A Simply Perfect Roast Turkey

This is the turkey recipe I used when I roasted my first-ever 19lb bird three years ago. It turned out perfectly then and has every year since. My version calls for placing the turkey on a v-shaped rack in the roasting pan. This allows air to circulate under the bird and should address any issues related to the bottom not cooking as thoroughly as the top or being soggy. I have never had to turn the bird over. Other hints: truss the wings under the bird with baking string or wrap in aluminum foil to keep from over-browning. For the rest of the turkey, I place the aluminum foil tightly over the breast-portion only. Then, I remove the foil on the breast 1 hour before the bird is done (my 19lb birds, stuffed, tend to roast in about 5 hours, so I remove at the 4 hour mark). The breast is always beautifully brown and not overdone; very juicy! Baste as directed (every 30 minutes) with turkey or chicken stock. When you check the temperature, be sure you're not hitting the bone; keep it in the fleshy part of the thigh meat. I also check the internal temperature of the stuffing to ensure it's at 160. Standing time is *important.* I rest mine at least 30 minutes, up to 45. It won't get cold--keeps it juicy! I use good quality boxed or homemade chicken stock instead of turkey stock. This is such an easy recipe. You don't need to over-think it or second-guess it. It's worked for me every single time. And...the drippings make delicious pan gravy! Enjoy!

I used this recipe for our Thanksgiving turkey and my family loved it! I put 1/4 cup of butter between the breast meat and the skin, then after each basting I brushed the entire turkey with melted butter. Not the greatest method for calorie counting, but I've never had a turkey so moist. It was incredible!

I made this turkey last year for my first ever attempt at Thanksgiving. It was so juicy that we barely recognized it as turkey! One tip for those who don't have a roasting rack and want to avoid the sogginess that is mentioned, place the turkey on top of whole carrots. The carrots will keep the turkey above the broth, and this way you can use a disposable aluminum roaster. I followed the recipie to a T last year, but this year I'm going to add some citrus in the cavity and some lemon zest and parsely to the butter. This is a great recipie as is, but it is so simple that its easy to add your own flair. The broth in the bottom is really what gets the amazing results!

This is a great recipe to follow for a traditional turkey for the holidays. I never used stock in the bottom of the pan before and it added great flavor to the gravy. I have been making turkey for T-day for 27 years now. I suggest the following additions: choose a fresh turkey, rub softened butter under the skin of the turkey breast too, and put the turkey in the oven @ 425 for the first 1/2 to 1 hour (especially if it is right out of the fridge, or plan on adding cooking time).

This is a great method. As stated in other reviews, definitely cover only the breast portion of the Turkey, and remove an hour before cooking time is finished. One helpful tip is to be sure loosen the skin from the breast, and actually place mayonnaise inside. I found that adding your seasonings and herbs, like sage, paprika, and garlic to mayo helps them to "stick" to the bird better while cooking - it creates such beautiful, brown skin, also. I don't like to have to keep opening my oven and basting a turkey. Every time you open your oven, you can lose up to 20 degrees of heat! To get around this, I peel, core, and slice 1 apple (any variety that I have lying around) and slide the slices under the skin as well. The sweetness of the apple, as it roasts under the skin, handsomely offsets the saltiness, keeps the breast moist, and basting at a minimum. I still baste once or twice, with the drippings that accumulate in the roasting pan, but not nearly as often as I did in previous years. My turkey was excellent, and the gravy was wonderful. Also, If you don't want to stuff the turkey with stuffing, place it in a separate pan to cook, and use turkey stock to moisten. That way, you can fill your cavity with quartered onions, more sliced apples, and celery, adding additional moisture inside, and enhancing the drippings and flavor outside. Hope this helps!

Made this last night. Make sure that you put a bit of butter between the skin and the meat...like another reviewer suggested, and don't forget to baste the turkey. It turned out wonderful and so moist. This is definatly a great basic and easy turkey recipe. Thanks for the post.

If you want a moist bird this is the recipe you've been looking for. EASY & JUICY. Thanks

I love turkey. Most of the time turkey is dry not this one.

This was my first Turkey. It turned out great even for the first time turkey cooker. Don't be afraid to try this one, it was very easy!

This was an easy recipe to follow and came out great. My family was happy that both the dark and the white meat came out moist this time!! Thanks for the recipe...I will be making it again.

