Homestyle Turkey, the Michigander Way

This is a wonderful recipe for beginners as well as the experienced cook. I put this bird in the oven, went to the movies, came back to a moist succulent turkey. It's that easy. I put butter under the skin of the legs too (in total I use 1 cube for the entire bird). I also add black pepper to the seasoning. Every bite is moist!! You can't go wrong!! Lots of wonderful pan juiced to make gravy with. Superfine flour called "Wondera" by Gold Medal is a must for new cooks. Your gravy will be lump free. Taste your gravy after you have thickened it to see if you need to add anymore salt and pepper. If too salty, just dilute with water and a little more flour...until it tastes good. Easy gravy!

We had an early Thanksgiving feast this year with family and at the last minute, my sister, who was supposed to bring the turkey, went to the hospital and I told her not to worry about a thing. I have never cooked a turkey before and had no idea what I was doing! I looked up "turkey" on this site and found this recipe. I read some reviews and decided this was it. I had a 23 pound turkey so I doubled the recipe and threw it in the roaster while it was still a bit frozen. This was at 9:00pm the night before the feast. Then I forgot about it, didn't even have time to baste it at all the next day. We didn't wind up eating until after 1:00. About 10 minutes before we ate, I took the tin foil off and prayed it was good. Not only was it good, it was juicy and fell off the bone!!! I think I should also say that when I read the recipe, I thought you had to cut the skin to get the butter on the meat itself, but my husband pointed out that the recipe did not say to "cut" the skin. He got under the skin and pulled it from the meat really easily and I think that's what you're supposed to do. I didn't know that, since this was my very first turkey. My family requested that I "volunteer" to do the turkey from now on. Thanks so much for posting this recipe! Now I know how to cook a moist, delicious turkey!

This recipe turned out great! I added 1 tsp. garlic powder to the water along with the bouillon, parsley and onion. Put fresh rosemary under the breast skin with the butter. Also placed a quartered lemon and quartered onion inside the cavity. Used a 12 lb. bird as recommended and it was done in 3 hours. Allowed it to rest 20 minutes before carving. Be sure to spray the foil with cookong spray.

If you customize this recipe for a larger turkey....DO NOT INCREASE THE SALT TO THE RECOMMENDED PORTION. Season it as you would to your personal taste. I made this mistake and my gravy was sooooo salty. Big mistake!

I had never cooked a turkey before, and decided to try this recipe when I made Thanksgiving dinner for 28 people! EVERYONE loved it, and some even said it was the best they'd ever had! I've used it every year since. Using a cooking bag really helps to seal in the flavor, making the meat very moist. I also like to make a butter mixture with garlic salt, and use that to make the breast meat juicy and flavorful.

My Thanksgiving turkey was the BEST turkey I have ever tasted, and the family RAVED over it. Before you place the butter under the skin, do this... take an entire stick of butter (or more depending on the size of your bird) and place it in a food processor or blender. Blend in a handful of fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme. Spread this mixture beneath the skin of the ENTIRE turkey. If any butter is remaining, spread it over the top of the turkey. Be liberal in your buttering of the turkey... it's worth it, and it's the holidays!! DO NOT add the parsley to the mixture you pour over the turkey... it makes a clumpy, ugly mess. Otherwise, this recipe is fantastic. It will make the juiciest, tastiest turkey ever, and the gravy you will make with the drippings will be like nothing you have ever tasted. I also used the "Out of This World Turkey Brine" found on this site one day before roasting. Then I used the "Cranberry, Sausage, and Apple Stuffing". Amazing. I will cook every turkey this way from now on.

I don't eat turkey, but coooked this for the big family Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone loved this, even my mainly vegetarian niece who tried a little bit. My sister said the meat was so tender it melted in her mouth and hubby was able to use the cooking liquid to make a killer gravy! Instead of dried minced onion, I threw in some freshly minced shallots and garlic then stuffed it with the Awesome Sausage, Apple and Cranberry stuffing. What a perfect pair!

I cannot believe I forgot to rate this. I made this for Thanksgiving. My second time ever making turkey. THIS is BY FAR The BEST turkey I have ever had. All anyone could say is how great it was. It actually was not dry and had flavor. I put a little more butter than it called for under the skin and rubbed butter over the top. And basted as prescribed. AWESOME the ONLY turkey recipe we will ever use.

