How to Make Our Easier Roast Turkey and Gravy 

For the past 52 years, my mother and mother in law always made our thanksgivings turkey every year. This year was different. I had to make it. I was very nervous. But I've been watching America's Test Kitchen and like always you haven't failed me yet. The Turkey can out amazing good and delicious. My kids were amassed how jucie the breast meet was. I want to say thank you America's Test Kitchen for making my fist Thanksgiving dinner special.

I have used this exact technique for the last two years and our turkeys always turned out beautifully browned and so tender and juicy. You won't regret trying this dry brine along with the temperature variations. We did a 16 pound turkey, and after the 90 min at 325 it was done! Don't skip that first 45 minutes at 425 before turning down the temp.

When I do my turkey I slice up an onion and put that in the roasting pan with the turkey and giblets, the onion caramelizes and adds lots of flavor. I put the gravy through a strainer taking out the onion. I would never skip the onion in the pan while roasting it adds so much flavor to the gravy.

Ok i did it. This was 100% the best turkey Ive ever had in my life!!! Even though i accidentally over cooked it a little the breast was insanely juicy!!! Ive never had a Turkey taste this good! All i did is everything this video said except slightly over cooking. This is exactly why I subscribed to this channel. These people make the best everything!!! Amazing!!!

I learn something new almost every time I watch the Test Kitchen videos. Thanks! I'm still going to wet brine and use my rosemary/sage/thyme compound butter under the skin rather than salt and sugar but that gravy recipe has me intrigued. Think I will try it for Christmas dinner tomorrow. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

I've tried many different roast turkey recipes over the years, but none have ever been this easy, fool-proof, or turn out as much gravy! Hands-down, this is the best roast turkey recipe I've found! Thank you for developing it!

Our apartment complex celebrated our Thanksgiving yesterday. I tried this recipe and it was awesome. Perfectly seasoned with the salt/sugar mixture under the skin. The turkey was unbelievable. The white meat was incredible. Got rave reviews and was unanimously voted to make our Christmas turkey. Honestly, kept getting comments about how great it turned out. Thank you folks for sharing such a great recipe.

I just tried this recipe over Thanksgiving 2023. It was outstanding and easy. I never thought roasting a turkey like this would result in such a moist and juicy bird. The gravy also was the best I've ever made and very savory. I highly recommend it - especially with a fresh bird. Using this type of bird result in drippings that had almost zero fat in it. Almost 100% pan drippings. Whoever made this recipe up should take a bow. I will use it again. However, one minor point. The time in this recipe was for 12-16 pound bird, my bird was 21#. It took longer than the time in the recipe - but the two different temp readings worked. Just kept cooking until the breast reached the desired temp. The color of the bird was also very appetizing. This one is a keeper.

Tried this a week ago ! WINNER WINNER TURKEY DINNER ! My new go-to recipe ! The only change I made was to spice up the inside and outside of the bird with onion powder, garlic powder and sage before cooking .

We’ve made this twice now and about to make this a third time. We’ve NEVER had turkey this moist and delicious. (The first time we made it it rested for an hour because of scheduling issues and it was still perfect.)

I've watched this so many times but I cant get enough of it. Classic Turkey and gravy, everytime... what a thing of beauty

I do the same thing for gravy but in reverse. The neck, giblets a carrot broken in half and a piece of celery or the tops, chunk of onion and a couple of peppercorns simmer on the back of the stove while the turkey roasts. Strain that for the gravy. Make your rue and use dripping and the broth 2-2-1 formula makes perfect gravy. 2T fat, 2T flour to 1 cup liquid. Multiply as needed. Going to try this turkey method this year! I have two turkeys and going to do one the day before!

I tried this at 2019 Thanksgiving dinner,wrote down all the ingredients and directions and lost them somewhere in the shuffle. Well,it turned out so good that after Thanksgiving was over we went and bought another turkey and am getting it ready to make on April 2nd. I am so glad I re-found this recipe,THANX AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN!