This was my first attempt at a turkey and I'm sure I must have done something wrong, but I can't figure it out. I had a 16 lb turkey and followed this recipe exactly. I even set a timer to baste every 30 minutes as instructed. The turkey "looked" perfect, like out of a movie or something. However, after 5 1/2 hours of cooking, this turkey was still not totally cooked.

I used this recipe as a base and adjusted it a little. I cooked a 21lb turkey added fresh chopped sage to the butter and put it under the skin of the breast as well as over the top and seasoned with salt and pepper (inside and out). Instead of stuffing the bird, I heated a whole orange in the microwave for 1 minute and punctured it all over with a knife and placed that inside the bird with fresh rosemary and sage sprigs. I covered the entire roasting pan with foil instead of just the bird, to keep in the broth (this made more seasoned broth for gravy) and basted every 30 minutes, removing most of the foil after about 3 hours. Total cook time was about 5 1/2 hours and turkey was moist and flavorful - got rave reviews from the 20 family members it served! Will definitely make again! Thanks Trudie!

This was my first turkey I made and it was so easy! The meat is so juicy, i was so surprised. I basted every hour for the first 2.5 hours and then for the second half i basted every 30 minutes. Also I put butter, salt and pepper between the skin and the breast meat. I also made gravy out of the drippings and it was also delicious (but a bit salty). I am glad this was so successful since it was my first turkey that I made myself, and I am only 17 years old. woohoo! If this is your first time roasting a turkey I strongly suggest you use this recipe, its pretty hard to go wrong with this. Happy roasting!

Brilliant! I've been cooking turkey's for Thanksgiving for 30 years and this is by far the best recipe. I've always put the foil on after browning but this recipe has you put it on before browning which makes it very moist. I also made the perfect gravy. Finally, I made the Perfect Gravy. Thanks!

Made my first (19 lb) turkey using this recipe and it turned out amazing! Not only did it look like something that should be on the cover of a magazine but even the white meat was so moist you didn't need a knife to cut through the carved pieces! The only changes I made: 1. I used chicken stock (made from a buillion w/o MSG) because I didn't have turkey stock on hand 2. I threw in some fresh rosemary at the bottom of the pan as well as a parsnip, a carrot and a small squash - all cut up in big pieces - which I placed just under the turkey. 3. I used just under the half cup of butter asked for (it just seemed like a lot). Probably used about a tablespoon less. 4. I cooked the turkey to an internal temperature of 170 because I didn't stuff it. Perfect!

I have been making my turkeys for years using this method and it is flawless as long as you baste, baste, baste, and baste often. I prefer the toss away disposable roasting pans and ZI've never had any trouble. I make my own stock to start the ball rolling by cooking the gizzards, neck, etc. in a pot of water and using this water. Pet cats in the house will love you for cooking these otherwise disposable items (not the neck of course). This year I will be trying what other readers have advised and start cooking the turkey breast side down and turning it over for the last hour or so depending on the size. I will also be adding cut up onions to the bottom of the pan. I have found that a good rule of thumb is to gauge the cooking time to at least 20 minutes per pound and adding a little extra time to compensate for the repeated basting. I also have never prepared the turkey by rubbing it down under the skin before cooking and I am excited about doing that this year. I absolutely love this site and so does my family-LOL. I cover the wing tips for the entire cooking time and cover the entire bird with foil until the last hour or so. I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and my thanks to all that participate on this site.

This last year we had Thanksgiving at our house for the first time. It was our first time cooking a turkey and this recipe made us look like pro's! I followed the advice of others (rub butter under the skin and wrap the wings with foil) and the recipes instructions to a T. It was perfect! Everyone asked what recipe we used! Thank you so much for this recipe Syd!

This turkey was awesome! Moist and juicy on the inside. Golden brown on the outside; the only complaint I would have is that when the turkey gets tented in aluminum foil for so long,it tends to take longer to bake.My turkey,which was 12# took 4 1/2 hrs. I've read in other reviews that tenting does extend the bake time,but the results are worth it. You just have to plan on extra bake time. I plan on making it this way again,the next time my meal calls for a delicious turkey :)

This is a simple, delicious, classic way to cook a turkey. Use this recipe as a solid foundation each time you cook a turkey. Experiment with different herbs, and rubs etc. Always keep the ingredients mentioned, but feel free to add some new ones! I always make sure to rub the butter underneath the skin where I can too. Especially right underneath the skin on top of the turkey's breast. Delicious! To the reviewer who stated that her turkey was not completely cooked after 5.5 hours: There is a really good chance that you did not properly thaw your turkey. It is supposed to take almost 5 hours per pound to thaw in the fridge. Some turkeys will even take longer!