I used this recipe to make my first turkey tonight and it turned out excellent. I used an 18lb butterball turkey with the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 hours. I also created an incredible gravy from the the drippings & liquid. Next time, I think will also use some garlic! I highly recommend this recipe.

This is the best turkey I've ever tasted! I made it for company and everyone loved it!! I had a 12lb turkey and cooked it for exactly 3 1/2 hours. I lined the bottom of a roasting pan with foil, put turkey and broth, then covered the pan and turkey with a big paper bag. I took the bag off the last hour. The gravy I made with the broth was so good!! Everyone was snorting as they ate. I'll never use any other turkey recipe again!

Wow, easy and great! And moist! Last year I made "Perfect Turkey" from this site, which required both brining and turning over during cooking. Don't bother with either! Make this much-easier and just-as-good turkey instead! The only changes I made were to put the turkey on a bed of onion, celery & carrot chunks, and to stuff a few pieces of the above plus a chopped apple into the cavity. None of these veggies are eaten, but they give the turkey and juices a great flavor. Don't use the cooking times in the recipe as my 20-lb bird took only 4 hours.

The turkey in this recipe definitely comes out moist with good flavour. However I like a nice rich gravy and all the chicken stock watered it down too much. I had to doctor the gravy with seasonings and browning sauce. Next time I might try less stock and add it a little at a time to allow the juice in the bottom of the pan time to brown.

Well, this is a very easy to fix turley recipe and definietly one to try again. However, the time alotted for cooking is definitely way off - I had a 14 1/2 pounder that cooked much, much faster than I expected - my bird was 2 1/2 pounds larger than the recipe called for and was done before 3 1/2 hours were up. I wish I had checked the bird earlier - I never dreamed it would be ready so quickly. This was the first year I had to rush around to get the fixings done on time while the turkey waited. Usually, I'm still waiting for the turkey and my fixings are all sitting on the table! I'd recommend checking your bird after 2 hours and every 1/2 after that until it is done.

Great recipe, thanks! This was the most tender and moist turkey we have had. Be careful not to let it overcook though, it cooks fast! My 12lb, unstuffed turkey was done in about 2-1/2 hours. As a personal preference...I'd rather do the browning at the beginning of the cooking time, then cover for the rest of the cooking time. So that the turkey can be taken out as soon as it's done, instead of taking a chance on it drying out while you're waiting for it to brown.

This will be the 5th year making a Thanksgiving dinner with this recipe and I have yet to be disappointed. The only change I make, is that I cook the turkey (usually around 17-24lbs) inside a Reynolds turkey-sized bag and place all of the ingedients inside the bag as written. I follow the cooking time instructions listed for the cooking bag. The turkey is always extremely moist and there are always tons of drippings for gravy. It usually takes me 2 1/2 - 3 hours, which is a little quicker.

Wonderful recipe. Made is exactly as directed! But...can anyone help me out?? When I make it for Thanksgiving next week, I will be using a 16 pound turkey. How long would I cook it in order for it to not dry out? I almost always cook my poultry too long :(

I tried this recipe last year (my first turkey all by myself)...it was AWESOME!! The meat was so juicy and tender! I am making this again this year. I added two things of my own, which I learned from watching my parents every year. I put the butter under the skin like the recipe says, but then I also rub the whole bird with butter. I also put strips of bacon on top during the last hour or so. The bacon cooks right onto the skin and makes it so yummy. This is definetly a great recipe. You can cut down on the water a little bit. Other than that...it's great!!

My confusion is if you cover the bird itself with foil, or if you make a foil tent. It isn't very clear. If someone could please help with that, I would appreciate it. Looking forward to preparing this for Thanksgiving.

I make this every year. I first reviewed it in 2003 under Dylnic. I wanted to add I use HERB OX chicken boullion granules. It is the best. Nice and flavorful and has herbs in it. Secondly if you are hesitant about the amount of seasoning salt I never measure much. Just sprinkle like you would any other thing to season to your tasting. I go crazy with the butter. I put under all skin I can and even rub all over the bird.. We love this recipe. The only turkey I will make. Of coarse I don't let mom know how I make it because she just looks at me funny when I said boullion. lol. I can't wait to cook this in two days again. As others said if you have a bigger bird you don't neccesarily increase the seasonings. Except maybe a little more boullion and water. Sometimes I use a can of swansons broth. 10 years later still making it every year for Thanksgiving.