I made this for Thanksgiving 2020. I cooked this version and also a Gordan Ramsay version. Both were 12lb extremely delicious and my dinner guests were thrilled. The Gordan Ramsay version had a deeper and crispier skin (use of bacon to protect surface) and perhaps a bit more flavor if you were to taste the turkey on its own. Once gravy was poured they were both outstanding. Gordan's gravy was a winner for me as well; however my guests seem to use the test kitchen gravy as it has more of a traditional look. Both were 10 out of 10 . Byron

Edit 3/25/24 - The baking powder wash on top of the bird has a tendency to dry out the breast, so I have stopped using it. Otherwise - ! Great technique! I've been doing most of this with my turkeys for a decade or so. A long time ago I started drying off any kind of meat in the fridge for a few days before cooking, and turkey was no exception. What I am taking from this instructional video is to add some sugar to the under-skin-seasoning, and some baking powder to the on-the-skin seasoning. I'll still use sage, thyme, pepper, etc., and an onion and sage in the cavity. Thanks guys! ATK is my FAVORITE!

Best turkey I ever made in nearly 40 years of making turkeys. A keeper!

Years ago, I noticed that the gravy was always the 1st thing to get cold. So I came up with the idea to serve the gravy in a coffee carafe to keep it hot. Now it never gets cold. There was the 1 time that my girlfriends uncle forgot that it was filled with gravy and used it to fill up his water glass. We just fell about the place. We now write "gravy" on blue painters tape and tape it to the carafe handle.

Used this method this year and the turkey came out perfect. Roasted a 22 lb turkey, had to cook it for about 35 minutes longer than they did and it still came out moist. I will use this method going forward.

I put my turkey for 3 days inside of lots of white wine, garlic, salt, rosemary, and other fresh herbs 🌿 The turkey is totally covered, after I drain, cover it and roast, I don’t need carve it. The turkey get so moist and tender, so delicious! My grandma recipe.

Thank you! I made this for my large gathering last night and I had so many people say they hated turkey or had never had good white meat from a turkey before, but they loved this turkey!

First time I ever cooked a turkey. With this recipe it came out perfect. Thank you!

I like Auguste Escoffier's recipe for roast turkey. "Bake in a moderate oven until done." That's it.

I've made lots of turkeys over there last 35 years, and they have come out pretty good. This year, my bff and I are cooking our Thanksgiving turkey this way this year. I have watched this video over a dozen times just so our bird and gravy will come out perfect. I also checked the recipe on the site, and I'm glad I did as I got a 12 lb. Butterball frozen turkey, which is the ATK runner-up winner for best tasting turkey, and will need to eliminate the kosher salt/sugar rub. Thanks, ATK, for another great recipe that I won't worry about being delicious.

Thanks a lot for this recipe - it helped a lot to prepare an amazing 20-pound-Christmas-turkey. Maybe worth mentioning: for my turkey the overall cooking time was much shorter than my expectations based on the usual rules of thumb (about 4,5 h instead of 6,5 h). Maybe it was because of the pizza stone...

Glorious gravy !! That's how I'm doing turkey from now on. Thank you Dan !!

I decided to use this recipe for turkey after not making a turkey for about 5 years. We had a small group, 3 children and 4 adults and a 14lb. turkey. I did my best to follow the simple instruction to the letter. Victory! This was the best...BEST...turkey we have ever had and everyone agreed. Thanks Test Kitchens you helped us have a Happier Thanksgiving despite the COVID-19 world we live in. Ciao.

Looks so yummy! My favorite is next day left overs with bread gravy and stuffing! Thanks for the tips!

First, I love all that ATK puts into all their recipes. I do. I appreciate you all. I followed this to the T for my 14.5 pound turkey for our 2021 holiday meal. The food news was meat was juicy and we got a beautiful brown bird. My cooking times matched exactly with the recipe, too. But let me tell you what. There was big drama in the house when oil on the preheated roasting pan made my smoke alarms go off. Its dead of the winter here and snowy outside but my windows were wide open to get rid of the smoke. This is the first time I fired up the lower part of my double oven. Still the oven needed a serious cleaning after cooking this first turkey recipe. What a mess!!!! I'm making Chef Jean-Pierre's recipe next time.

