 8:15am -- Let the turkey sit out for half hour to keep drying, set over to 325F
- 8:30am -- Melted the butter in a saucepan, brushed the butter onto the turkey skin, and sprinkled salt and/or seasonings on the turkey and inside its cavity
- 9:00am -- Popped the turkey into the preheated oven
- 9:30am, 10:00am, 10:30am, 11:00am -- Basted turkey with juices
- 11:30am -- Stuck thermometer into breast and leg to ensure it was at 165F, removed the turkey from the oven, and let it cool
- 12:15pm -- We ate the turkey!

Here's those same steps with more detail:

I pulled it out of the freezer on Tuesday, let it thaw for a day, and then thawed it the rest of the way in cold water on Wednesday. I then brined it on Thursday so it was ready for Friday (I made it for one of our team lunches on the farm, so I pulled it out of the fridge at 8:00 Friday morning). After draining all the juices from the brine, I placed it into the roasting pan and patted it dry with a paper towel. I also reserved the rosemary, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns from the brine and put those into the cavity. Then, I let the turkey sit out for a half hour to keep drying so I’d get a nice crispy skin while roasting.

While the turkey was drying, I set the oven temp to 325F. Then, I melted the butter in a small saucepan. After the turkey finished drying, I spread it on the turkey skin with a pastry brush. This step helped it brown nicely while roasting and added some yummy flavor! Then, I sprinkled some salt on the skin and inside the cavity. (Don’t use too much here if you brined the turkey as the skin will already have absorbed some saltiness…you could even skip the salt if you brined.) Then if you wish, you could sprinkle seasonings of your choice on the turkey. I usually would do garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and pepper, but some of our team had different allergies so I stuck with just salt for this time. I also didn’t add any vegetables to the cavity for the same reason, but that definitely adds a nice touch!

At 9:00am, I popped the turkey into the preheated oven. Every half hour, I used the pastry brush to baste the turkey with the juices, but otherwise, I was free to work on prepping the other food for our team lunch. I allowed for 8-10 minutes per lb of turkey, and it was finished around 11:30 (about 8 minutes per lb). I stuck the thermometer into both the breast and the leg…I needed it to be 165F for a safe level of doneness, but no more as I didn’t want a dry turkey! All parts of the turkey were at that temp when I inserted the thermometer. If the legs happen to not be quite done yet for you, you can carve those off to keep roasting, but make sure to remove the rest of the turkey to avoid drying it out by overcooking.

I let the turkey cool off for a bit before removing it to a serving platter and reserving the drippings from the pan for my gravy. And ta-da! We had an amazing roasted turkey that the team devoured.

Want to try this out for yourself?

Grab one of our pasture-raised turkeys HERE for the best Thanksgiving turkey you’ve ever had!

If you want to see the full recipe in case you missed one of our previous blog posts, click HERE!

Next week, I’ll show you how exactly to use those turkey giblets. Maybe you’re a bit hesitant to use them - trust me, I was too! But I’ll show you just how delicious and healthy of a giblet gravy you can make, so stay tuned!

Cheers to you and your health!

~Bethany

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Recipes

Egg Nog Recipe (You'll Never Go Back to Store-Bought Again!)