Like another reveiwer, I used chicken broth instead of water. Delicious, moist and many compliments. I mixed the soft butter with garlic powder and sage then placed it between layers of saran wrap, formed it into a roll, then put it in the freezer to firm up. When ready to use, simply cut the roll into coin-sized pieces and place each "coin" in a different spot between skin and turkey. Yummy!

I made this recipe for my first Thanksgiving dinner with my hubby. It was my first time cooking a whole bird (I'm used to cooking filets) but this came out wonderfully!!! I tried this recipe again the following year and it didn't turn out as well, I think because the first time around I had used a covered roaster. That is the trick!!! The turkey comes out so much more juicy if you use a covered roaster, as opposed to a foil tent...

This was really good. I didn't have minced onion so I used a small minced yellow onion. I used a whole stick of butter under the skin and it was very moist. I added 2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 c cold water and extra water to make about 4 cups to the pan drippings and it made delicious gravy. Yum!

To make pockets in a turkey (or chicken) you gently seperate the skin over the breast so that there is a pocket between the meat and the skin. You can use your fingers or the end of a wooden spoon. Be careful not to tear the skin. Then, smoosh the butter into the pocket between the skin and meat. Hope this helps!

I made this a few weeks ago and it was the best turkey I have ever made! It was so moist and full of flavor. I made the recipe "as is" but the next time I make it the only change I will make is cutting down on the seasoning salt. With 2 tablespoons the drippings were so salty that my gravy was almost ruined, I had to keep adding water to try and dilute the salt. About 1/4 or 1/2 of this amount will be what I try next time.

This recipe is VERY good. I think the reason it works is because it is basically being steamed not roasted. It says cover with foil and I take that to mean completely covered (sealed) not just a foil tent. It cooks quicker this way too and once you take off the cover browns up beautifully at the end. There are so much drippings for gravy it's awsome and delicous too!. I was leary about putting so much seasoned salt on the skin so I just put a little bit. The only thing that would be good is a rack in the pan to keep the turkey out of the liquid but it's still not a huge deal. I hope lots more people try this method. Thanks Robin

Awesome recipe...Very similar to the one I usually use except I do add garlic powder to it and I cook it 2/3 of the time with the breast side down and then the final stretch I turn it. This eliminates the need to baste and still gives the skin plenty of time to crisp up and get golden...

Like many other reviewers this was my first turkey ever. It was awesome!!! I buttered under and on top of the skin. Salt and pepper the whole thing. Because I had a 20 pound turkey I used more than was called for of chicken bouillon, minced onion and minced parsley. I put one cut up apple, half an onion, three cloves of garlic and lemon juice in the turkey. I covered with foil and cooked one hour at 375, two and a half hours at 325 and the last hour at 300. I basted twice and left the foil on the entire time. The turkey was moist and brown. We had 12 adults and 7 children. Everyone ate and my family of five has had leftovers the past two days. Wonderful recipe! You should make it!

Made this the last two years for Thanksgiving, it was fantastic! I cook the turkey upside down in the pan covered in foil, and then remove the foil and cook right side up for the last hour so the skin can crisp up. I cook a 22 pound turkey so I double everything. Perfect!

First off, Thank you for this recipe Robin. I have never made a turkey before and when i read the recipe i thought.. it seems so easy.. and basic.. how can it bee so good? well i was making my first full turkey dinner with all the fixings including the dressing and giblet gravy. My turkey was 12.6lbs.. i put it in the oven at 4:30am for timing purposes and the only thing i did different was followed my sister in laws suggestion to bake at 325 for longer, so i did, and for 5 hrs. then took foil off and cooked an additional 30+ min to brown the turkey. it looked beautiful and i had about 8 cups or so of broth in the pan that i was able to use for my dressing and gravy. All were delicious and got rave reviews. talk about feeling proud. everyone mentioned how moist the turkey was and asked.."how did you get it so moist!?" all i could say cause i wasn't sure.. haha was that the recipe said that the butter under the skin was suppose to have made it moist. ha whatever it was it was GREAT! and from my experience i find no reason to find another recipe for baking a turkey or making turkey another way..

Cooked for over 7 hours and never got done. Was forced to through in the trash. Will never use again.

