For all those procrastinators out there, who have not thought about Thanksgiving Dinner, do not despair. There is still time to prepare a succulent turkey, just follow this Trader Joes recipe, and you will impress your guests.
It is simple, and easy. It is the recipe I follow every year, and I was never disappointed. The Turkey gets crunchy on the outside and juicy and soft inside. They recommend you use a brined turkey, but in case you don’t want to brine it for tomorrow, or could not find one already brined, don’t worry, just add a little bit more salt to the Herb Butter.
Pre-Prep
- Remove the neck and giblets from inside the bird
- Rinse the bird inside and out with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel
- Let the bird come to room temperature (about an hour)
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F
Herb Butter
- Rinse one package of each: Thyme, Rosemary and Sage
- Let herbs dry on paper towel
- Place 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature in a food processor with the herbs, and salt and pepper to taste, or if you are feeling like it, chop herbs by hand, and mix all together
The bird
- Transfer the bird to a roasting pan with a rack
- Loosen the bird’s skin with your hands and rub the Herb Butter all over it, under the skin and inside the cavities
- Stuff the cavity with 3 lemons cut in half, and 3 peeled and halved sweet onions
- Truss the bird if you like, keeping the legs together
Roasting
- Place the bird in the oven for about 30 minutes
- Turn the oven down to 325F and let it roast for about 2 hours. Carefully open the oven, take the pan out and baste the bird.
- Make a little tent with aluminum foil and place the bird back in the oven
- Keep checking the bird. When the temperature reaches 165F in the thickest part of the bird (thigh meat). Remember that cooking times vary depending oh the bird’s weight. I used here a 13 lbs bird.
- Let bird rest covered in foil for about 30 minutes. Carve and serve.
food and other stuff 
Looks amazing! Apart from turkey legs I’ve never actually cooked a whole turkey. If I ever do I’d go with this.
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Thanks! You can try it with chicken, its delicious !
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How did it turn out?
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Moist And juicy inside and crispy outside! This recipe is unbeatable 😉
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We made the Trader Joe’s brine turkey this year with Alton Brown’s recipe, which looks very similar to this one…scrumptious!
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Thanks for stopping by! Have you tried this with chicken? Yum!
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That looks delicious!!! Too bad we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in Finland.. 😦
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Thank you! Do you guys eat turkey there? What is a traditional holiday meal?
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Yes, we do.. but not thaaaaat often. A traditional holiday meal is quite hard to describe, but around Christmas we often eat potatoes & ham with casserole and rye bread. I’ll try to remember to take a pic of such meal when I get to eat some 🙂
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Katariina, Please do take some photos, I am curious to see them!
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Okay, this is a promise! I’ll take some pics 🙂
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Yay! Thanks 😉
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We do it the easy way – with a Trader Joe’s (new) Turkey-less Stuffed Roast with Gravy. Already stuffed – easy peasy!
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This looks delicious!! So want to try out this recipe!
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Thank you! It is my go to recipe for turkey and everyone loves it. It is also delicious with whole chicken!
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