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Brined in an apple citrus herbed brine for 24 hours, then basted in a rich wine butter drenched cheese cloth and baked to perfection! This Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe is truly the BEST! Tender, Moist, and Full of Flavor! It will be the star of your Thanksgiving Feast!

Isn’t she a beauty! It’s taken me years, and a lot of dry turkey, to finally create the World’s BEST THANKSGIVING TURKEY recipe!

I did a lot of research over the years from various sources. After a lot of trial and error, trying various techniques, I believe I have created the BEST recipe for the world’s favorite November roasted bird!

What Makes This The BEST Thanksgiving Turkey?

It’s a combination of things. A beautiful golden crispy skin. Plump Juicy Meat…so juicy and tender that the breast cuts with a fork! (That’s right…a FORK! Save that knife for stabbing that last dinner roll or annoying relative! Lol) Infused flavors from a delicious brine, and a lot of buttery wine basting!

What makes it even better is a recipe that is easy to follow! This recipe breaks down into three segments. Brining, Roasting, and Basting!

The flavor in this turkey comes from two difference sources…the amazing apple citrus spiced brine and the incredible wine butter it’s basted in for over 3 hours.

How To Make The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

There are several important elements that go into making this bird brilliant! 

I remember the first time I made a Turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. It was terrifying! The last thing I’d want is any cook, experienced or new, to go through the same thing I did.

I’ll walk you through my recipe for the Best Thanksgiving Turkey, step-by-step! If you follow my instructions you’ll be Queen, or King, of the Roasted Fowl!

A few TIPS to take note of before beginning…

• Chose a Turkey that will feed ALL your guests! A 16 lb Turkey will serve 8 adults. I generally make a 20-22 lb turkey. This will serve between 12-14. Leftovers for turkey sandwiches are a must!
• Thaw the Turkey completely before Thanksgiving Day! Follow the Turkey Etiquette rules and thaw that bird for a week in the fridge.
• This recipe has you brine the Turkey the day before you cook it.  DO NOT let that keep you from making this Turkey. Many of us don’t have refrigerator room for brining. That’s okay. I’m going to share a fantastic tip for Turkey brine. For years, I didn’t brine because I didn’t have space to do that, or so I thought.
• This Turkey is stuffed, but doesn’t have to be, it will add extra flavor to both the Turkey and your Stuffing.  Please note that all the cook times I will share with you will be for a Turkey that is stuffed! Adjust the cook times if you are not stuffing your Turkey.
• This Turkey is basted in Wine and Butter!  I can’t emphasize this enough…do NOT skip this step! The flavors the wine adds, and the reaction wine has with the enzymes in the muscles of the meat are truly amazing! Plus it will make a mind-blowing gravy!

How To Make Citrus Spiced Brine

In a large stock pot add 6 Quarts, or 1½ gallons, of water. Add 1½ cups of coarse kosher salt. Place over high heat. Bring to a boil, and boil for 15–20 minutes until salt is dissolved.

Add 2 Cups of Apple Cider and 1½ cups of Orange juice, with or without pulp. Either is fine for this recipe.

Add 2 teaspoons dried thyme, and 2 teaspoons of crushed rosemary. Stir well. (That’s the shortest direction you’ll get in this post! Lol)

Add 1½ Tablespoons of whole Allspice. Stir.  (I lied…that’s the shortest direction you’ll get in this post!) Allow brine to cool to room temperature. This is a must! We do not want to cook the Turkey!

TIP: I make my brine the night ahead of when I actually want to start the brining process. This gives it plenty of time to cool. Just cover the pot and in the morning it will be cool.

Preparing Turkey for Brining

While the brine is cooling, it’s the perfect time to start what I like to call, so I do… “WWE Thanksgiving WrestleMania”!  (Honestly I don’t think there is anything harder than to wrestle a 22-23 pound slick Turkey! It’s like they’re still fighting for one last chance at life! ) 

Place the Turkey in a VERY large bowl.

I’m going to state the obvious…remove the plastic wrap! (It’s not Turkey Spandex…it needs to come off, and you’re gonna have to touch that birds bare naked skin!)

Now for the fun!!! See the Turkey’s “Buttock hole”… Yep…you’re going in there! (Deep breath!)

Reach in and pull the neck out of there. (See…some turkeys do have their heads up their butt!  Lol!!! Hope you weren’t drinking when you read that line!) 

Next…find where the neck used to be before that Turkey got too big for his britches! See the paper sticking out…he didn’t swallow that! Yep…you’re going in again!