I followed this recipie, but used sage and pepper on top of the turkey instead of salt and pepper. The biggest problem I had was the cooking time. I had a 9lbs turkey (if that) and after four - five hours at the temperature suggested it still was not cooked (just the thighs) and not really sure why....

I was strictly looking for time & temp instrux, & as usual, slow&low is the way 2 go! Mine took slightly longer than 4 hrs & I jacked up to 400 toward the end for crispy skin, but still VERY juicy. I used Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning in lieu of S&P. Also, I prefer my dressing baked outside of the bird & stuffed the cavity with an onion, celery stalk & carrot.

This was my first turkey I've ever made by myself, and it turned out amazing. The color was so beautiful. Thank you Syd for making me a star cook this Thanksgiving. (I did follow other suggestions such as adding butter and apple slices under the skin and quartered onions, celery and apples inside the cavity.)

I had fun basting, but my 20 lb turkey took much too long to cook through. Although my turkey spent a week in the fridge defrosting, I suspect it may not have been fully thawed. So instead of having a perfectly golden browned, juicy turkey at 4 to 5 hours of cooking, I had a dry dark brown turkey at 7 hours of cooking. It still tasted good, and the drippings made delicious gravy, but I didn't have the juicy bird I was hoping for. However, I can't find fault with the recipe for my dry bird. Next time I'll try a smaller bird that's completely, undoubtedly thawed.

This was my first time roasting a turkey for Christmas this year, and I have to say this recipe made everything so easy! I did have a self-basting turkey that I got free from the store, but I did rub light margarine inside and out, as well as under the skin, then I brushed the outside with olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, savory, rosemary, thyme, and crushed bay leaves. I put a quarter of a white onion, a quarter of a celery stalk, and a baby carrot in each corner of the roasting pan, along with the turkey stock. I did take one other reviewer's suggestions and put my stuffed 12 pounder in at 425 without covering with foil for an hour, and then turned it down to 325. After another 30 minutes, the breast was nicely browned. I brushed it with more olive oil, and although it was self basting, I still poured some turkey stock over it. I tented the entire pan with foil. An hour later, the turkey was done! The white meat was so juicy, and the gravy only needed cornstarch to thicken -- no seasoning necessary. My in-laws were impressed. A really wonderful experience for a first timer. Thanks for such an easy, straightforward recipe. Editing to add that I did this again last night using a stuffed (bread stuffing) chicken, and scaling the ingredients down to the size I was using. I didn't add the onion, carrot or celery to the drippings because I wasn't planning on making potatoes at first. I never even covered the chicken, and it was delicious in 1 1/2 hrs

I roasted my firrst ever turkey using this recipe and it worked a treat. A perfect, moist bird that was a hit with the whole family. I have to admit, I forgot to baste in the first hour and a half of cooking, but as there was plenty of stock in the roasting pan, it didn't seem to matter. Just lovely.

I had made more complicated recipes in the past (including brining and using elaborate spices) and none of them turned out as perfect as this simple recipe did! It looked beautiful and it was juicy and tender! What an easy, perfectly delicious recipe!

I found this recipe a couple of years ago and I have been using it ever since. My family and I thank you for a awesome turkay day recipe.....

This was my first turkey and it came out beautiful golden and very moist! It was a winner at our table this year!

This was only my second time making a turkey - last year's Thanksgiving was my first (and I forgot to take the giblets out which gave my mother in law a good laugh!). This year it turned out much better! I followed the advice of this recipe and used fresh ground sea salt and black pepper, and in place of the butter sprayed olive oil all over the turkey (much less likely to burn the skin than butter is). The aluminum foil tent worked great because it helped keep moisture in and also kept the skin from browning too quickly. We pulled the tent off with about a half hour cooking time left in the oven. Instead of stuffing this bird with bread stuffing, I did that in the crockpot (see 'Slow Cooker Stuffing' recipe on this website, it worked great!) and in the bird went a few cut up onions and some minced garlic. Smelled amazing while roasting....a 19lb. bird took exactly 5 hours. Also let it rest for a half hour out of the oven. Also, I had a self-basting turkey (one of those free frozen ones that have the 8% broth solution added) so I did not baste at all which made things easy, and used chicken broth in place of the turkey stock for the bottom of the pan. When I want a good old easy standby turkey recipe, this is what I will make. Thank You!