I used this recipe last Thanksgiving to roast a turkey in my roaster oven. I really wanted to save oven space for other things. I brined the turkey overnight using 2 cups kosher salt dissolved in 2 gallons of water. I then rinsed and dried it very well and followed the rest of the directions for this recipe. My 13 pound turkey was done in 2 hours with my roaster oven set to 350 degrees. It was very moist and flavorful. My husband (not usually a big roasted turkey fan) really loved it and claimed it was the best he'd eaten. I used a meat thermometer in the thigh and was careful not to overcook the turkey (go for 180 degrees). What a relief it is to me to have a recipe that really works in a roaster oven!

I made this for Thanksgiving dinner 2006. It was very easy and turned out an extremely moist, delicious and flavorful turkey. The pan drippings made an excellent gravy, too. I added a can of chicken broth, half & half and freshly ground black pepper and let it reduce. Then, I added a bit of flour to thicken and whisked it for about 5 minutes. No need to add salt because of the saltiness of the bouillon cube. I got RAVES!

This recipe is great..thanks Robin. I would like to help answer a question for Nikka about the dressing. You can keep it really simple with 3 ingredients. Bread, butter and poultry seasoning. Tear up the bread into chunks, season it and add chunks of butter to hold it together. Stuff it in the bird and enjoy. You can add anything to this basic dressing, garlic, onions, celery, cranberrys. Whatever you like. Some people put sausage in their's, you can't go wrong. Just make sure you use lots of seasoning and butter. It will be great. We like it plain because my husband does not like garlic or onions. Hope this helps.

This turkey was so good my family is still talking about it one year later. Needless to say I am in charge of the bird this year for the family!

This was my first turkey and it was a huge hit!

I halved this recipe and used it for a turkey breast since it was just 2 of us eating it, and it was the best turkey I've ever had! I was impressed by how juicy the meat was the most. I'll be using this recipe for many thanksgivings to come!

This was an awesome recipe! Very tasty and moist. Thumbs up!!!!!

This was absolutely to die for!! This was the first turkey I have ever made & I had to feed 25 people! I got a 22lb turkey, and just doubled everything. Basted it about 4 times in my 6 hrs of cooking. The most juicy, tender turkey I've had! I got SO many praises! Plus the juices made gravy that had incredible flavor! Thank you for making my life easy! I will always make it this way from now on :)

Delicious! Moist, juicy, tender...yum. It did take the entire time in the oven, I think that my husband started it prematurally (it was still a bit frozen, a no-no to me). Great recipe, thanks Robin!

This was a very easy recipe to follow and made a great gravy when the drippings were thickened with flour and water. However, my turkey was exactly 12 pounds and was done in 2 hrs 15 minutes, so 4-5 hrs is way too long. I will definitely be doing turkey this way from now on.

I can't believe it! This has to be one of the best turkeys I've ever made. It was sooo moist and delectable and the skin was beautifully browned. Do not hesitate.

This turkey turned out delicious! The butter made it juicy, the broth kept it moist, the seasoning was wonderful! Will be using this recipe again.

My family was naturally terrified when I said I was cooking the turkey for thanksgiving..! I shut them all up! Not only was this the first thanksgiving turkey I cooked.. i heard from them its the best they have had. PERFECT!

My husband came from a family that loved to cook. Everything they cook is great. This was my first Thanksgiving turkey to ever make and I was very nervous because I had a big shoe to fill. He thought it was the best turkey he has ever eaten in his whole life! 5 stars! It was delicious.

I used this recipe to make my first turkey ever last year. As a first-timer, I was very nervous about how it would turn out . It was delicious and juicy! I wish I still lived in the same state with all of my family because they definitely would have been impressed!

This is a wonderful basic recipe to tweak to personal preference. I also drizzle and rub melted butter and olive oil on the skin and use salt & pepper instead of seasoning salt. I'm very conscious of skimming all the fat off the drippings before making the gravy.

Don't know what I did wrong but this was done WAY too early (2 hrs in the oven and the meat thermometer was hitting 200 degrees). Maybe the directions for covering the bird with foil assume the cook will be making a tent with both ends open. I covered the entire roasting pan with foil. When it was (over) done I had a very moist product that was swimming in the water I'd added (as per the recipe to my understanding). Since there are so many 5 star raves about this I'll conclude the fault lies with myself. I'd appreciate any feedback on what to do the next time. But until then I DO NOT plan on using this recipe again.