Grab a hold of that paper and give it a good “yank”… that fun little package holds all the vital organs.

Some folks like to use those in their stuffing. I’m not one of those people! Bye-bye little package of organs.

Now that all the inside parts have been removed…rinse the Turkey well inside and out. Place Turkey on a large clean dish towel and pat dry.

I’m not going to join the debate on rinsing poultry in the sink and cross contamination! Any time you’re working with fowl you need to be cautious of contamination and cleaning up after handling it. Be sure you clean and sanitize your work areas.

How To Brine A Turkey

TIP: Time for the BIG tip on brining! Every time I watched a video on brining a turkey they would place the turkey in this HUGE bucket and then place it in the refrigerator. I don’t know about your nest…but mine didn’t come with a walk-in cooler!

So I came up with this brilliant…if I do say so myself…alternative. It’s called an Ice Chest!

Using a large marinating bag, that you can purchase on Amazon, see my recommended products below, or other specialty cooking shops.

DO NOT USE A TRASH BAG! Trash bags today are coated with chemicals!

Place the Turkey in the Bag and add a sprig or two of fresh sage.

Place the Turkey inside the bag into a large Ice Chest.

Adding Brine To Turkey

You’ll need a helper for this next step. Someone to hold the bag open, while the other pours the cooled brine over the Turkey.

TIP: DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF THINKING YOU CAN DO THIS ALONE! It’s been tried…and it isn’t pretty my friends! (If you enjoy a self-brine session, and mopping…you can do this alone…otherwise…ask for help!)

Pull the bag up to see how far the brine comes up and over the Turkey. If the brine doesn’t completely cover the turkey, add more water.

TIP: You can place the Turkey Breast side down. In fact, I recommend it. It helps the brine to soak into the breast meat. For the sake of photos I left it breast side up. 

Tie brine bag in a tight knot. Notice as the bag pulls tight, the liquids come up and surround the bird better than when the bag is open.

Cover with ice! Lots of Ice. You’ve just created your own little brining cooler! Leave to soak for 18–20 hours. Magical things are happening inside the brine bag!

Preparing the Turkey for Roasting

Do a few push-ups…lift a few weights…that Turkey has just put on an extra 5 pounds! If you have never brined a Turkey you will be shocked how much brine can be absorbed into the meat of the Turkey.

Lift bag out of ice chest and take it over to the sink. (Yes we’re about to rinse the turkey in the sink so be sure to sanitize the sink after! This is still raw poultry.)

TIP: Place a drain catcher in the drain to catch the whole Allspice seeds. You don’t want them down your garbage disposal.

Creating a Prep Station for your Turkey

Before you remove the Turkey from the brine be sure to have your “prep” area ready to go!

If you’re stuffing your Turkey prepare the stuffing and have it ready to go. Have string or Poultry lace pins ready to go to close openings. A Heavy Metal Roasting pan with rack. Be sure to have at least one yard of cheese cloth on stand-by as well.

TIP: I lined my rack with parchment paper with slits so cleaning my rack would be easier.

Have a large towel on your work area to catch-all any remaining liquid from the Turkey.

TIP: I use the pan out of my electric portable Roasting Oven. It’s the perfect size for just about any Turkey. The enamel coating makes clean-up a breeze too. I’m a believer that everyone should own an electric roasting oven.

How To Dispose of Turkey Brine

Use Kitchen scissors to cut the top off the brine bag. 

Remove Turkey from brine sack. Rinse turkey. Some of the herbs will stick to the turkey. That’s perfect! You just want to rinse the Allspice seeds off the turkey and out of the crevasses. No one needs a cracked tooth for Thanksgiving!

Place rinsed Turkey on a large kitchen towel in your work area. Pat dry. Flip Turkey over and dry the back.

Should I Stuff My Turkey?

There’s a lot of controversy over to “stuff” or “not stuff” your Turkey. I’m a stuffer! Most agree it’s best not to stuff your turkey. That’s fine.

I actually do both because of the amount of stuffing I make. Everyone loves the flavor and moisture my Sausage and Herb Stuffing has from being cooked inside the Turkey!

The important thing to remember is the stuffing needs to be freshly made and warm when stuffed inside the bird. Fill cavities loosely with as much stuffing as they hold comfortably; do NOT pack too tightly.

What to do if you’re not stuffing the Turkey with Stuffing?

If you are NOT stuffing the bird with stuffing, you will want to stuff the cavity of the Turkey with large chunks of onions, orange and apple wedges, a little rosemary and sage, to add extra flavor and to help hold the shape of the Turkey breast while roasting.