Great way to roast a turkey! I have a roasting pan with a lid. I roasted the turkey with the lid on for the first two hours and then removed the lid for the last part of the cooking time. I rubbed the turkey with butter and added chicken broth to the pan as per the directions. I did not bother with basting the turkey while I had the lid on. I did baste about every 30 minutes after I removed the lid. The result was a very moist bird with beautiful crisp skin. One other suggestion, I like to buy a fresh bird whenever possible.

This was my first time roasting a turkey. It turned out beautifully - a crisp, golden brown skin and very juicy meat. Only complaint is that so much juice stayed in the bird that I had to use chicken broth in my gravy, as there weren't many drippings. Definitely worth it, though - I can't ever remember Thanksgiving turkey being so juicy. Tip: Always let the turkey sit after you pull it out of the oven. I've had turkey carved immediately and carved after a half hour or so, and it's definitely juicier when you give it a chance to rest and reabsorb the juices.

Juicy and delicious

This was so easy and so delicious. My family is still talking about how good it was. Very juicy!!

This is the base recipe I use every year. I alway end up with a beautiful and juicy bird. I add onions on the bottom of the roasting pan and rub season salt all over it.

not that this needs more rave reviews but this came out fantastic. It was my first turkey and I cooked it in an electric roaster, popping it in the oven for 30 min just to brown it a bit more. Came out moist, brown and amazing. I am now the official Thanksgiving chef in my family

I made my first turkey for Thanksgiving. I used this as a base for the cooking aspect as I was unsure of how to cook it. The only things done differently was I used a Cajun seasoning blend made by my local meat market (it is native to the South). I also injected almost a whole bottle of Creole Butter marinade. For basting I used Swanson Chicken Stock (not broth). Poor turkey, he didn't stand a chance once he was out of the oven. The thing was seriously demolished.

This was my first time making a Thanksgiving turkey, and while I was nervous- it turned out to be SO easy and tasted GREAT (very juicy). I followed this recipe but made the following changes: 1. I added a couple carrots, an onion and celery around the turkey in the pan. 2. I also rubbed butter salt and pepper under the breast skin (this was easier to do then I thought it would be.) 3. I only covered the turkey (breast only) with aluminum foil until I had about 2 hours left, and then removed the foil from the breast. The turkey came out PERFECT (looked golden brown evenly on whole turkey) and was also very juicy from basting every 30 minutes. I had a 15 lb turkey and it took about 4 1/2 hours to cook. I used a meat thermometer.

Yes, this is the way I made my turkey last year and will be doing it again. My roaster is an older one and it does not have one of those racks to keep the turkey off the bottom - so I put a few large carrots on the bottom of my roaster and set the turkey on that. Works really well. Not sure where I got that tip - maybe it was here.

Wonderful Crescendo Of Flavor! I Made A Herb butter with rosemary and Garlic To Put Under The Skin. I Also Used Chicken Broth. I Rotated The Bird Half Way Through For Even Cooking. Standing "O"

I used a 15-pound turkey and went easy on the salt because I used salted sweet cream butter. I also added poultry seasoning and black pepper. The only thing I wanted to comment on, really, is the turkey stock-I looked everywhere for premade, canned turkey stock to no avail and there was NO WAY I was going to make my own-so instead, I used Swanson's chicken broth and it still turned out wonderfully! This was the first turkey I've made and I was so happy to have a good guideline to follow. Thank you!

