Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving Turkey

This is going to be by far my favorite post. And one I refer to myself year after year.

About a year and a half ago I decided to host a Friendsgiving dinner as our housewarming party in our new apartment. We invited about 10 friends and told everyone to sign up to bring their favorite side dish and that we would be handling the turkey. Never in my life have I made a turkey. I spent weeks looking up recipes and trying to decide on one simple enough, but not too simple. I had a few saved until one day I arrived home from work and grabbed the mail. In that mail was a flyer from Trader Joe’s (my fav) that had a turkey recipe that seemed so perfect! The blend of ingredients and spices were amazing along with the simple methods used.
 
The steps were so well written and easy to follow, especially for a first timer that I am going to make sure I write them out for you exactly as I read them – minus the TJ specific products because you can use any brand you prefer or have on hand.

 

Step One:
Gather Ingredients
Time: depends on your shopping list

• 1 turkey
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 pkg (each) Fresh Sage, Rosemary & Thyme
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper
• 2 yellow onions, peeled and halved
• 2 lemons, cut in quarters

Special Supplies:

• Butcher’s twine
• Roasting pan with rack
• Baster

Step Two:
Turkey “Resting” & Wrangling
Time: 2.5 hours
On the big day, take the turkey out of the fridge and let the bird mellow for about 2 hours at room temperature. Once the bird is “zen”, unwrap and remove the temporary wire truss. Locate and remove neck & giblets (don’t see em? don’t forget to check the back end), set aside for potential future use (stuffing, gravy, soup or gumbo). Rinse the bird inside and out with cold water. Pat dry, inside and out, with paper towels and set on a clean flat surface.
Step Three:
Prepare Fresh Herb-Butter Elixir
Time: 20 minutes (during “resting”)
Chop half a package each of fresh sage, rosemary & thyme. Using a food processor, or by hand, mix herbs, salt, pepper and butter until well blended. Place the mixture on cling wrap and roll into a log. Refrigerate until firm and ready for use. Bundle the other half of the herbs with kitchen twine and set aside for stuffing the cavity [see step four].
Step Four:
“Beautify” The Bird
Time: 15 minutes 
Transfer turkey to a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Loosen skin by gently sliding your fingers between the skin and breast and working them down to the thigh (note: gentleness is key so as to avoid puncturing the skin). Cut herb-butter log into disks and carefully push and mush the butter under the skin. Rub some of the herb butter over the outer skin to encourage golden crispness. Stuff the cavity with onions, lemons and the bundle of herbs. Melt remainder of herb butter for basting and set aside.

This is Courtney giving our turkey a good rub down with some delicious herb butter
Step Five:
It’s Trussing Time
Time: 5-10 minutes
FYI – I Youtubed this and it was easy-peasy to follow the steps with a visual. The video I used is on FoodNetwork.com and can be found here: How to Truss a Turkey

Here is another video that can show you how that I found on YouTube.

Truss the bird according to your tradition (AKA Youtube). You can keep it loose, tucking the wing snugly under the bird and tying the legs together, making sure the skin flap gets tucked up between them. Or you can make a serious harness for the bird.
Step Six:
Preheat Oven to 400F
Time: blink of an eye
Step Seven:
Ready to Roast*
Time: 3-5 hours
Place the bird in the oven to roast at 400F. After about 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 325F. After about 1 hour, baste every 30 minutes with the herb butter. At 2 hours, baste once more and tent with foil. Begin checking the temperature in the thigh meat (thickest part of the bird), taking care not to let your meat thermometer touch bone. Cooking time depends on the bird’s size, your oven’s temperament and other unforeseen variables (chart below should be helpful). You’ll know it’s done when the thermometer registers 165F and the juices run clear out of the bird. Let the bird rest for 20-30 minutes prior to releasing you “official turkey carver”.

AND NOW – THE MOMENT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR……


I am not kidding when I say that everyone was blown away by this. The “pro carver” said he has never seen a turkey just fall apart when they put the knife in for the first cut. And no I don’t mean fall apart like in the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. This meat was so incredibly juicy and the flavors were so perfect.
I will make this turkey recipe for every Thanksgiving to come.