I Made Juicy, Crispy Turkey in Half the Time

This is the only turkey recipe you'll need. Forget about Aunt Betty's old school method. My technique guarantees juicier meat, crispier skin, and even cooking. Oh, and by the way, it's at least 40% faster than roasting a whole turkey. Now before we get to roasting, we're gonna kick things off by flattening. I've got a 12 pound fresh turkey. However, this recipe will work for any size turkey. The first thing we're gonna do is remove the neck, which is usually in the cavity, and then the giblets, which are usually tucked underneath the skin above the breast. Set both of those to the side on the plate. Now what we wanna do to spatchcock it or flatten it is remove this backbone right here. So place the turkey breast side down, and the easiest way to do this is by using some sharp kitchen shears. Simply cut on either side of the backbone, completely removing it. Yes, there may be some areas where you need to use both hands to make sure you clip through. Another option is to use a meat cleaver and simply cut down on either side of that spine bone to remove it. Once it is separated from the body, we're just gonna set it to the side on the plate with the giblets and the neck. Don't worry, I've got plans for all this. Now to completely flatten this turkey, what we wanna do is press down on the sternum and essentially break that wishbone so that the turkey is flat. Yeah, even I felt that. At this stage, I'm going to pat the turkey dry on all sides using paper towels. This is going to help ensure we get that skin extra crispy. Then I'm just going to transfer it over onto a rack in a 200 hotel pan, which is roughly 21 inches by 13 inches. Of course, you could use just a standard half-size cookie sheet tray. Either will work. Now to make the turkey even juicier and have even crispier skin, we are gonna generously season it on both sides, and we'll finish with skin side up with coarse salt. And when seasoning anything, you wanna be about a foot away to cover as much surface area as possible. And after salting it, we're just gonna give it a quick season of coarse black pepper as well. Now to dry brine in the refrigerator, uncovered for as little as 12 hours and up to 24 hours. The benefits of doing this will help crisp up the skin and to help the turkey retain moisture, which is how it will become the juiciest turkey you've ever had. When you're ready to cook it, let's take the turkey out of the fridge just to take the chill off for about 20 to 30 minutes. You can see the skin is nice and dry. That is going to go a long way, I promise. Now we are going to roast this, but first let's knock out a little prep for some aromatics, beginning with roughly chopping one yellow onion, two ribs of celery, two carrots, peeled or unpeeled, two parsnips, peeled or unpeeled. This is optional. We're gonna next smash three whole garlic cloves. Add all of those vegetables to a bowl. Then let's break out that backbone that we removed. We are just gonna chop this into three large pieces using a meat cleaver. We're gonna add it to that bowl with the veggies. Then don't forget the neck. We're just going to cut that in half. We're also going to add the turkey heart to this mixture as well. Now for the liver, save that for some other recipes because this can make our gravy a little bitter. Now in that same bowl, we're gonna add in three sprigs each of fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage. Give it a gentle season of coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Coat it in about three tablespoons of olive oil or any neutral flavored oil will work. Mix all the ingredients around until they are combined. Now let's break back out that turkey. You're gonna notice there is a little bit of moisture that collected at the bottom of the pan. What we're gonna do is just take the turkey out on the rack, just simply pour out that liquid and discard it. And in that same pan, we're gonna add in our turkey pieces and coated veggies. Spread them out just to flatten them. Place the turkey on the rack right back over top. And if you don't have a rack, you can actually place the turkey directly onto the vegetables. And it's almost ready for roasting. But first, here's a little secret to make this literally the juiciest, most flavorful turkey ever. In a food processor or a mortar and pestle, we're gonna add in three tablespoons of coarse salt, one teaspoon of ground black pepper, a quarter cup of fresh parsley leaves. Now this part is optional, but you can add the zest of one lemon, one and a half tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves, one and a half tablespoons of rosemary leaves, then about 15 to 18 fresh sage leaves. Let's add on the top. What we're gonna do is crank this food processor to high and completely break down all the herbs until it's incorporated into the salt and is very finely ground and looks just like this. Perfect. And you will have some of this leftover for other recipes. Let's briefly set it to the side. And in a small size sauce pot, I'm adding in two sticks of softened unsalted butter, one tablespoon of finely grated shallot. I like to use a microplane here. Two finely grated garlic cloves. Next, one half cup of any dry wine of your choice. We're gonna add in one and a half tablespoons of our herb salt, then back over to the burner to get everything combined and melted down. And of course, be sure to try it. It should be absolutely jam-packed with flavor. Now it's Dr. Chef Parisi time. We are gonna inject this turkey