Who would have thought that these tips of stock in the pan and an aluminum tent would make such a difference...but it does! I will be using this method again, and again...

good turkey .....Dont over cook

This was only my second attempt to roast a turkey and I was soooo happy with the results!! The turkey was so unbelievably moist. I don't think I've ever had such a tender and moist bird! My dad always smoked ours outside or my mom has done it in the oven but really I think my bird tasted better than theirs. I had a 14 pounder and it took about 3 hrs 15 mins. I did tent my turkey and put the stock in the pan. I have to admit that I wasn't sure what "tenting" meant so I looked it up and watched a video! I didn't realize that the turkey isn't completely covered; hence the tent. The foil is sealed on both sides but not the ends of the pan. I refilled it a couple of times when it seemed to be evaporating but I never basted it. It was too hard to try and scoop the stock out from the pan since I had my turkey on a rack so I kinda gave up and hoped for the best. I didn't have a thermometer nor did I have a turkey where the little thingy pops out so I was really nervous about it being under and overcooked. My husband said he loved it and he's not a huge turkey fan. I feel so confident now and u will, too, after roasting your turkey this way. Thank u for sharing your recipe, Syd!!!

This recipe was SOOOOOO Deeeelicious!!! Got rave reviews. Very Moist and the pan drippings made the worlds best gravy too! First time ever that the gravy boat was EMPTY at the end of the meal! Highly recommend this recipe! I served it with "Elegant Turkey Stuffing"- also from this site! WINNER!!

Great turkey, moist and delicious!! I have not made a turkey in years so this was helpful.

Just like the name says. Simply Perfect. I used to brine or dry cure my turkey, which was a chore because I have to make a large turkey. But this turns out perfectly every time. I put the neck and gibblets in the roasting pan and there are plenty of juices to make the perfect turkey gravy.

Was my first roasted turkey, usually I make them in one of them oven bags. Meat was very moist, even hubby noticed :) Thank you!

this gets 5 stars because of how easy this is, especially for the first time turkey roaster, like me. my friends and i decided to have an impromptu thanksgiving meal on the hottest day so far this year, and i had to cook the turkey. the bird was so moist and perfectly browned when it was done. i stuffed it with my mom's sausage stuffing and sewed it shut. rubbed it with lots of butter and put butter under the skin between the breast like some other reviewers did. basted every half hour and it took 5 1/2 hour for a 19lb bird. the only thing i did a little differently was to cover the drumsticks for the first hour so they didn't overcook ( my mom said to do that, lol) oh, and i only cooked to 165 degrees and let it carryover for a half an hour. it was perfect. not too dry and cooked all the way through, even the stuffing.this really is a fool-proof method to cook a turkey. use this if you've never cooked a turkey, or if you've never cooked a good turkey. i promise it will come through for you.

AWESOME recipe!!! Very moist turkey. Flavored it up a bit with a seasoned olive oil rather than all the butter suggested. Delicious!

This is a good guide line to follow. I use my giblets from the turkey to boil in chicken stock with onions and celery, for the stuffing. I've really never had to put stock or water in the pan, the turkey makes enough. And using a digital thermometer is so handy, just pop it in the thigh when you start, when it reaches 175* take the turkey out because the tempeture still riseses.

My first roast turkey - This recipe is easy and the turkey came out perfect!

I made this recipe for my turkey last night but because my friend has a dairy allergy, I substituted mayo for the butter rubbed on the turkey. I ended up uncovering it sooner as well to let the mayo melt, maybe after an hour and a half instead of two and a half. The gravy I made with the drippings was one of the best I have ever made. Thanks for the easy delicious recipe!

I used this recipe and the result was very good. I changed a few things: Used garlic & herb compound butter under the skin and all over the bird and put five halved cloves of garlic in cavity and around the birds, as well as chopped onion and four celery stalks. Mine only required 2 cups of stock, maybe because I brained it first. It was very good and beautiful. I had a lot of drippings that made perfect gravy.

First time I cook a turkey and it was just perfect. Very juicy!

This turkey was moist and succulent. I added some fresh sage, rosemary and garlic. I will definately pump up the seasoning next time! A-#1 recipe!

delicious, moist and flavorful turkey. Love this recipe.

Great roast turkey, a little on the plain side. I added a ton of herbs (Thyme, Garlic Powder, Marjoram, Savory, Bay Leaves) to the rub, and it made a big difference.

My turkey turned out very moist. I couldn't find turkey stock, so I bought chicken. I made my own turkey stock by boiling the gizzards and neck with Mrs. Dash table seasoning and garlic. I added a little of the chicken stock to it. My 18 and a halfer took @6 1/2 hrs to cook, so I'm not sure about that 4hrs written for only a half pound less. It was well worth the wait.