How To Stuff the Neck of A Brined Turkey before Roasting

With the Turkey on it’s back you can stuff the neck opening by peeling the extra flap of skin back. Stuff the hole, but remember not too tightly. It’s key that there is room for air flow during roasting.

Pull skin back over stuffing towards the backbone of the Turkey.

Using a Poultry Lace Pin, Pin the skin down to the back, or you can tie bakers twine around the skin flap and around the front.

I love Poultry Lace Pins. They’re strong & sturdy and last for years.

Carefully flip the Turkey back over breast side up. 

Preparing A Turkey for Roasting

Slide your hand under the skin of one side of the breast and loosen it from the meat. Repeat on the opposite side. (We’re getting very intimate with this Turkey! It can be a little disgusting…just don’t think about it!)

Once the skin is loosened on both sides, place 4–6 Tablespoons of softened butter under the skin on both sides! You can use a herbed butter for extra flavor. I just use regular softened butter. Be careful not to tear the skin.

Slide the pats of butter right under the skin. Holding the skin down run the back of your hand down over the skin and butter to spread it out under the skin.

If the legs of your turkey are not held together with extra skin, tie them together before stuffing the stomach cavity. This is a good time to fold the wing tips back and under the Turkey.

Stuffing the Cavity of the Turkey

Use a large spoon, or your hands (I mean they’ve been everywhere at this point), if you’re going to stuff the bird, loosely stuff the cavity of the Turkey.

Place Turkey Breast side up, directly on the parchment paper (optional), on roasting rack in heavy metal roasting pan.

Basting With Wine Butter

Before covering the Turkey with cheesecloth, be sure to tuck the Turkey wing tips under the bird. Hold a wing in your hand, lift that side of the turkey a couple of inches, tuck the wing underneath the turkey’s back. Repeat on the other side. This will allow for even roasting and prevent the tips from burning.

Take the yard of cheesecloth and cut it the length of the Turkey. Repeat 4 times. You’ll need 4 strips of cheesecloth long enough to cover the entire length of the turkey. It doesn’t have to completely cover the legs of the turkey, but should go at least halfway down the sides of the bird.

Open up each strip of cheesecloth and lay one strip on top of the other. Lay stacked Cheesecloth on top of Turkey and cover the entire turkey with the cheesecloth. (I like to think of it as his little blanket to keep him toasty while roasting!)

Make sure it covers the entire top half of the Turkey!

Add 4 cups of water to bottom of the pan!

Why are we adding water? For the first 3 hours of bake time we are going to be basting with Wine and a Pound of Butter under high heat.

It will burn in the bottom of the pan, like butter tends to do, without some sort of liquid in the bottom of the pan.

NOTE: You will be adding water throughout the cooking of this turkey so that you’ll have enough drippings to create an amazing gravy that should not need to have the “fat” drained off. ALWAYS MAKE SURE THERE IS LIQUID IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PAN.

Creating Butter Wine for Basting

This is my favorite part of this recipe! Single most important element for the magnificent gravy that is to follow. Plus…you will get a perfectly golden turkey every time!

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt 1 pound of salted butter. I know! That’s a LOT of butter. Seriously? Are we counting calories at Thanksgiving dinner? NO we are NOT! Tom gave his life for us…the least we can do is pay him the respect he deserves by slathering him in wine and butter!

Speaking of wine…most of you know we are a “dry” nest and don’t drink alcohol. 

However, I love the benefits of cooking with wine or other spirits. It took a lot of trial and error for me to find the perfect wine for this basting wine butter. (Difficult when you can’t taste test!)

I finally hit on it last year when I stumbled on this beautiful bottle of Vendange Chardonnay with its fruity hints of pear and apple with toasted oak!

We hit it out of the ballpark with this one my friends! Purchased this bottle because of the flavors it boasted. Nope, I didn’t have one taste while cooking. I just reveled in the benefits of its beautiful blend after the fact.

You are going to add 6 cups, or 1 750-ml bottle, of dry white wine into your butter as it is melting! (See why my Turkeys like me! I stuff ’em, give them a blanket, and a lot to drink!)

Using a ladle carefully spoon butter and wine mixture over cheesecloth.

Do NOT use all the butter and wine mixture. You should have enough leftover for 3–4 bastings.

Make sure entire cheesecloth is covered in butter and wine mixture.

How to Properly Roast A Turkey

Place rack in oven on the lowest level. Preheat oven to 400°.  Cook for 30 minutes. 