with that herb butter. So of course, you're going to need an injector. Soak up some of that herb butter. Make sure it's working. Whoops, too much. Then roll back some of that skin and add the injector needle right to that breast meat and pump it full of that herb butter. You will use everything in that pot. You'll notice that the meat will immediately puff up. That means all of that goodness is getting right in there. And this will continue to season up and flavor up the turkey. And you do this not just to the breast, but also to the thighs, the drums, and even the wings. And I realize not everyone is going to have an injector, so the other option are all the same amounts of ingredients with half the amount of white wine, so just 1 1⁄4 cup. You wanna whip all of these ingredients together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or even some electric hand beaters. Then you'll just simply pull back the skin from the meat on the turkey and shove all that herb butter all throughout on the breasts and in the thighs and drums. Yep, and this will work amazingly well. And now back to the turkey. We're just gonna tuck the wings behind to help stabilize it. Place a thermometer into the thickest part of the breast. We're going in the oven on a middle rack at 425 degrees F convection or 450 F no convection. And we are gonna cook it until it reaches about 160 degrees Fahrenheit internally, which took me exactly an hour and 10 minutes for this 12-pound bird and would most likely have taken me about three hours if this were cooked whole. Let's take out the turkey, and what we're gonna do is let it rest for a good 25 to 30 minutes. Now, during this time, the turkey will continue to cook and bump up past 165 F in the breast and 175 F in the thighs. And who doesn't want turkey that's just too juicy and just too crispy? Perfect. Now, while the turkey is resting, I've got other plans, so let's take it out on the rack, just set it to the side, and for an awesome little chef technique, what we're gonna do is drain off all that fat that was cooking in the bottom of the pan through a fine mesh strainer or a chinois. Now, you can do this into a bowl or just a metal third pan like I am, and it's going in the freezer because we want it to harden up and solidify. Now, we're gonna take our roasted pan of goodies, and in a five to six quart sauce pot, let's add everything we can in there. But I realize we can't get it all. So place that roasting pan right on the burner, and over medium to medium-low heat, we're gonna deglaze with one cup of that dry white wine and scrape all the fond, all those nummies and goodness stuck to the bottom, and we're gonna transfer all of that right to that pot with all of our roasted veg and turkey in it. And at this stage, to make a very rich broth, I'm adding in eight cups of good chicken stock. I've got an excellent homemade recipe if you wanna check that out. Gonna crank the heat up to medium-high and cook it for about 15 to 20 minutes just to help reduce and concentrate those flavors. And because this is going to need to be thickened up, I'm gonna make something known as a beurre manier. So I've got eight tablespoons of softened unsalted butter and eight tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Using your hands, mix all of these ingredients together. After all, beurre manier translates to kneaded butter. This, to me, just makes for a creamier sauce that integrates a little bit easier and isn't quite as heavy as a roux and, to me, has a better viscosity than when you add slurry. All right, let's go check out our stock. Looks and smells incredible in here. And how do I know? Because guess who decided to make an appearance? That's right, Oliver's trying to get in on this goodness. And at this stage, what we wanna do is strain off the stock into a separate pot. Again, we're still over medium heat. And be sure to get every last drop out of that strainer. Then we're gonna stir in most of that beurre manier. If you have a little extra, it's great to use in sauces. And we'll hold it in the fridge for up to four weeks. And once the kneaded butter is integrated into the sauce, and you'll notice how beautiful and rich it is. Not too thick, not too thin. This is where it's at, I promise you. Now, for some of you folks, at this stage, you can remove that meat from the turkey neck, chop it up, and add it in there as well if you'd like. Unfortunately, it's not for me. But just wanted to give you the option. Now, to finish off this sauce, remember that frozen, melted, rendered fat in the bottom of that pan? We're gonna stir in about a quarter cup of that goodness right into our sauce. And it is so good. If you don't believe me, just try a little bit of that chilled butter. You won't believe how flavorful it is. It needs nothing. That is ridiculous. Golly. Now, to plate up, you can serve it right on that sheet tray, or you can get extra fancy on a platter, loaded up with herbs, mandarins, fresh cranberries, you name it. Be as creative as you want here. And because Oliver, the dog, or myself can't handle it anymore, let's just slice some of this up, add some gravy, and see what we're working with here. Oh yeah. Thanks, Colin, for that shot. And if you're anything like me, you're probably only cooking turkey once a year, and this is the ticket. It's juicier, it's crispier, and it cooks in way less time. Now, you're probably going to need dessert, so check out my sweet potato pie recipe video. It is so good, you'll love it better than pumpkin, I guarantee you. See you.