This is the best turkey that I have ever prepared. However, if I had cooked it for 4-5 hours, it would have been extremely over done! I recommend using a meat thermometer to check for doneness. My turkey was done after 2 hours...and very delicious.

I have made this dish several times and it is amazing! The only thing I have changed was that I used 1/2 of a finely diced onion and I used kosher salt and ground pepper instead of seasoned salt. I've bumped the butter to 8 tbsp, but that's only becuase I was using a 15 lbs bird.

Very savory and moist! I make this in my 20-quart electric roaster, and it comes out perfect! I've used this same recipe for Thanksgiving two years in a row. I just decided to review it now because my 11-year-old son (out of the blue yesterday) asked me to make the same turkey for Thanksgiving again this year (it's only January, mind you, but he must have been having some fond memories of eating that turkey at Thanksgiving!).

Just wanted to add my review. I made this turkey last year and it was fabulous! After it came out of the oven, we couldn't resist sampling the turkey because it looked and smelled wonderful. However, after dipping our bites of turkey into the AMAZING pan drippings, we found it almost impossible to stop! lol I will definitely be making this turkey again (with no tweaking) and will not bother to recipe-shop any longer. Happy Cooking! :)

Sometimes simple is best and this is a perfect example! My family loves this recipe and it is a must every Thanksgiving. Moist, tasty, and very easy! For a nice taste contrast, serve with the Awesome Sausage, Apple and Cranberry Stuffing from this site.

I've made this a couple of times and it came out perfect this time. Moist on the inside and golden on the outside. I exchanged the water for half broth and half wine. Also added some other spices as suggested by others (salt, garlic salt, celery salt, pepper and poultry seasoning) Oh and rubbed outside with olive oil before salting.

VERY yummy and moist! Even my husband who hates white meat (says it is too dry) ate some and said it was delicious. The cooking time is definitely off though as my 12 pound bird was done in about 2 1/2-3 hours. I let it sit on warm for a little longer and kept drizzling the brother over it. My one complaint is that there was SO much broth that it made the stuffing soggy inside the turkey (the turkey was completely falling apart on the bottom because it was so juicy) and we ended up throwing the stuffing away. I will put it on a bed of veggies next time as others have suggested. My one change is that I added red peppers on, in, and around the turkey. I love the taste and it turned out wonderful. Great turkey recipe--will make again!

After Thanksgiving got a 23lb turkey on a great sale. I'm 26 and it was my first time ever making a turkey! This turkey turned out better than my Momma's! The difference between this recipe and Momma's is inserting the butter between the skin and turkey breast for that extra juicy, tender white meat. You could eat it without a knife. This is my go-to recipe for turkey from now on. As a first time turkey maker I would like to share my mistakes for other first timers though. My bird was nearly twice the size of the recipe's. So I doubled all the ingredients. This can be problematic when doubling the amount of water used if using an aluminum roasting pan just the size for the bird. While there is plenty of room for the water at first, as the turkey bakes it loses some juices, causing the liquid in the pan to rise and spill over the top of the roasting pan brim. This means you will have to bake the turkey longer than the recommended time, due to having to open the oven to clean and remove liquid as you go. Otherwise, an easy, simple and delicious recipe!

Good little recipe on the fly....I didn't have parsley so I threw in a bunch of other stuff instead (rosemary, thyme, basil, sage, garlic, bay, etc) it was nice and juicy and the juices made a WONDERFUL gravy!

THIS TURKEY ROCKS!!! Normally I do not like turkey, it's bland and dry but.. even I enjoy it prepared this way. The only thing I changed was to lay several stalks of celery, a medium onion cut in very large dice and a handful of baby carrots on the bottom of the roasting bag* and into the cavity before I baked it.. the gravy made from the drippings was awesome! Thank you :) * I always use roasting bags to save time on clean up.

Turned out really good!

I was incredibly please with how this turned out. I cooked two birds yesterday using this recipe and they turned out perfectly. However, don't use the 180 degree methodology, 165 is fine and is what's recommended by the USDA. All the meat is white and cooked through and is really, really moist. Just fantastic and easy recipe.

OMG!! I used this recipe for my Thanksgiving turkey and it was the absolute best turkey I have EVER cooked!!! I made the recipe exactly as written except I decreased the seasoning salt to 1 tablespoon instead of 2. I used a 12 pound turkey and I not only put lots of butter between the skin and the breast meat but I also slathered butter all over the outside of the turkey. My family absolutely loved it and they are not usually big turkey fans. It was the most flavorful, moist turkey I have ever eaten. I was so proud!! Thank you Robin C. for such a wonderful recipe!!

