Breaking News: Thanksgiving Bird Gets Royal Treatment
Okay so its not breaking news BUT this recipe will make you feel like a five star chef! And let’s face it, a lot of work goes in to making that perfect Thanksgiving turkey, no matter what your method is. Over the years I have tried a variety of methods from traditional roasting to frying but the process and recipe below has been my favorite and the one I continue to use.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a morning person but I love getting up early on Thanksgiving morning to pull my bird out of the brine, stuff it full of herbs and other goodies, lather it with a delicious homemade garlic honey butter, and put it in the oven until it looks like the perfectly roasted Norman Rockwell turkey. So yes, my bird definitely gets the royal treatment.
But it hasn’t always been this glamorous for the previous birds that have been the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving meal. I remember my first attempt at cooking a Thanksgiving turkey. My husband had just returned from his second deployment, our first child was two at the time and my mother in law, had just passed the turkey day responsibilities over to me. I also didn’t have any secret family recipes because my mom passed away when I was 19 and growing up we really didn’t have enough money to do an elaborate Thanksgiving. I also hadn’t read any tips or tricks on how to cook a turkey, nor was I really in to cooking shows at that time. So in other words, my first attempt at roasting a Thanksgiving turkey was literally a hot mess. My meat thermometer was on the fritz but even after 7 hours in the oven, that bird was still pink. And nothing ruins your appetite on Thanksgiving day like seeing pink poultry; my sister in law can attest to that. So after that, I was determined to figure out a recipe and a way to cook a Thanksgiving Turkey.
As the years went on, my attempts got better but it was Thanksgiving of 2015 when I was pregnant with our third son that I found my favorite recipe. After watching one of Alton Brown’s Thanksgiving cooking shows (here’s a clip of that episode), it changed the turkey cooking experience for me. If you haven’t seen any of Alton Brown’s ‘Good Eats’ cooking shows, it’s a must. He’s quirky but thorough in his methods and what I like most about him, he uses science to explain his cooking—so relatable!
The juicy details…
Alton Brown’s ‘Good Eats Roast Turkey’ is the recipe that I like to use. While I follow the recipe for the most part, I have deviated from it a bit by adding to the brine, aromatic stuffing and added a ‘lather’ step using my homemade garlic honey butter recipe. Whether you follow my process or just use Alton Brown’s, I promise you’ll have a delicious turkey!
I generally go with a frozen Hutterite turkey from the Good Food Store. They’re locally sourced and always delicious. If I miss out on their turkey selection, I head over to Rosauers and purchase one there.
Hutterite turkey from the Good Food Store.
If you’ve got a frozen bird, make sure you allow yourself plenty of dethaw time. I later learned that this was the biggest mistake I made on my first Thanksgiving...not enough dethaw time. AllRecipes.com has great tips on how to safely dethaw your turkey.
This happens the day before or early on the morning of Thanksgiving. I’ve included Alton Brown’s original brine recipe that I follow, below. It also includes steps for stuffing your turkey with aromatics and how to properly roast your turkey. I’ve deviated a bit from Alton Brown’s recipe and added to both the brine and aromatic stuffing recipe, those additions are also listed below.
Here’s a picture from a few years ago with my turkey in brine.
Stuff: The morning of Thanksgiving, I take my bird out of the brine and then rinse it off with cold water. I then put my bird in the roasting pan, pat dry with paper towels as outlined in Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey recipe. If you’d rather stuff with a traditional stuffing (or dressing), feel free! You can then move on to roasting your turkey as the recipe suggests or you can give your bird the royal treatment by lathering it with my homemade garlic honey butter (recipe below)!
Lather (optional): After stuffing your turkey, take a liberal amount of garlic honey butter and gently rub under the skin of the bird on the breast. Use the remaining garlic honey butter and rub over the skin on the rest of the bird, including the breast. It’s a bit messy so be prepared to spend some time scrubbing your hands clean with lots of soap and water afterwards.
You can follow Alton Brown’s method of roasting a turkey or you can go the traditional route that tends to take a little longer. I prefer the latter because it gives me time to prepare the rest of my Thanksgiving meal. Generally, we eat around 2:00 in the afternoon. Here’s a helpful guide from Southern Living on how long to roast your stuffed turkey if you decide to go the traditional route as well.
Credit: Southern Living
After you pull your turkey from the oven, let it rest for about 10 minutes then carve and enjoy that delicious, juicy bird! We don’t have a tradition on who carves the turkey so I carve with an electric carving knife and serve on a large platter. Side note: I have no idea why I’ve never taken a picture of my turkey after it’s come out of the oven, probably because everyone is gathered in the kitchen eyeing all the food by then, but I’ll capture that moment this year… keep an eye out in the 406 Families social media stories!
Drumroll please…. here are the recipes!
Alton Brown’s “Good Eats Roast Turkey” is the perfect recipe for your Thanksgiving bird. As mentioned, I’ve deviated from this recipe a bit and have included my additions to the brine and aromatic stuffing below.
Good Eats Roast Turkey
This holiday season, serve Alton Brown's most-popular recipe: a brined and roasted turkey from Good Eats on Food Network.
Brine (My additions to Alton Brown’s ingredients):
a half a bag of fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons of garlic salt
a handful of peeled garlic cloves, and
3 apples cut in half
Aromatics (My addition to Alton Brown’s recipe):
1 whole orange (sliced)
a handful of peeled garlic cloves, and
2 to 3 celery sticks cut in half
Garlic Honey Butter
1 cup of salted, sweet cream butter softened at room temperature
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1/3 cup of honey
1 teaspoon of all purpose seasoning
Directions:
Using a large bowl hand-held mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter for about a minute until creamy. Add remaining ingredients one at a time starting with the garlic powder.
Beat the ingredients together on medium speed until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and store in a separate dish if desired. If you’re using this recipe to lather on your Thanksgiving turkey, you don’t need to refrigerate.
