This Thanksgiving turkey recipe produces the best turkey I ever tasted! The turkey comes out perfectly browned on the outside, and most, juicy and succulent on the inside!
Before I made this turkey, I always thought that I don’t like turkey breast meat because it’s too dry… but I loved the breast meat on this turkey :) The turkey breast meat was also moist and melting in my mouth!
This is the Thanksgiving turkey that your guests will rave about and ask for the recipe. And the best thing of all is that this Thanksgiving turkey recipe is super-easy – you put the turkey in the oven and forget about it until it’s done. No messy basting is needed!This Thanksgiving turkey recipe uses the brown paper shopping bag. Yes, the brown paper bag from the grocery store – the kind that you get when you choose paper over plastic :) Don’t confuse it with the oven bag – I have tried making the turkey in the oven bag before, and it was not nearly as good as the one made in the brown paper bag! If you are concerned about the paper bag catching on fire – be assured it does not get burned in the oven :)
This turkey is made without the stuffing inside. I make the stuffing separately from the bird. I don’t stuff the turkey because stuffing affects the cooking time – the stuffing makes the turkey cook longer resulting in the overcooked meat.
I have found my perfect recipe for the Thanksgiving turkey – this is it! I will never make the roast turkey any other way, simply because this is the best Thanksgiving turkey recipe ever.
Thanksgiving Turkey In A Brown Paper Shopping Bag
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Approximate cooking time: 3 hour(s)
Number of servings: 12
Ingredients:
1 turkey (10 to 20 lbs), brought to room temperature
Salt and pepper
1 onion, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 celery stick, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 lemon, quartered
6 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup chicken broth
Brown paper shopping bag (you might need 2 bags)
Directions How To Make The Thanksgiving Turkey In A Brown Bag:
The first thing you need to do is to make sure the turkey fully fits in a bag. This step is best done while the turkey is still packaged, so you don’t have to deal with the mess of moving the raw turkey in and out of the bag :) The turkey needs to go in the bag and the bag will have to be closed and stapled shut. So put the packaged turkey in and see if there is enough paper left to close and seal the bag. If the bag is not long enough, you’ll need to make it longer by attach the second bag to it.
My turkey was 13 lbs, and I needed the second bag. First, cut off the handles from both bags. To attach the second bag, cut the top half off the second bag, then attach that piece (the part without the bottom) to the first bag with a stapler or simply saw it on with a needle and a thread. Basically, you need to make the brown paper bag long enough so the end can be closed once the turkey is in.
For the turkey, I recommend buying it fresh (not frozen) the day before making it and storing it in the refrigerator. Fresh turkey is more expensive then frozen, but you don’t have to deal with defrosting it and it also tastes better. If you are buying frozen, make sure the turkey is fully defrosted.
To bring the turkey to room temperature, take it out of the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking it. It’s important to bring the turkey to room temperature so the cooking time is not affected (cold turkey will cook longer).
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Sprinkle the turkey liberally with salt and pepper on the outside and inside, and rub the salt and pepper on it. Don’t forget to take out the giblets, sometimes they are packed inside the turkey in the plastic bags :) Put the onion, celery, carrot and lemon inside the turkey, and put the giblets and neck there too. Rub 4 tbsp of butter all over the turkey.
Butter the inside of the brown paper bag with the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Put the turkey inside the brown paper bag. Put the brown paper bag with the turkey in a roasting pan. Pour the chicken broth inside the turkey cavity. Fold the paper bag closed, and staple it with a stapler so it stays closed.
Put the turkey in the oven. Estimate the cooking time – it’s 2.5 hours for the first 10 lbs, plus 12 minutes for each additional pound (for example, the cooking time for 12 lb turkey is 2.5 hours + 12 minutes + 12 minutes = 2 hours 54 minutes). Set the timer for the cooking time and forget about the turkey until the timer beeps!
When the timer beeps, take out the turkey and leave it in a bag for 15 minutes. Then cut the bag open and take out the super delicious, perfectly brown and moist turkey! Enjoy your Thanksgiving feast!
Here’s the picture of the turkey inside the shopping bag, before going in the oven:
Enjoy this turkey recipe, and have a great Thanksgiving!