Beautiful bird. After I learned how to spatchcock I never looked back. Bird cooks more quickly and evenly and you don’t have to go through so many changes. Nice recipe for those who want a traditionally roasted turkey

You all are amazing!!! Thank you Dan for showing us a new way of cooking the turkey. I am totally trying this!!! Wish me luck. Thanks ya'all for being fabulous!!!

I made Thanksgiving turkey using this method and it did not disappoint. The white meat was so moist, seasoned and the gravy was yummy.

I like to schmear softened herbal (Italian seasoning if feeling lazy or the rough equivalent from my herb garden) salted butter under the skin with a paprika rub on the skin for color and a little smoky flavor. I do the same trick with the giblets and keep the left-over fat to lube up the fresh sourdough bread for next-day sammies (not a big fan of mayo) stacked high with spinach and canned cranberry jelly slices and some stuffing pressed into the meat drenched in any left-over gravy (else whip up some packaged crap mixed with turkey/chicken stock). Perfect beach lunch for the wife and I to chill just down the hill to the beach in front of house with a few Cokes each. I also can't resist brining the unaltered bird for 3-4 hours first before doing anything to it. Comes out perfect every time except for the time I took and involuntary nap and it cooked and hour too long. Even the cats and dogs were a little unsure what to do with it until I broke out the gravy for them - then we had 4 incontinent furkids later that night and all next day...

Followed your procedure for our turkey this year. I have never had a turkey so juicy and flavorful. Even received compliments on it. Will make sure my kids have these instructions to use after I am no longer around.

So what was everyone's results? Following the cooking method with 48 hours in fridge to dry for 12.23 lb bird. I did half the recommended salt sugar(the breast looked really small used to doing 22lb turkeys)When breast reached 165 deg, 45+ 75 min, the legs were 194+ and reached over 200 while resting. The breast meat was perfect, moist and not tough at all. The dark meat was super dry, my favorite part. The skin was more like jerky. Besides the dry meat there was not much pan drippings at all, had to add water just to separate the fats. Did end up with a decent gravy with extra flower to thicken after final straining and putting back on stove to add cold water with 2 more Tblsp of flour and simmering for 10 mire min. Missed my target start time by 15 minutes. If I ever did this again I would leave the breast shield off, simmer the neck/gibs in a pan water/low/no salt turkey bone broth with carrots/onion/etc for more liquid. I will go back to my electric roaster, I have that down to perfection but can't get good crisp skin which I like. But since I am the only one who likes the skin I just make what everyone else likes and since we did not have a big family gathering i tried something new. I will look for discounted turkey and experiment with electric roaster and possibly end in the oven? I want to try spatchcocked as well.

This young fellow was a joy to watch, Yes, I did learn so much, I never knew about the pre cooking, prep a whole day before cooking, then the baking power paste, Man this is all Greek to me, anyway , I followed his instruction, to the letter even the pizza stone, So thanks, My turkey and gravy turned out perfect, so from now on I will be watching America,s Test Kitchen

I "drybrined" 18 lb turkey deboned and rolled with my seasonings of garlic powder ,black pepper ,old bay, Himalayan salt, melted coconut oil and some butter and a wash of baking powder. USE A THERMOMETER, juiciest turkey your ever gonna make. Always tent after the first half of your cooking, crispy skin bit burnt. Good Luck Everyone this is my 12th year making a turkey for my family I'm 46 now

I always cook my turkey in Reynolds baking bags. The turkey is super moist and cooks in much less time than ordinary roasting. You are also left with wonderful juices to use for gravy.

Winner! Bulletproof turkey recipe just like they said. Follow closely and take a few notes. You will impress your folks and love turkey again!

Love this as I am prepping one bird for the smoker and one in the oven!

It is Rosemary,Sage,Celery,bay leaves aromas That proclaim thanksgiving at my house .

This will be my second year making it! So excited. I don’t have a pizza stone but it still came out so good.

I will be trying the seasoning and drying technique and the foil cover method. Thanks.

I love how Dan cooked that turkey, and made the gravy and have to remember it for the Thanksgiving dinner I have to make. That just leaves the mashed potatoes, and sweet peas which I have to make and the cranberry sauce will come out of the can and ready to serve. Thanks for sharing this information with us all and I wish all the staff there a great Thanksgiving Day.

