Thanksgiving Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy
A dry-brined, herb-butter roast turkey with crisp skin and juicy meat, plus a rich pan gravy made from the drippings. With a full timeline.
- Full Meals
- Oven
- Turkey
- Dinner
- 300 min total
- Serves 12
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
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Original recipe serves 12. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
Dry brine (1 to 3 days ahead)
- 14 lb whole turkey, thawed, neck and giblets removed and saved
- 3 tbsp kosher salt, Diamond Crystal; use 2 tbsp if Morton
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp black pepper
Herb butter
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
Roasting pan
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- 2 carrots, cut in chunks
- 2 stalks celery, cut in chunks
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2 cups chicken broth
Pan gravy
- 1/4 cup turkey fat or butter, from the drippings
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups turkey drippings plus chicken broth, fat skimmed
- 1 tsp soy sauce, secret weapon for color and depth
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Gear
- Large roasting pan with rack
- Instant-read or probe thermometer
- Fat separator or measuring cup
- Whisk and saucepan
- Carving knife and board
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Steps
Step 1: DRY BRINE (1 to 3 days ahead): Pat the turkey dry. Mix the salt, brown sugar and pepper and rub it all over the outside and inside the cavity, more on the thick breast. Set it on a rack in a pan, uncovered, in the fridge.
Step 2: ROAST DAY: Take the turkey out 1 hour before roasting. Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the lower third. Don't rinse the turkey; just pat it dry.
Step 3: Mix the herb butter. Gently loosen the skin over the breast with your fingers and spread half the butter under it. Rub the rest over the outside.
Step 4: Scatter the onion, carrots, celery and lemon in a roasting pan with the neck. Add the broth. Set the turkey on a rack over the vegetables, breast-side up. Tuck the wing tips under.
Step 5: Roast at 425°F for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325°F and keep roasting, about 2 to 2.5 hours more for a 14-pound bird. If the breast browns too fast, tent it loosely with foil. Add a cup of water to the pan if it runs dry.
Step 6: Start checking at 2 hours total. The turkey is done when the thickest part of the breast reads 160°F and the thigh reads 170 to 175°F. The breast will rise to a safe 165°F while it rests.
Step 7: Move the turkey to a cutting board, tent with foil and rest 30 to 45 minutes. It stays hot. This is when you make the gravy and finish the sides.
Step 8: GRAVY: Strain the pan drippings into a measuring cup and let the fat rise. Spoon off 1/4 cup fat into a saucepan. Add broth to the remaining juices to make 4 cups.
Step 9: Heat the fat over medium, whisk in the flour and cook 2 to 3 minutes until it smells nutty and turns light brown.
Step 10: Slowly whisk in the drippings and broth. Simmer 5 to 8 minutes, whisking, until it coats a spoon. Add the soy sauce. Taste, then add salt and pepper.
Step 11: Carve the turkey: remove the legs and thighs, then cut each breast off whole and slice it crosswise. Serve with gravy.
Game plan
Thanksgiving dinner at 4:00 PM for a 14-pound turkey:
- Sunday before: Move the frozen turkey to the fridge to thaw (about 1 day per 4 to 5 lb).
- Tuesday: Dry brine the turkey. Make pie dough or bake the pies.
- Wednesday: Make the stuffing up to the baking step, the cranberry sauce, and the sweet potato and green bean casseroles (unbaked). Set the table.
- 10:30 AM: Take the turkey out of the fridge. Make the herb butter.
- 11:30 AM: Turkey in at 425°F.
- 12:00 PM: Turn down to 325°F.
- 1:30 PM: Start checking the temperature. Peel potatoes.
- 2:30 PM: Turkey out (when it hits temp). Rest under foil. Oven up to 350°F for casseroles and stuffing.
- 2:45 PM: Stuffing and casseroles in the oven. Potatoes on to boil.
- 3:15 PM: Make the gravy. Mash the potatoes.
- 3:30 PM: Carve. Warm rolls in the oven as the casseroles come out.
- 4:00 PM: Eat. Pie later, when everybody can breathe again.
Swaps
- Turkey size: Plan about 1 to 1.5 lb per person. Roast time is roughly 13 to 15 minutes per pound at 325°F, but the thermometer is the boss.
- Brine: No time to dry brine? Salt the turkey the morning of. It’s still better than nothing.
- Herbs: Dried herbs work at one-third the amount.
- Gravy: Gluten-free: thicken with 3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with cold broth instead of the flour.
Tips
- Leaving the turkey uncovered in the fridge dries out the skin so it roasts crisp and brown.
- Pull it at 160°F in the breast. Carryover heat finishes the job. Overcooked breast is the number one turkey problem.
- Don’t stuff the bird. Stuffing inside slows the cooking and has to hit 165°F too, which overcooks the breast. Bake it in a dish.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
Thanksgiving turkey has a reputation. Everybody’s scared of it. It’s the most expensive, most watched, most photographed thing you’ll cook all year, and there’s always a relative ready to tell you it’s dry. Let’s fix that.
The dry brine is the big secret, and it’s easier than a wet brine. You don’t need a bucket or a cooler full of salt water. Salt rubbed on the outside pulls moisture out at first, then that salty liquid soaks back into the meat over a day or two. The meat ends up seasoned all the way through and holds onto more juice while it cooks. Bonus: the skin dries out in the fridge, which is how you get it crisp.
The other secret is a thermometer. Pop-up timers and “cook until the juices run clear” are how turkeys get dry. Pull it when the breast hits 160°F and let it rest. That rest is also your window to make gravy, so it’s not wasted time. It’s the most organized half hour of your whole day.
Go carve that bird like you’ve done it fifty times. Nobody will know.
HAM out.
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