The Simplest Roast Turkey Recipe

Posted by
Rate It!
The Simplest Roast Turkey
Add your photo!
Ingredients
3
Count
Nutrition
1280
Calories
Total time
180
Minutes
Comments Print recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 (14- to 16-lb) turkey , neck and giblets (excluding liver) reserved for giblet stock
  • 2 1/2 tsp salt (2 tsp if using a kosher bird)
  • 1 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

  1. Remove any feathers and quills with pliers (kosher turkeys tend to require this more than others).
  2. Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
  3. Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly in turkey cavities and all over skin. Fold neck skin under body and, if desired, secure with metal skewer, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string.
  4. Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours.
  5. Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F). Cut off and discard string from turkey.
  6. Stuffed turkey: Twelve cups of stuffing will fill both cavities and leave you extra to bake separately. Just before roasting, spoon room-temperature stuffing loosely (stuffing expands as it cooks) into the neck (smaller) cavity. Fold the neck skin underneath the body and secure with a small metal skewer. Then loosely fill the body (larger) cavity, and tie drumsticks together. If you don't want any stuffing to spill out, cover the opening with a slice of fresh bread, tucking it inside the cavity before tying the drumsticks. Follow roasting directions above. (Timing for a stuffed bird may be slightly longer, but start checking the temperature at 1 3/4 hours.) Immediately transfer stuffing from body cavity to a shallow baking dish (separate from one for stuffing baked outside the turkey). Take temperature of stuffing in neck cavity and if less than 165°F, add it to the baking dish. Bake (covered for a moist stuffing or uncovered for a crisp top) until it reaches a minimum of 165°F. This can take 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven, which you may have lowered to reheat side dishes.
  7. Roast turkey breast: The same method used above can be applied to a whole turkey breast (instead of the entire bird). For a 6- to 8-pound breast (with skin and bone), reduce amount of salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons and pepper to 3/4 teaspoon. Use a V-rack instead of a flat rack. Roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted in thickest part of each breast half (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let stand 30 minutes (temperature in breast will rise to between 175°F and 180°F). (For a grilled turkey option, see Grilled Whole Turkey.)
Kitchen-Friendly View

Nutrition Facts

Per ServingPer 100 g
Amount Per 1 Serving
Calories 1279.95 Kcal (5359 kJ)
Calories from fat 489.9 Kcal
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 54.43g 84%
Cholesterol 653.04mg 218%
Sodium 1742.64mg 73%
Potassium 2037.56mg 43%
Total Carbs 0.28g 0%
Sugars 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0.11g 0%
Protein 199.58g 399%
Iron 9.1mg 51%
Calcium 102.1mg 10%
Amount Per 100 g
Calories 140.76 Kcal (589 kJ)
Calories from fat 53.88 Kcal
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5.99g 84%
Cholesterol 71.82mg 218%
Sodium 191.64mg 73%
Potassium 224.08mg 43%
Total Carbs 0.03g 0%
Sugars 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0.01g 0%
Protein 21.95g 399%
Iron 1mg 51%
Calcium 11.2mg 10%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Find out how many calories should you eat.

Tastes

  • salty
  • savory
  • bitter
  • sweet
Search recipes
by ingredients
Search
Construct & Analyze
Your Recipe
Analyze

Try this similar recipes

View More

Recipe Tags

Weightwatchers Points

  • 30.1
    Points
  • 32
    PointsPlus

Good Points

  • saturated fat free,
  • sugar free

Bad Points

  • High in Sodium

Also Try

Share Recipe

Recipes▼
Search
Get Your Recipe of Health!
Follow RecipeOfHealth on Facebook!
Scroll to top