It amazes me how little gravy all these cooking shows make for their Thanksgiving dinner shows. We always had at least a half gallon of gravy for 6-8 people. Nothing sadder than seeing a bunch of hungry people fighting over the last few drops of a stingy amount of gravy. And what about for leftovers??? It's Thanksgiving people! Let that lovely elixir flow free! ;)))

I tried this method this year (2022). It worked amazingly well! Thank you for the techniques! You never disappoint.

Been following this recipe for the last few years. I've tried many over the years and this is the only method that didn't produce the dreaded Christmas Vacation turkey. Thanks for putting this together and posting.

We made our turkey this way. It turned out great. Everything test kitchen showed you turns out perfect .

Can’t wait to try this recipe at Thanksgiving this year! My mouth is watering! Thank you so much! 🦃

If you are cooking broccoli or carrots as accompanying vegetables, their leftover cooking water is great in the gravy. They add flavor and nutrition.

Thank you for a simplified way to roast the turkey!!! There are too many ideas nowadays that take away from a genuine great tasting turkey!!!

Thank you for another good show! Dan is a great cook and natural presenter. More of Dan, please! But even better yet, an unpretentious, bistro-style restaurant named "Taberna Souza" :-)

Thank you for all you do test kitchen.

I wish we had smell-o-vision!!! Yummy, I can taste it now! Gorgeous turkey!

I just love seeing Dan Cook, and just love seeing him period. That guy just makes my day. :-) I just love to see him when he smile and laughs. As always, great video Dan. Have a great day! :-)

Every part of this turkey prep looks perfect and just so classic. Can't wait to make this one this year! Thank you.

Well i have to say, my turkey turned out perfect. I might have used a bit less salt because some of the meat was a bit on the salty side. Maybe dropba tzblespoon of salt and add some sugar? but other than that, this was a big surprise. The white meat was the most moist and tender ive ever had, and the dark meat was melt in your mouth delicious. I will definitely scale this method for making roast chicken, and playvaround with seasoning the salt. Thanks so much!!!

I will be doing this one this year! Ty ATK.. Happy Joy filled Thankful giving everyone

I did this last year, and it was excellent! People still talking about it!

Absolutely love the recipe and the two nice people that were working on that turkey and that great gravy

Thank you for the detailed information. It is too late this year for me to try to cook the turkey a different way, but I bought a second turkey for my husband and I (as all our leftovers go to our son and his friends) so we will try this recipe After Thanksgiving. Thank you again and God bless! Happy Thanksgiving 2022!!!

Can't wait to try this as a tester meal before my actual Christmas Turkey Dinner. Thanks ATK & CC

This is perhaps the finest turkey gravey recipe I have ever seen. Also the bird looks good as well.

This is our second time cooking this recipe. Its is by far the best turkey Turkey we've ever cooked. Its a beautiful finished bird, the meat is juicy and flavorful and this recipe makes the best gravy. It's worth the effort to find room in your fridge for a raw giant turkey taking up all the space for 24hrs.

Recipe looks great! I love that you do not put butter under the skin. My mom has been gone several years and my turkeys have never been like hers, I think this years be different- thank you!!! 🙏🙏🙏

Sometimes I really love being old enough (in my 60's) to have observed the changes in how things are done from decade to decade. I remember the "needle basting" or "larding" years, the rub seasoned, room-temperature butter under the skin years, the start breast down years, the tent it with foil at the end years, the fried turkey years, and now the baking soda/baking powder brining and start with a hot pan years. This method looks very yummy. Fortunately for me, I can't really abide turkey breast and don't have to worry too much about the turkey thighs I order from the butcher getting too dried out. More breast meat for the people who love it. Winner!

Dan Souza is not to be messed with.

Great recipe Thank you. Didn’t appreciate not being able to get to written recipe because I had to sign up.

We pull the meat off the neck, cut up the heart and liver and it all goes into the dressing. We then cut up pieces of dark meat off the carcass and add to the gravy. Both are so good!

I love you guys!! The food was so very well taught and Im feeling pretty confident that my turkey/gravy/stuffing/dinner is AMAZING! Love everything I cook from you; subscribe to magazine and save it forever. one of your biggest fans!! Thanks everyone.