Really worth the 5 stars! I tried another turkey recipe from this website last year that involved a lot of hoopla (putting onions inside, pouring champagne over the bird, doing all kinds of complicated stuff - and it turned out disappointing) so my boyfriend and I were SO HAPPY when we tried this and it turned out DELICIOUS. First off, let me say that I absolutely HATE a dry bird. In fact, I set the timer on the oven to 3 hrs (instead of 3.5-4hr) and checked the bird at 2hrs 40minutes and found that it was ready to come out. The flavor was excellent, the bird was completely moist... this is the bird you want to make for thanksgiving to wow your relatives. Even though we were both stuffed, we were still picking pieces off while putting it away. The only thing I will do different next time is instead of pouring the juices down the drain, pour some of them over the meat after we've carved it up for even extra flavor and moisture or to make a gravy. YUM.

I have been using this recipe for 5+ years. It always produces a moist delicious turkey.

Absolutely the best recipe I have found to make a Thanksgiving turkey. Make sure that the turkey rests on a rack and not on the bottom of the roaster pan, otherwise the turkey meat will fall apart and off the bones when removing the bird from the pan!

New twist on our family's Thanksgiving

Absolutely divine. This was my first time cooking a turkey, and I was VERY nervous, but I used this recipe, based on the awesome reviews and it turned out GREAT. I had to make a couple tweaks, based on what I had available, but I think that this recipe would be even better the original way. I had to use beef boullion instead of chicken, which I was worried about, but it wasn't a big deal. Also, make sure you use a sturdy roasting pan for this, since the liquid makes the turkey very heavy and hard to carry!! This was the most moist and delicious turkey I've ever had, with perfectly crispy skin. YUM.

Fantastic. I chose this recipe to guide me through making my very first turkey and it came out amazing. I used a 19 pounder, but kept all the amounts the same, except using more butter to distribute throughout the skin. Added garlic and onion powders to the liquid (used broth instead of water & bouillon) and stuffed the cavity with a quartered onion. Great flavor, moist meat. YUM! Thanks!

I cannot rate this recipe high enough!! This is quite literally the best turkey recipe I have ever used. It is my fail safe. I have been using this recipe since I think 1999 when I did my first Thanksgiving as an adult. I've used it every year and the turky comes out perfect every single time. Everyone raves about my turkey! If you're unsure which recipe to use, USE THIS ONE!! You will not be disappointed!

Cook it in a bagI I cannot say enough good things about those! Decreased my cooking time and oh man was this a moist yummy turkey, I've used it 3 holidays in a row now!

This is a great turkey recipe! I had a slightly smaller turkey and reduced the proportions to match. One small suggestion: if you are brining your turkey at all (marinating it in a salt mixture for 24 hours) do NOT add all the salt to the basting mixture, it makes the legs and wings too salty. Also, if using the drippings for gravy, use water and not too much of the drippings or you'll run into the salty issue again. Otherwise, absolutely delicious!

This was excellent and easy. used a 16 lb turkey for my family and used chicken stock instead of water and bullion.

Perfect and tasty. I will definitely use this recipe again next Thanksgiving!

The Best turkey ever! I mean this thing was so juicy and perfectly cooked. I had about 6 cups of gravy too! Wowee!

this is the first time i ever made a turkey, and it turned out great! everyone loved, and complimented on how moist it was; the great thing about it, is that the recipe was so easy! i did however put some fresh onion, and celery inside the cavity of the 12lb turkey. All in all it turned out great!

Outstanding! I brine soaked the bird for 24 hours then roasted it with this recipe. The only problem was carving, the bones kept pulling out of the meat! Very tender and juicy with a very nice flavor. Almost too simple to make this nice a bird. Thanks Used this recipe again at Easter; another delicious bird. Almost a foolproof recipe and I sure appreciate that on a busy holiday afternoon.

Fool proof and excellent! I was so excited since this was my first time making a turkey. I will only make it this way from now on. I stuffed mine with 2 onions for flavor. YUM! Only thing is that I would take it out of the oven when the Turkey reaches 175 and let it sit for a half hour since it still cooks once you take it out.