This is it !! Just the perfect basic Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe. Send this one on to all the new cooks you know.

I have roasted many turkeys, but this was the best turkey ever! I did make a few changes; I did the first 1/2 hour at 425 and then lowered the temp to 325. I used a mixture of melted butter and olive oil. I used Penzey's poultry seasoning instead of the salt and pepper. I used chicken broth and found I did need to add some every 1/2 hour. Fantastic recipe!

I made this last year at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And both my father-in-law and husband both said that it was the juiciest turkey they had ever had. My rosting pan was larger than the turkey so I had to add a lot more than one to two cups of stock. The recipe was easy to make and will be my holiday turkey recipe from now on.

Holy cow...follow this recipe to a T and you will have a beautiful, golden brown, delicious and juicy turkey!We made this full size at Thanksgiving and again today, only half size, and both turkeys were perfect!!!

I'll try this now as we're having a delayed holiday meal. For Mandy- the general rule for cooking a turkey is 20 minutes per pound and extra for a stuffed turkey. So even an unstuffed 21 lb. turkey might've taken 7 hrs. When basting- if you're not quick about it, it'd be better to remove the pan and shut the oven door to do your basting. This way, you're not constantly lowering the temperature of the oven.

I followed the recipe pretty much except that I didn't add the water/chicken stock to the pan until after drippings had browned quite well. That made for a great gravy. I didn't tent the turkey either, and it turned out quite nicely brown. I spread butter slabs under the skin on each side of the turkey. I think an important thing to do is use a meat thermometer, too. I cooked the turkey until it was 180 degrees in the thickest part of the breast meat. It turned out to be the best turkey I've ever made. It was moist and done just right.

I used this recipe last year. This was my first turkey that I made and everyone loved it. The skin was crisp and meat was juicy....I will be using this again this year.

The results of this recipe were amazing! I did not stuff my turkey, so it cooked in 3.5 hrs - the meat was tender and juicy and very flavourful. A great simple recipe - a keeper, thanks!

My first roast turkey ever and it was perfect! Used the stuffing recipe from another turkey on this site. Placed it on top of carrots. Used chicken broth and didn't need even half as it never dried up. Also, my family is Hispanic so I always add oregano to the salt/pepper mix. The turkey was moist, flavorful, very delightful. My family was quite impressed.

I am usually really pathetic at roasts of any kind - I had actually given up. However, for the first time my husband and kids and I had Christmas at home without other relatives (who usually do the cooking). We had to have turkey! Well - my goodness - this was truly the perfect turkey - and looked like something you see in a cooking magazine. It was a beautiful thing! ;-) If I can have such success - anyone can! Really!!

I don’t know why all the long comments with additional instructions. This recipe is simple and perfect, and it needs no additional instruction. I’ve used this EXACT recipe at least 30 times over the years. It used to say it was submitted by Trudie.

Made his for my first Thanksgiving, it was so SIMPLE and came out PERFECT, got so many compliments!

This was my first time roasting a turkey and it was great! The turkey was moist and tasty.

This is the way I make Turkey every year. I always get rave reviews. I want my turkey to taste like turkey and not all the stuff they have been telling you to put on them on the cooking shows.

Excellent recipe! I rubbed some butter mixed with rosemary between the skin and the breast for extra moistness. I used chicken stock instead of turkey stock and basted every half and hour or so, replacing the stock as necessary. The turkey was SO moist and delicious! It received rave reviews from everyone. A definite keeper!

The only problem was the roasting time was wayyyyyy off...otherwise the turkey was fantastic..very moist

I searched many sites for a good easy basic turkey recipe and this was the best one. My Turkey turned out moist and delicious. I stuffed the turkey with the bread and celery stuffing recipe on this same site and I had a huge hit. Thanks Allrecipes!

I have tried to cook turkeys different ways, different brands, fresh, frozen, organic and wild. I needed some valuable space in my freezer, so out came a free 15# I got last Thanksgiving. Followed the recipe as shown, I got a beautiful centerpiece bird for my 12 guests, that was moist and cooked to perfection. Sad thing, not many leftovers. You cant miss with this recipe.

Very moist. The drippings made a perfect gravy.