I replace the foil shield with bacon! 🥓 Works amazingly!

Followed recipe w exception of: 24 hours in fridge, and didn’t check temp and we had breast at 175. Still was juicy! 22 lb turkey took 3 hours just FYI.

I prefer Chef John’s (Food Wishes) version, everything is pretty much the same but the turkey goes breast side down, the bird is placed on top of buttered baguettes. No need for the baking stone and tin foil plus you get to use the bread as stuffing.

Turkey looked delicious, and the gravry was delicious, he made everything look so easy,

7:20 yes that's how to make the gravy

Looks so delicious 😋 can’t wait to make it. Thank you so much you guys are the “WINNERS” 😉 Happy Holidays🥰

Your videos are always so well done with directions. ❤️

I put the turkey upside down!The white meat is so moist when cooked this way!!!!

Some people such as myself don't make turkey only on Thanksgiving. I do three or four turkeys a year. I don't love turkey but I can make things with it and being disabled a big bird is a big help! :-)

Thank you for this video tutorial!! You have saved our Thanksgiving foodie 2020 day!!😆♥️🦃The kitchen is smelling AHMAZING!!! Our daughter tasted a bit of the Turkey & said it was THE BEST! 🦃♥️THANK YOU!

It is Thanksgiving day here in Canada. I am looking for more inspiration ....but I think I will stick with tried and true. I made a liquid brine that my turkey hung out in overnight in a brining bag, comprised of 3 litres of apple juice, 3/4 cup of dissolved salt (in the spring water) and 750 ml of spring water. I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it. I have been using Chef Michael Smiths inspired recipe for 8 years now to no fail.

I really enjoy this show.....and learn a lot....

I cooked a turkey for the first time in my life using this recipe last year. It turned out so good my wife said she would marry me all over again. Bonus for me!

I never tire of hearing suggestions like, "We really need good Browning!"

I've brined my birds on all 3 of the yearly turkey occasions we do for 25 years and I won't change that however I would like to try that dehydration step next time for an additional day to just dry out that skin on it's own prior to the day of cooking, maybe just 12 hours however. I'm glad to see the neck and giblets used in the gravy, so old school but everyone always asks me why I do it....yip that's why :)

Rock solid advice all the way through this one.

Julia said it best, winner!!!

When she said, "Dan, this turkey is awesome!" I thought she said, "Damn! This turkey is awesome!" 🤣

Also a tip I learned from a chef, coat turkey with paprika for a lovely browning.

I will tell you what i think of that yummy roasted turkey with that delicious gravy,,,, I wish I had it on my table now! haha I will try to prepare one on Christmas eve for my family!!! I will follow exactly what I saw! Thank you both talented Chefs Happy Christmas to you all wonderful people!

There is a slightly newer version of this where she makes it at her home and looked way easier in that one. Once the turkey is out she makes the gravy straight in the pan and separates it last I think.

So I had wet brined my turkey, allowed it to dry in refrig 24 Hrs, but followed the rest of the recipe. It was The Best Turkey I have ever served. Amazing luscious Breast meat, flavorful dark meat, crispy skin, delicious! Thank You!

You guys all rock! Always and forever!

That turkey and gravy looks delicious ... Have to try it that way . Thank you

First turkey ever and followed this verbatim. Amazing!!! Can't wait to make it for family! Thanks

I'm almost 70 years old. I hate turkey. Been eating it too many years. but after watching this. I want turkey and gravy. Hehehe

I can hardly wait till Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday.

This video saves me every year!!!

Suggest use utility or paring knife to remove the “wishbone” or clavicle/collar bone. Also need to disartculate the joint at the shoulder.

This looks amazing and so much easier than brining, which I usually do. My question is, do the amounts of sugar and baking powder change if you are cooking a 20 lb turkey?

I followed the recipe for roasting the turkey to the letter using a 16lb Butterball turkey, it came out beautifully. I was concerned the meat might be too salty but it wasn't, though I think you could cut back a little on the salt if you wanted to. I am a lazy cook so for the gravy, I used Lawrys Turkey Gravy mix...I think it is delicious and it only takes minutes to make.