If there's one thing we don't need on our Thanksgiving day off, it's doing more work than we have to.
And although the thought of prepping a turkey, the mainstay on many a holiday dining table, normally brings beads of sweat to the brow, we have good news: it doesn't have to be that hard. According to The New York Times' longtime food writer Melissa Clark, you can skip brining, stuffing, trussing and basting, because sometimes less really is more.
Instead, this recipe calls for a dry rub of salt and pepper to lock in moisture and a lack of stuffing allows for a faster cook time. Plus, if you use oil on the skin without basting you'll get a quick and easy crispy skin finish.
But make sure you leave a day or two before cooking to get started so the turkey can soak up some herby flavors in the fridge.
Simple Roast Turkey
Serves: 10-12
Time: 3 1/2 hours
- 1 turkey (10 to 12 pounds)
- Coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 lemon, zested and quartered
- 1 bunch fresh thyme or rosemary
- 1 bunch fresh sage
- 12 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1 bottle hard apple cider (12 ounces)
- Dry white wine, as needed
- 2 onions, peeled and quartered
- 3 bay leaves
- Olive oil or melted butter, as needed
Directions
Step one
Remove any giblets from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for stock or gravy. Pat turkey and turkey neck dry with paper towel and rub turkey all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound of turkey, the pepper and the lemon zest, including the neck. Transfer to a 2-gallon (or larger) resealable plastic bag. Tuck herbs and 6 garlic cloves inside bag. Seal and refrigerate on a small rimmed baking sheet (or wrapped in another bag) for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, turning the bird over every day (or after 12 hours if brining for only 1 day).
Step two
Remove turkey from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, uncovered, back on the baking sheet. Return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours to dry out the skin as this step helps crisp it.
Step three
When you are ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for one hour.
Step four
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, add the cider and enough wine to fill the pan to a 1/4-inch depth. Add half the onions, the remaining 6 garlic cloves and the bay leaves. Stuff the remaining onion quarters and the lemon quarters into the turkey cavity. Brush the turkey skin generously with oil or melted butter.
Step five
Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack set inside the roasting pan. Transfer pan to the oven and roast 30 minutes. Cover breast with aluminum foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh reaches a temperature of 165 degrees, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board to rest for 30 minutes before carving.
