Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

Learn how to roast, carve, and serve the perfect Thanksgiving turkey this holiday season. First get tips on buying, storing, thawing, and prepping your bird for Thanksgiving dinner, then check out our foolproof recipes for turkey brines, rubs, and glazes. Looking for something unusual? We even have step-by-step instructions for how to deep-fry your turkey to golden perfection.

Most Popular

How to Stuff and Prepare a Thanksgiving Turkey

The secret is there is no secret. This simple method yields a flavorful, moist Thanksgiving turkey every time: spread butter under the skin, stuff loosely, season generously, and truss the legs. Here's a step-by-step guide. For more on preparing a turkey, check out our downloadable, no-fuss guide.
By Laura Rege

Our Step-by-Step Guide to Cooking Turkey for Thanksgiving

For a perfectly moist and tender turkey, follow these steps and download our full turkey guide for more tips and tricks on how to assure the bird is the star at your Thanksgiving table.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Properly Brining a Turkey

Giving your Thanksgiving bird a bath in salt water isn't complicated, but there a few things to know before you start the brining process. Here, we outline exactly how to brine a turkey for delicious results. Follow our instructions to prepare a perfectly brined turkey and download our complete turkey guide for more Thanksgiving tips.
By Lynn Andriani

Pan Gravy

301
Serve with our Turkey with Brown Sugar Glaze.

Maple-Glazed Turkey with Gravy

135
This turkey's crunchy, sweet crust is the result of boiling down maple syrup until it's almost crystallized and then brushing it on the bird during the last hour of cooking.

Classic Brined and Roasted Turkey

631
Brined to retain moisture, then basted with butter and wine while roasting, this turkey, the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, is golden and juicy. The bird is brined for 24 hours, so leave plenty of time for this recipe. If you don't brine yours, skip steps one and two.

Perfect Roast Turkey 101

669
This recipe yields a plump and regal roast turkey, with crisp, golden-brown skin and an aroma to match.

Roast Turkey with Herb Butter

396
Getting a great-tasting turkey on the Thanksgiving table is easier than you might think. Here, the bird is rubbed with a flavorful mixture of butter and fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme before going into the oven. Use the roasted vegetables and turkey neck to make Rich Gravy.

Creamy Leftover-Turkey-and-Rice Soup

Put a light, fresh spin on Thanksgiving leftovers with a speedy riff on avgolemono, the classic Greek chicken soup. Egg yolks add creaminess to turkey stock, while lemon juice brightens the flavor, and cooked rice and shredded meat fill out every spoonful.
By

Turkey Brine

918
Keeping your bird juicy isn't that hard—all you need is the right seasoning and a really large fridge. Brining is the first step in our roasted turkey recipe.

Stuffed Turkey Breast

152
Learn how to make this delicious and impressive turkey main, which is filled with our Sausage and Sour-Cherry Stuffing. It's the perfect recipe to make for Thanksgiving in lieu of the traditional roast turkey.

Thanksgiving-Leftovers Pie

Clear out your refrigerator with our ultimate, day-after Thanksgiving recipe! Feed a crowd with this hearty, rustic dish that combines leftover turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
Advertisement

Inspiration and Ideas

How to Spatchcock a Turkey for Thanksgiving
For juicy, evenly-cooked turkey with a crisp, golden brown skin, spatchcocking is the answer. In a little more than an hour, you can have a perfectly roasted 12-pound turkey. Here's a step-by-step guide, plus roasting tips, and advice on how to carve a spatchcocked bird. For more on this simple trick and other Thanksgiving tips, check out our latest and complete turkey guide, download here.
Learn How to Roast the Perfect Turkey with These Tips
For the perfect roast turkey this Thanksgiving, follow this step-by-step guide and download our complete turkey guide for more tips on making the perfect bird for your feast.
How to Make Easy Turkey Stock
Slow-Grilled Turkey
105
Upside-Down Turkey
Citrus and Herb Turkey
49

Herbed Roasted Turkey

284

This traditional holiday bird brings much more to the table than just great taste. Our version, which is packed with protein, is rubbed with a blend of parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic.

All Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

Turkey, Cheddar, and Green-Apple Sandwich

29
 This nourishing turkey sandwich recipe is a genius use of Thanksgiving leftovers. Sliced roasted turkey is stacked between slices of cheddar, tart apple, and whole-grain bread.