OMG!!!!! enuff said!

All out the be best-tasting turkey I've ever made. I've used this recipe two years in a row and both times the turkey was moist and delicious. HOWEVER... the breast comes out so tender and moist it just falls apart. You don't get those hearty, meaty slices... just kind of crumbly bits. The dark meat comes out superbly. Also, I want to agree with others. Putting the turkey in for the 4 to 5 hours specified in the recipe would incinterate it. Mine was done in 1 1/2 hours and was kept at perfect temperature (according to two different oven thermometers).

We made this as our first turkey for Thanksgiving. It was absolutely delicious - it couldn't have turned out any better. Followed the recipe exactly. The only thing we did differently was to stuff a whole onion inside the bird. Thanks!

This was my very first attempt at making the holiday bird and it turned out pretty fabulous. Instead of mixing all of the ingredients and popping it in the oven, I chose to brine it in a bag for about 12 hours prior to cooking it. I opted to use real onion instead of dried onion and also chopped fresh celery and minced garlic in the bag as well. When it was time to put the turkey in the oven, I just dumped the contents of the bag in the pan with the bird, injected the butter/parsley, and cooked it according to the directions. WORKED LIKE A CHARM! I will make this again.

This was my first try at making a turkey (or chicken for that matter). I added a quartered lemon, orange, onion, celery and carrot in the cavity. It was excellent. I started roasting it too late to eat for dinner so my husband and I were going to carve it up and freeze it for quick dinners in the future. We ended up eating a lot of it standing around the roasting pan at 10pm in the evening. I saved the juices and made soup the next day. Excellent recipe!!!

my first ever turkey endeavor, and a total success. my big-eatin older brother actually proclaimed unprovoked: this is the best turkey i've ever had. simple and delicious. good this recipe is a breeze and yields great results.

I made this turkey a few years ago after I first got married. I was having my husband's family over for Thanksgiving. As a vegetarian, I hadn't had turkey forever and didn't have any recipes for it, so I just picked a recipe with a lot of good reviews. OH. MY. GOODNESS. All I heard all day long was how wonderful the turkey was and how it was the best they'd ever had. Made it for my family not long after that and the same thing. I was skimming through the reviews a little while ago and was stunned to come across a bad review. All I can think is they must have done something wrong because every time I've made this, people flip out over it- and I come from a family of phenomenal cooks. I was also able to make a perfectly wonderful gravy from the drippings- there were plenty. though my husband said it was a bit salty. I solved that problem by not adding any extra salt as I seasoned it and letting the seasoned salt and bouillon in the drippings do the work. Throw away your other recipes, this one's the way to go. :)

added teaspoon of black pepper and 2 cloves of garlic to liquid mixture. ALso if you aren't putting stuffing into the cavities, put in some fresh peeled fruit instead to keep the turkey from drying out from the inside.

This was my first turkey ever and it came out so great, I never really liked turkey when I was younger it was always dry but this recipe made the moistest turkey I have ever tasted, and it looked so beautiful I didn't want to let them carve it!! (See Picture) I got so many compliments on my turkey and I will definately use this recipe everytime I make a turkey! I did change the Recipe a little I put Cellery Carrots and Onions as a bed underneath and Half on onion and some Garlic inside instead of stuffing, I also covered the whole bird in butter and basted about every hour, But it came out great, Thanx For such a good recipe

AMAZING!!! This is the best turkey recipe that I have ever found. It is amazing as is, just make sure to be very liberal with the butter. I also cover my turkey with foil for about an hour after I take it out of the oven. This really helps to keep the turkey moist.

Can I add more stars???The best Turkey I have ever ever made. It was sooo good. It was tender. I had to slap the wings and legs back on they literally fell off the bird (and Bones). I would not make gravy out ot the remains again without adding a lot more liquid though. It was too saltly. If you do not want to buy an exspensive pumped up bird but atill want a perfect turkey this is the one to try for the Holidays!

This is a good recipe, however, I would recommend cutting down the cooking time for the turkey by at least one hour. Five hours was too long for the size of turkey indicated.

I made turkey for the first time in my life (had never baked much before) and it turned out fantastic! I used a 5.5 pound turkey breast and cooked it covered for 1 hour and uncovered for the rest till the temperature reached 185 degrees (about 1 1/2 hours), basting often. My husband said it was the best turkey he had ever eaten. Most of all, I got my children's seal of approval - they asked for seconds and thirds! Thank you for this wonderful thanksgiving experience.