December is definitely my favorite time of year. I love the holiday season. A huge part of that isn’t just Christmas itself, but everything that happens leading up to Christmas. It’s all the little things…frosty mornings, the first snowfall (I grew up in Minnesota, so snow came early!), the perfect Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace, lights twinkling in the windows… and of course, eggnog. If there’s one drink I love most in the world (except coffee, which deserves its own category!), it’s eggnog. Rich, creamy, smooth...with hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla… it automatically makes me think of Christmas. Quite often in December, you can find me curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace, reading a book and enjoying a glass of eggnog. This week, I wanted to share with you my favorite recipe for homemade eggnog. It takes some time to make, but the results are SO worth it! Store-bought eggnog can’t compare to homemade. Whether you want to treat yourself to help get you in the Christmas spirit, or whether you want to have a special treat for your loved ones on Christmas Day, I guarantee you’ll love this recipe! This recipe is a cooked version. While raw eggnog is still mouthwatering, I personally like it cooked better. I think it gets a richer, creamier consistency that is absolutely amazing! One tip for making this recipe is - patience! You can’t rush perfection! Cook your eggnog at a low temp to avoid cooking the eggs too fast. That way it doesn’t get clumps of scrambled eggs or start to taste too “egg-y.” And I promise, the patience pays off! Ready to make your own? Grab the ingredients and follow the recipe below, and bring your eggnog game to a whole new level! Perfect Homemade Egg Nog Recipe What you’ll need: 6 large Whiffletree egg yolks⅓ cup sucanat, coconut sugar, or maple sugar1 cup heavy cream2 cups whole milk1 cinnamon stick1 vanilla bean, or ¼ tsp vanilla extractPinch of salt¼ tsp ground nutmeg (fresh ground nutmeg is the way to go! I just use a lemon zester to grate what I need from a whole nutmeg…otherwise already ground nutmeg works just fine!)Optional: ¼ cup bourbon, whisky or rum Here's how to make it: First, whisk the egg yolks with the sweetener of your choice until it turns a light color and is creamy. Next, add the milk to a medium saucepan and warm over medium-low heat. Once you begin to see steam rising from the milk, measure out one cup of the heated milk. Slowly pour the milk into your egg mixture, whisking the entire time to make sure the milk doesn’t cook your eggs. This helps to temper your eggs, or warm them up so the shock of adding them to the hot milk doesn’t fry them. Next, take the tempered eggs and slowly pour them into your saucepan with the heated milk, again stirring the entire time. Add in the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean, if using. Keep the heat on medium-low. (Don’t get impatient and turn the heat up too high - you’ll cook your eggs too fast and end up with a clumpy mess!) Using a wooden spatula, slowly stir the mixture as it cooks, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to keep bits of eggs from sticking to the bottom. After about ten minutes, you should see the mixture begin to thicken. Test the temperature with a thermometer - you want it to get to 160 F before taking it off the heat. (The mixture will further thicken as it cools in the fridge.) Another way to test the thickness is by dipping your wooden spatula into the mixture and taking it back out - if the egg mixture coats the spatula and doesn’t just run off, it’s ready. But if you’re not experienced making eggnog, use your thermometer to make sure! Once it reaches 160 F, pour the egg mixture through a strainer into a bowl or jar. This will make sure you don’t end up with unpalatable clumps of eggs in your drink. If you used the vanilla bean, cut it in half down the length of it, and use a butter knife to scrape all the vanilla bean seeds from inside the pod. Add that into your egg mixture and whisk to incorporate. If you didn’t use the vanilla bean, add in your vanilla extract. Next, add in the nutmeg. Then cover the mixture and set into the fridge to cool it down. While the egg mixture is cooling, pour ½ cup of the heavy cream into a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream until it thickens and forms soft peaks. Once the egg mixture is cold, add in the whipped cream with the other ½ cup of heavy cream and whisk it together to incorporate. Don’t whisk too fast as you don’t want to break the cream down too much…whisk slowly and just enough to mix the two together. If you want to make it alcoholic, add in a quarter cup rum, whisky or bourbon. And there you have it! The best, most delicious eggnog. It’s so creamy and smooth…you’ll never want to go back to store-bought again! Stop on by the farm store, pick up your eggs, and give this recipe a try! Make sure to let us know what you think! Have you ever had homemade eggnog before? Comment below and tell us how you like to make it! Cheers! ~Bethany

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Roasting a Turkey

You may be wondering what to do with that turkey sitting in the fridge… when, at what temp, and how long to ROAST it for…

What you’ll need:

For a quick run-down on the steps, from frozen to roast:

Here's those same steps with more detail:

Want to try this out for yourself?

More from the blog

Egg Nog Recipe (You'll Never Go Back to Store-Bought Again!)

3 Delicious Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

Turkey Craft

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