Using a pastry brush or baster, baste cheesecloth and any exposed parts of the turkey with butter and wine mixture.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°, continue to cook for 2 more hours, basting every 30 minutes and watching pan juices.

You may need to add water to the pan at each basting depending on how much of your liquid has evaporated during cooking.

TIP: If you run out of butter and wine mixture continue to baste with pan drippings over cheesecloth. 

After the third hour mark baste again, this will help loosen the cheesecloth, then gently remove cheesecloth using tongs to pull it back. Be careful! It will be very HOT! 

Place Turkey back in oven and continue to baste every 30 minutes. Skin will become fragile as it browns so baste carefully. *Remember this cook time is for a fully stuffed Turkey! An un-stuffed turkey will have less cook time.

How To Know When Your Turkey is Done!

At the fourth hour of cooking, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. Do not poke a bone. The temperature should reach 180° (stuffing should be between 140° and 160°) and the turkey should be golden brown.

The breast meat does not need to be checked for temperature. If the legs are not fully cooked, baste turkey, and continue cooking another 20–30 minutes.

When fully cooked, give the “Hulk” a call, and have him come transfer Turkey to serving platter or cutting board and let rest for at least 30 minutes. The resting time allows the juices to settle back down into the meat!

*Note you can allow the Turkey to rest up to 2 hours before slicing. You will want to remove the stuffing and keep warm in a separate cooking dish.

Serving Thanksgiving Roasted Turkey

Now to be honest I never serve my Thanksgiving Turkey on a platter like this! It is very classic Norman Rockwell.

Mine is carved in the Kitchen, carried to the table carved, ready to feed the starving masses gathered around my table!

It’s so much easier when feeding a crowd…and I love having my Thanksgiving table full of those I love ready to dig in!

It looks pretty though all spruced up on this platter with fruits and herbs! You can certainly garnish your oven roasted turkey however you like.

There is just nothing better than the smell of this Turkey cooking in your kitchen!

It’s truly splendid! There isn’t a better smell in all the world that can warm your heart as much as a turkey roasting.

Wish I could give each of you a taste of this luscious Turkey! I can truly say, with confidence, that I’ve never had a better Turkey in all my life, and it was worth all the failures to finally find success!

The breast meat, which tends to be dry in a lot of other Turkey recipes, is so moist it cuts with a fork and melts in your mouth!

The subtle savory explosion of complimentary flavors from the brine to the butter wine mixture is simply divine!

If you’ll follow my step-by-step instructions you will “WOW” your guest this Thanksgiving with the BEST Thanksgiving Turkey they’ve ever had! It is worth the extra effort. Add my scrumptious sides, including my homemade sausage stuffing and fantastic desserts… and you’ll have a feast fit for a king!

Frequently Asked Turkey Roasting Questions and Answers

• Why should I cover my Turkey during Roasting? It’s best to cover a Turkey during roasting to prevent the meat from drying out. The cheesecloth allows the moisture to stay trapped inside the skin while still allowing the basting to brown the skin of the turkey.
• How long does it take to roast a Turkey? The simplest way to figure out turkey roasting times is to calculate 13 minutes per pound at 350 °F for an un-stuffed turkey or 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey.
• When should I take my Turkey out of the refrigerator, or brine, before cooking? Get your turkey out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you cook it. This will prevent less shrinkage when you place it in a hot oven.
• Can I thaw my Turkey at room temperature? No! It is not recommended because of the rapid rate at which bacteria produces on raw meat.
• Is it necessary to add water to the bottom of the pan when roasting a Turkey? No! However, because this recipe uses so much butter and wine for the basting we highly recommend doing so. It will prevent the butter from burning as it drips into the bottom of your roasting pan, and it will help create more juices for gravy.
• How often should I baste the Turkey? Every 30 to 40 minutes. If you do it every 40 minutes watch your cook times as the Turkey may be cooked sooner rather than later, because of the prolonged heat exposure between bastings.
• When should I cook my turkey? You should cook it at least 5–6 hours before you plan on serving it to allow for cook times and “resting” times. Just remember to remove the stuffing!

Best Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

• Roasted Butternut Squash Medley
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Savory Herbed Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
• Homemade Pan Dinner Rolls
• Fresh Green Bean Casserole
• Homemade Turkey Gravy
• Chef Johns’ Perfect Mashed Potatoes from Allrecipes.com

I hope this Holiday Season brings you Joy, Love, and Laughter around your dinning room table and that your Nest will be filled with too many blessings to count!

Thank You for Stopping by my Nest. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll get back to you as quick as I can.

Happy Nesting!

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