This was a great recipe but the turkey will be dry (overcooked) if you follow the cooking time in the recipe.

My mom has been making Turkey this way ever since I can remember. She also will mix in garlic powder,basil,oregano into the softend butter adds even more flavor. Also, try sprinkling poultry rub on top before baking. YUMMY!!!

Oh my. I'm now a big fan of Michigan. This was incredible. I had a 10lb Turkey Breast, and used butter and salt w/the warm water and bouillon. 4 cups of stock would be good as well. That was it. Reduced the cooking time a little. I cannot believe how moist this was. Usually turkey, especially just breasts, are dry. No more brining for me. I will use this recipe for Thanksgiving as well. Thanks.

This is SOOOO good!! Meat did literally fall off the bone. I didn't end up basting at all because the first time I pulled off the foil to do so, a bunch of steam escaped so I didn't think basting was necessary. As everyone else has been saying - this makes awesome, flavorful gravy (although quite salty - so I will try some low-sodium ingredients next time). I used the leftover juices (5 cups worth!!) with an Allrecipes gravy recipe (Easy Turkey Gravy by JMOR777). My boyfriend said this was the best turkey he's ever had - and I think I have to agree :) UPDATE: Made this again for Thanksgiving and my dad got to try it this year. HE was even saying it's the best turkey he's ever had! He kept talking about how perfectly it was cooked. (And shoot...I'm only 25 yrs old...if I've perfected my Thanksgiving turkey at 25, I'm pretty sure I'm unstoppable :-P) I did not baste again this year, and I used low-sodium chicken broth. The gravy it made was perfect! Thanks again for this unbeatable recipe.

As a former Michigander this recipe caught my eye, and we weren't disapointed! This was by far the best turkey I've ever cooked or eaten. I did use 4 cups of chicken broth given I didn't have bullion. And, I used onion soup mix instead of the minced onion. I also mixed a variety of seasonings with the butter - sage, seasoning salt, garlic, and some of the onion soup mix - and used this mixture to put under the skin, also the legs. I did cover the entire turkey with a foil tent, sealing it around the roasting pan. Gravey was delicious also! THANKS!!!!

I had never made a Turkey in my life due to a poultry allergy in my home. However, I made one last year for my husband's side of the family. I use allrecipes.com for almost every recipe I cook, so of course, I looked up my Turkey recipe through them also. I am 32 years old and for never making a turkey in my life, I have to say, this was by far, one of the best turkey's I had ever eaten. We did not even have to carve it, it just fell apart. Even the white meat, which I feel is usually dry on most turkeys that I have eaten, was super juicy.I have given this recipe to many people in the last year and will continue to do so. This year my mom is going to cook the turkey,and of course,I emailed her this recipe to follow. Do not pass this recipe up without making it at least once!!!! For any special occasion.I swear by it!!

Easy and extremely good. I've made turkey this way twice, and each time received RAVE RAVE RAVE reviews. I was told by several that it was the best turkey they've ever had! I cook mine in a Reynolds bag and baste every hour. Our 22 pound bird was done in under 4 hours and the meat literally falls of the bone! So moist, so tender and so very, very delicious. Makes a wonderful gravy. Can't recommend enough....I'll never make turkey any other way!

I have only tried this recipe once but thought it was the best I had ever fixed. I will again try it sometime because you never know if it was just a great turkey. The flavor was great in my opinion.

Everyone raved over this turkey. It turned out so moist, tender and flavorful. The bird was too tender to remove from the cooking pan. The meat truly fell off the bones. You can see in the photo what I was able to get out in whole pieces. I cooked this in an enamel roaster pan with the lid on the entire time. My 13 lb bird cooked in only 3.5 hrs and was golden brown toasty looking on the top. Excellent recipe!!! Thanks for sharing.

This was my first Turkey that I have ever made for my husband and I. It was fantastic. Very moist. The only recommendation I have is to tie up those wings and legs so they don't stick to the pan and burn. Any first time cook will love this recipe.

good, but the directions should state "bake until meat thermometer registers 180° F in the thigh; 170° F in the breast." some people complained about the time it took to cook there turkey, note that the amount of time would differ depending on what size bird you use that’s why the temperatures give you the best idea when the turkey is cooked.