Smoked Turkey

This low-fuss, oven-free method for Thanksgiving turkey results in a supremely moist bird with a lightly smoked taste and burnished, crispy skin. We also marinated the bird with citrus and herbs, which is important for infusing the meat with a depth of flavor.
By

Turkey with Brown-Sugar Glaze

1113
This year, try a flavorful glaze made with orange juice, brown sugar, and vinegar on your Thanksgiving bird.

Stuffed Turkey Breast

143
This wonderful recipe for stuffed turkey breast is from "Martha Stewart's Cooking School" and makes a delicious dinner.

Perfect Turkey Gravy

79
Learn how to make the perfect gravy for Thanksgiving using caramelized, brown bits from the bottom of the roasting pan, homemade Giblet stock, Madeira wine, and salt and pepper for seasoning.

Turkey with Stuffing

42
Don't relegate a stuffed bird to Thanksgiving only; this turkey recipe, which roasts over a bed of parsnips, onion, celery, carrots, celeriac, and white turnip, is delicious year-round. 

Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup

48
This comforting turkey noodle soup, made with homemade turkey stock, is perfect for warming up on a chilly night.

Turkey Reuben

47
In this reinvented twist on a classic reuben sandwich, turkey pairs up with melted cheese and rye bread, with a mustard-laced take on coleslaw supplanting sauerkraut.

Roasted Turkey

190
Roast turkey is one of the most simple, satisfying meals and this recipe is no exception. Rub the turkey with butter, then sprinkle on poultry seasoning and leave uncovered for the first hour of cooking allows the skin to crisp. Baste frequently to give the bird an even color while helping to seal in juices. Serve with our Perfect Gravy.

Pan Juice Gravy

17

Spiced Buttermilk-Brined Turkey

Fragrant spices such as coriander seeds, bay leaves, juniper berries, fennel seeds, and peppercorns permeate the buttermilk brine for this holiday centerpiece. It's an easy way to create big flavor with your bird this Thanksgiving.

Salt and Pepper Turkey

30
This simple but spectacular roast turkey is filled with our savory Bread Stuffing with Sage. Spreading butter under the skin enhances the flavor of the breast meat.

Roasted Brined Turkey with Porcini, Chestnut, and Sausage Stuffing

250
A simple brine and a generous brushing of butter before roasting yields moist turkey with perfectly crisp skin every time. Follow our step-by-step guide for roasting the perfect turkey.

Roasted Heritage Turkey

241
A layer of butter under the skin results in a crisp exterior and moist breast meat. Allow two hours to bring the turkey to room temperature before roasting. Serve the bird alongside our Calvados Gravy.

Roast Turkey

1
This recipe calls for brining the turkey for 24 hours, so plan accordingly. If you choose not to brine, skip the first two steps. If your roasting pan fits only sideways in the oven, rotate the pan every hour so the turkey cooks and browns evenly.

Roasted Turkey in Parchment with Gravy

829
Here's an unexpected, but totally genius way to cook your turkey for Thanksgiving. Our parchment bag technique yields moist meat and crisp, golden skin every time. Martha made this recipe on Cooking School episode 406.

Perfectly Moist and Tender Turkey

51
You only need three ingredients—plus salt and pepper—to create this perfect roast turkey. The secret is placing the bird over a buttered loaf of ciabatta bread, which helps the meat to cook evenly in the roasting pan.

Giblet Stock

120
Turkey giblets are edible when properly prepared and are the secret to a flavorful gravy. Use this easy recipe for our Perfect Roast Turkey.

Giblet Stock

Giblets, which are the heart, gizzard, and liver of turkeys and other fowl, along with the neck, can be used to make a rich stock for homemade gravy. The liver should be cooked separately before being added to the stock, or it will make it too bitter. To save time, you can make this stock while your turkey is roasting.

Homemade Turkey Stock

53
Use the neck and giblets of the turkey for a richly flavorful stock.

Rich Gravy

110
To make a flavorful, deep-brown gravy, first roast vegetables and turkey neck under the turkey, then caramelize them on the stovetop.

Roasted Heritage Turkey with Aromatic Brine

4
The wet brine for this turkey is made with a combination of garlic, thyme, bay leaves, coriander, peppercorns, and fennel seeds. Adapted from Anne Quatrano's "Summerland: Recipes for Celebrating with Southern Hospitality" (Rizzoli).

Day-After Turkey Soup

This soup with lots of shredded kale makes great use of leftover turkey. If you've already frozen the carcass, there's no need to thaw it out before using it in this recipe.

Deep-Fried Turkey

29
This Deep-Fried Turkey tastes so rich, it needs no gravy.
Load More
Advertisement
© Copyright Martha Stewart. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.marthastewart.com