I have always made my turkey this way but I put it in a turkey baking bag. The bird browns and is super moist, no basting at all. I also put fruit in the bird not stuffing.

My turkey was so tender it fell off the bone. I used a 7 pound turkey breast, and added 1 tsp. each of sage, poultry seasoning, and seasoned salt to 1/2 stick of butter and placed it under the skin. I put this in my crock pot for 12 hours with chicken stock rather than turkey stock, and cannot say enough good things about how easy and wonderful this tasted. Thanks for making my first attempt at cooking turkey sure to be a repeat performance.

Forget about the aluminum foil tent, unless you like steamed turkey. Instead, soak a clean porous cloth in melted butter and cover the turkey in it. Baste over and under the cloth every 10 minutes. Otherwise this is a good recipe.

This was awsome. The first turkey I ever made and it turned out perfect. I put up the temperature for the last half hour and got a perfect crunchy skin.

This was very good. However since I eat very little of the bottom of the bird, I cooked it for the first couple of hours breast side down. This allows all of my stuffing spices to seep into the breast. I then turn it and continue cooking. Try it. I think you will love it!

Pretty straight forward. My only suggestion is to roast thighs up, and I promise yout turcky will be supremely moist. * must use meat thermometer. * must allow to stand for 15 minutes to rest the meat.

Great recipe, everyone said the turkey tasted great.

Fantastically delicious! This recipe offers my fave method for a juicy, tender and golden brown bird. Since I tried this recipe 2 years ago, my family has me cook the turkey every thanksgiving, christmas and easter, which fills me with so much pride and joy - thank you mum and grandma.

Oh yeah, mine turned out perfect...Thanks!!!!

As is the tradition in my house I baked this turkey the day after Thanksgiving. We go to relatvies houses on Thanksgiving day. The Turkey turned out really well. I froze the leftovers for future meals and it was good then too.

I've tried many different roast turkey recipes over the years, but this is the basic and tried and true. I used a 12 lb turkey and cooked it just under 3.5 hours. Used a large enamel roasting pan and rack and used the roasting lid instead of foil. Basted every 45 min. and uncovered for the last hour. I let it rest 30 min semi covered and it was perfect. I added carrots, celery and onion to the bottom of the pan before roasting and the juices made a beautiful gravy while the bird rested. Thanks for posting this easy and true roast turkey recipe. I have found after all of the variations I have tried, this is simply the best.

Turned out perfectly. I had about 20 guests over Christmas day who agree. Definitely my new go-to recipe for turkey roasting. Thanks.

Awesome, thanks for the help. Cooked my first thanksgiving dinner this year and it turned out great. The only thing i had to change was that i took the foil off after 2 and a half hours as instructed, but it browned so fast that half an hour later i had to put the foil back on. Nonetheless, the broth made making gravy a cinch. Oh i also put a few strips of bacon on the top of the bird..something I can always remember my mom doing.

Followed this recipe to a T and it turned out to be the best turkey I have ever had. Impressed my friends and got rave reviews!

As most of the other reviewers, this was my first turkey. It turned out wonderful, I got rave reviews! The only change I made was only using 1 stick of butter instead of 2, but that was plenty. Update: I've made it several times now and it always turns out perfect! I've started sprinkling a little bit of sage on top, too, and that is great!

PERFECT! Juicy and tender! I added chopped garlic to the butter and rubbed the mixture everywhere. Great recipe!

My first turkey turned out perfect! Didn't stuff with stuffing - don't like my stuffing soggy from inside a bird - so I stuffed it with 2 whole onions and a couple celery sticks instead.

Keep an eye on the liquid in bottom of the pan that it doesn't completely evaporate. Caught mine in time just before it burned. Thankfully it made the best rich gravy ever. Great recipe.

Excellent and easy way to make a turkey that tastes great and comes out looking picture perfect. Used chicken stock instead of turksy stock because that's all that was left at the store. Be sure to baste every 30 minutes. Excellent!

Simply PERFECT says it all ! Exceptional recipe! My turkey came out awesome with this recipe, thank you so much!

I followed this recipe for my first ever Thanksgiving and it turned out perfect. Everyone raved about my turkey. Great recipe!

I brined my turkey overnight first so used barely any salt or pepper and it turned out DELICIOUS and juicy. Everyone at Thanksgiving dinner said I was the new official turkey maker.