The turkey has arrived! We can’t really have our DIY Thanksgiving Dinner without the turkey, right? This year we are making a super simple, no-brine turkey! Only 30 minutes hands on time. Gotta love it.
Difficulty: Level 2 (totally doable)
Hands On Time: 30 minutes   Cook Time: 4 hours   Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Super embarrassing story. You may think that I’m a pro at cooking turkeys and that everything in my kitchen comes out perfect. Well, a little secret. I make mistakes. Today you get to hear about the first time I…tried…to cook a turkey! I decided it was time for me to learn how to cook a turkey all by myself. The turkey was done, smelling and looking delicious. All was well until I hear an “um, what the?!” from my mom. You know that’s a bad sign. I look over and out of the turkey she had pulled….the little bag of giblets. Yes. I totally cooked my turkey with the giblets still inside. When I cleaned my turkey I had removed the neck from the main cavity thinking that was all. Little did I know that there was a second cavity that had the giblets. (Ew.) But don’t worry, the turkey was all still good to eat and it worked out. But just an FYI to all of you…there are 2 cavities in a turkey.
On second thought, if you don’t know that…it makes for a pretty great story!
9 step Simple Thanksgiving Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 frozen turkey
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1-2 cups stuffing optional
- 4 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Step 1: Pick out your frozen turkey about 4-6 days ahead of time. Place it (on a pan) in your fridge to let it thaw. I generally use the rule of 1 pound of turkey per person.
- Step 2: On the morning of Thanksgiving, place your turkey in a roasting pan and remove the neck and giblets (ew).
- Step 3: Rub turkey with some salt and pepper.
- Optional Step: Tuck the wings under the turkey. I like to do this just to get them out of the way.
- Step 4: Let turkey rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Optional Step: Stuff your turkey. When you stuff your turkey:
- -you never want to stuff it the day before, only right before it goes in the oven
- -you don't want to pack it too full, just spoon it in lightly
- Step 5: Add 4 cups of chicken broth to the roasting pan
- Step 6: Cook turkey at 325 degrees for 3-5 hours. Generally it takes 20 minutes per pound. My 12 pound turkey took 3 hours and 45 minutes.
- Step 7: Baste turkey with it's juices every hour. This means you spoon the juices over the turkey a couple times.
- Step 8: Check internal turkey temperature to check for doneness. The breast should be at 165 degrees and the thigh should be at 180 degrees.
- Step 9: Carve and serve!
Don't hesitate to contact The DIY Foodie with any questions!
Perfect for thanksgiving! Love the easy steps to follow!
Thanks Krista! Makes it so much easier to make a turkey 🙂
I love your new identity! Roasting a turkey sounds intimidating but you did a great job breaking it down. I can’t wait to eat turkey!
Thank you so much Jamie!! 🙂 Turkey time is my favorite time of year!
I’ve never cooked a turkey with stuffing inside because I didn’t know how, but this year I will try it…thanks.
You can totally do it! Sometimes stiffed turkey takes a little bit longer to cook so give yourself plenty of time. Let me know how it goes!
We all learn from our mistakes. I’ve done worse in the kitchen. 🙂 Thanks for the helpful video guide.
It’s true, we just get better from our kitchen mistakes 🙂
I’ve also been guilty of cooking a turkey with the giblets inside. It seems like a rite of passage! Great post and this turkey looks amazing!
Oh I’m so glad I’m not the only one! Maybe everyone needs to do that at least once 😉 thank you so much!
Looks good! Can’t wait to try it for Thanksgiving.
Thank you Nikki!!
This looks so delicious! I can’t wait for Thanksgiving!!!
Thank you Mary! Thanksgiving is so fun 🙂
This turkey was so good!
Thanks Dallin!