Happy Holidays!!! Christmas is almost here!! Can you believe it?! I know. I can’t either! Are you ready for the best Christmas dinner ever?! I thought I would share this delicious whole roasted turkey recipe that my mom makes every year. In my family, we typically have turkey two times per year – Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.
Omar brought a turkey home that his work had given him right after Thanksgiving. I had absolutely no room in my freezer for a 14-pound turkey, so I threw that bird in our refrigerator and started thawing him out. I want to be completely honest with you and tell you I was 100% intimidated by this big bird. I’ve NEVER made a whole turkey by myself. My mom has always been right beside me guiding me along the way the two times per year that we make a whole roasted turkey.
So naturally, I picked up my phone and called Mama!! “How do I cook this TURKEY?!!?” She immediately directed me to The Pioneer Woman’s Thanksgiving turkey recipe. After reading her recipe, I decided I CAN DO THIS. And guess what? So can YOU!!!
Making a turkey is time-consuming, I’m not going to lie. But this dinner recipe is so EASY to make. I promise–if I can do this, you can, too!!!
Now, I’m going to tell you exactly how I did this step by step and show you just how simple this dinner recipe truly is.
Step 1: Make the brining mixture. Don’t skip this step. It really makes a turkey taste so good. This takes a good 20 minutes to boil and a good hour to cool completely. Don’t pour hot brine on your bird.
Step 2: Wash the turkey and place it in the brining bag. Once the brining mixture has cooled, add it to the turkey. It’s best to use a liquid measuring cup to pour the mixture onto the turkey. Tie the brining bag up and refrigerate for 16 – 24 hours. Sounds like a long time, but having a beautiful, memorable, and delicious Christmas dinner is totally worth the wait!
Step 3: Once you’re ready to roast the turkey remove it from the brine and rinse it off with water. Submerge it in water for 15 minutes (I used my sink). Then pat it dry.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 275 degrees and place the oven rack on the lowest level. Place your turkey in the roasting pan (with a rack) breast-side-up, cover completely with foil, and roast for 10 minutes per pound. I roasted mine for almost 2.5 hours. If your turkey is bigger, add more time.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the foil. Cover the turkey in that delicious rosemary-citrus butter. Roast and baste the turkey with the juices every 30 minutes until your turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Step 6: Let the turkey rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. This gives you just enough time to make a delicious gravy with the pan drippings!
Christmas dinner at our house isn’t complete without all the fixings. I’m sorry. I know that’s a southern word! The fixings are cornbread dressing, collard greens, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and Mama’s 7-layer salad. Thank God Christmas dinner only happens once a year, right?!
I hope you’ll try this recipe out, and would love to hear about it if you do!
Merry Christmas!
– Whitney
- 3 cups apple juice
- 2 gallons of water (16 cups)
- 4 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 1 - 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/3 cup kosher salt
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 3 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 5 bay leaves
- peel of 3 large oranges (save the orange)
- 1 whole turkey (mine was 14 lbs)
- 1 stick of butter, softened
- 1 whole orange
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary stripped from the stem and minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 onions, quartered
- lots of cloves of garlic
- 2 - 3 oranges, quartered
- 1. Start with the brine. In a large stock pot, add all of the "brining ingredients." Bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar and salt has dissolved. Turn the heat off and let this cool completely.
- 2. While the mixture cools, wash your turkey and get it ready to refrigerate. Add the turkey to a brining bag and add the cooled brining mixture to the turkey in the bag. (I used a liquid measuring cup for this part!) Refrigerate for 16 - 24 hours.
- 3. When ready to roast, remove the turkey from the brine and wash the turkey off with cold water. Submerge the turkey in cold water for 15 minutes.
- 4. Discard the brine and pat the turkey dry.
- 5. Place the oven rack on the lowest level and preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the turkey breast-side up in the roasting pan (with a rack). Stuff the cavity of the turkey with the onions, garlic cloves, and oranges. Tuck the wings underneath the body. Cross the legs and tie with twine. Cover the turkey completely with foil.
- 6. First Stage: Roast the turkey for 10 minutes per pound.
- While the turkey is roasting, make the rosemary-citrus butter. Use a vegetable peeler to peel 1 orange. Then, thinly slice the peel and add it to a small mixing bowl with the butter, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Mix together well and set aside.
- 7. Once the turkey has finished roasting the first stage of roasting, remove the foil and smear the butter mixture all over the turkey. (The turkey will still be very pale at this point. Don't worry!)
- 8. Second Stage: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the turkey back into the oven, uncovered, and baste it with the juices of the turkey every 30 minutes.
- 9. Continue cooking until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove from the oven and cover with foil. Rest the turkey for 15 - 20 minutes before serving.
- 10. Carve and EAT!!!
- Don't throw the juices of the turkey away. Make a delicious gravy!
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to one week.
